The retirement of thousands of baby boomers coupled with the departure of younger teachers frustrated by the stress of working in low performing schools (and no doubt the school culture generally) is fueling a crisis in teacher turnover that is costing school districts substantial amounts of money as they scramble to fill jobs by the fall term, according to Sam Dillon of The New York Times.

Demographers agree that education is one of the fields hardest hit by the departure of hundreds of thousands of baby boomers from the work force. That would be consistent with the case CEOs for Cities continues making on why young adults are at such a premium in the race among cities for talent.

Others, however, claim there are plenty of teachers in training. The problem, according to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, is "our schools are like a bucket with holes in the bottom." Nearly a third of all teachers leave the profession after just three years, and almost half are gone in five years.

Still one more reason for teacher turnover: Chaotic hiring practices. The New Teacher Project (which just sent founder and president Michelle Rhee to become superintendent of the D.C. public schools) works with systems to prevent late hiring and late assignments, which often sends would-be teachers elsewhere.

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