One in three teachers and other professionals assigned to the city's accelerated learning academies has resigned, retired or transferred -- despite the Pittsburgh Public Schools' goal to keep the faculties together for at least three school years.

In filling slots for the eight new accelerated learning academies in summer 2006, the district said it was looking for professionals willing to make a three-year commitment to the academies. The unusual request was intended to promote stability and student achievement in the schools, which opened for the 2006-07 school year.

But a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review of school board minutes shows that the turnover rate at the end of the first school year was little better than the national annual average for high-poverty schools, which typically do not require teachers to stay for a certain period. The turnover at the academies continued during 2007-08 and the current school year. Officials could not provide a districtwide turnover rate for comparison.

Some academy teachers said they resigned or retired because of student discipline problems, heavy workloads or other challenges at the schools, which serve many children performing below reading and math proficiency standards.

"It was so exhausting. Nothing ever seemed to be enough, and morale was low," said Sheila Morris, an elementary teacher who retired in June from Pittsburgh King PreK-8 on the North Side.

Ms. Morris, of Point Breeze, a district teacher for about 20 years who previously worked at the former Reizenstein Middle School, said she loved her students and colleagues at King but was worn down by pressure to cover material too rapidly.

District officials said they can't stop teachers from resigning or retiring. They said the effort also was hindered by union transfer rules and enrollment declines that require the shifting of teachers from building to building across the city.

Despite the turnover, Superintendent Mark Roosevelt said he's "very satisfied" with the academies' work. Their scores on the state math and reading tests remain low at most grade levels, but he has said the academies' average achievement is improving by a larger percentage than that of the district.

Christiana Otuwa, the assistant superintendent who oversees the academies, said it's possible to infer that scores would be higher if the schools had experienced greater stability. But she said other factors -- such as teacher effectiveness and school structure -- also contribute to achievement and continuity.

For example, Dr. Otuwa said, the academies use the America's Choice teaching strategies and curriculum supplements. If a teacher leaves, she said, students are assigned to other teachers using the same program.

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President John Tarka said he believed the goal in asking professionals to stay for three years was to forestall impulsive transfers, not retirements or the leaves that he said staffers take for "solid reasons."

He said the academies' first year, when teachers had to adjust to new programs and new students, was especially challenging, and he believes the three-year commitment has helped to hold faculties together.

"Teachers in ALAs are working extraordinarily hard," Mr. Tarka said.

Besides King, the academies are Arlington PreK-8; Colfax K-8, Squirrel Hill; Fort Pitt PreK-5, Garfield; Murray PreK-8, Mount Oliver; Northview PreK-5; Rooney 6-8, North Side; and Weil PreK-8, Hill District.

A Post-Gazette review of school board minutes showed that the board assigned 343 teachers, counselors and other professionals to the academies by Aug. 21, 2006, the day they opened. Since then, 40 of the original staff have resigned or retired, and 75 were transferred to other schools, the analysis found. That means 115 teachers and other professionals -- 33 percent of the original staffs -- left without giving three years to the schools.

Some professionals transferred from one academy to another; those moves were not counted as turnover.

The review, based on monthly board minutes from January 2006 through last month, also found that:

• Eighteen of those who resigned, retired or transferred first took leaves from a few days to an entire school year.

• Another 36 professionals, or 10 percent of the original academy staffs, took leaves but remain employed at academies.

• Turnover the first year at the eight schools was 19 percent, while the average turnover for a high-poverty school nationwide was 21 percent after the 2003-04 school year, the latest data available from the National Center for Education Statistics. All academies except Colfax meet the center's definition of a high-poverty school, with at least 75 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches.

• Since fall 2006, academies have used 78 full-time substitutes for teachers who resigned, retired or were on leaves.

• While professionals districtwide were eligible to apply for academy positions, the vast majority of those placed in summer 2006 hailed either from closed schools or the low-performing schools that were converted into the academies.

When the academies were formed, the board approved a contract of up to $3.6 million to bring the America's Choice program to the academies. The academies' school day and year are longer than the district standard.

Academy teachers currently receive an additional $6,300 annually, while counselors and social workers receive an additional $4,000, for working the extended calendar.

The district and Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers agreed that professionals who signed up for the academies couldn't seek voluntary transfers for three years. The academies, however, were established at the same time the district closed 22 elementary and middle schools citywide to cut costs, eliminate excess seats and concentrate students in better-performing schools. Several hundred teachers and other professionals received new school assignments during summer 2006, and some ended up bumping, or displacing, less senior colleagues who had signed up for the academies, Dr. Otuwa said.

Professionals placed at academies because there was no other place for them in the district were not asked to stay for three years. Dr. Otuwa said they could transfer after 2006-07, provided slots at other schools were open.

District officials said they didn't know how many faculty members were at academies voluntarily and how many were there involuntarily on opening day 2006. But the district counted 19 teachers involuntarily placed at the schools to replace furloughed ALA staffers. It said three teachers involuntarily placed at ALAs chose to leave after 2006-07. Officials said they allowed eight more to transfer after 2007-08, most because they weren't a good fit for the schools.

When Willie Jenkins' central-office position was cut, he said, he was assigned to Arlington PreK-8 and found the workload there overwhelming.

"I knew people who did sign up, and they wanted to leave, too," he said.

Mr. Jenkins, of Penn Hills, a district employee for about 20 years assigned to teach science and social studies at Arlington, said the academy required too much administrative work, such as analyzing student data and arranging displays of student work, which he believed contributed little to instruction. He said "highly stressed out teachers" were coming in early and staying late. He said he took a year's leave, then retired last June.

Officials blamed enrollment decline for most of the teacher transfers from academies. Enrollment at the academies fell from 3,695 in 2006-07 to 3,160 this school year, and Dr. Otuwa said professionals who were no longer needed were moved to other buildings.

Enrollment districtwide has been falling for years, and, though the ALAs' losses are greater than some other schools', Dr. Otuwa said she didn't believe parents disliked the schools.

Louise Gray said she took a music teacher's position at Weil PreK-8 for 2006-07 and intended to stay three years. She said she lacked necessary teaching materials and found middle-grade students ill-prepared for middle-grade classes. She said discipline problems were "severe" and recalled being reprimanded by an administrator after discussing the school's shortcomings with parents.

But the Shadyside resident said she was prompted to retire after nearly 30 years with the district because, after being led to believe she could spend the entire day at Weil, she was told after 2006-07 she'd have to split her time between Weil and King because of enrollment declines.

Besides the 343 professionals at the academies on opening day, the Post-Gazette tracked staffers who entered the academies later. The board placed 78 teachers and other professionals there since Aug. 21, 2006 , including about 35 hired for 2008-09. Five of those placed at ALAs since opening day resigned or retired, and 10 transferred to schools that aren't academies. Dr. Otuwa said professionals who joined the academies after opening day weren't asked to stay for three years.

In all, excluding full-time subs, 421 people have been assigned to the academies since their formation, and 130, or about 30 percent, have left.

Ms. Morris said she at first was excited at the prospect of working in an academy but that she and other faculty members quickly were gripped by a "stressed panicked feeling" to forge ahead with lessons, even if students struggled to keep up.

The academies' third school year ends in June, and at Rooney, staff members talk "every day" about whether they'll stay or try to leave, said math teacher Lorena Mitchell.

"Teaching in an ALA the first two years was extremely difficult," said Ms. Mitchell, a district employee for about 12 years. "In retrospect, I think it's made me a much better teacher."

Will she stay for a fourth year? Ms. Mitchell said she has become comfortable with her work at Rooney but is keeping her options open.