A New Generation of Public School Teachers Is Leaving the Profession in Droves

Here are 8 Ways to Retain Them

Days of Plenty

When I started my job search in the 1990s, the market in education was saturated with prospective teachers. State education budgets ballooned and teacher turnover stalled, resulting in recent college graduates struggling to find full-time positions. Attrition occurred primarily through teacher retirements and partner/spousal job transfers and relocations.

Back in those days, surveys and statistics clocked teachers who left the profession within the first five years of entering teaching. That was the crisis of the 1990s: we worried that we couldn’t hold onto the best and the brightest. We lost them to corporate America where they found higher salaries and outstanding work-life balance. And we were right to worry. Why couldn’t the profession retain talented young people? The attraction was there — summers off, handsome pensions, meaningful work — yet it wasn’t enough.

Post-COVID

Fast forward to 2020. The COVID epidemic forced many older teachers into early retirement because of health concerns — worries for both themselves and their families. Other veteran educators left the profession after COVID-related challenges, including the stress of remote teaching followed by grueling school days of no planning periods and no duty-free lunch, pushed them to their breaking points.

Two years later and we’re facing another mass exodus of teachers. A diverse group to be sure, composed of young and veteran teachers alike, they are united by their desire to regain control of the work-life balance and improve their mental and physical health.

My husband and I have been discussing this topic for months. The number of educators we know personally who have chosen new career paths is mind-boggling. And we know we’re not alone in our observations.

States and School Districts are Scrambling to Stop Teacher Turnover

Recently 11Alive News reported that Atlanta Public Schools, one of Georgia’s largest school districts, voted to “implement a $2,000 increase to each salary level and provide all employees a step increase on the teacher salary schedule.” School districts in my area of west Georgia have offered teacher bonuses of varying amounts each year since the COVID quarantine of 2020. And Governor Brian Kemp will make good on a campaign promise from 2018 by giving teachers the final $2,000 of a $5,000 pledged to raise to stop teacher turnover.

Close to Home

As we reflected on this crisis, my husband and I began listing colleagues and friends who have recently left public education. One veteran teacher left for a position at a university. One exited the field altogether to start his own company. Both of these teachers were successful in the classroom and had invested their life’s work in education. In the end, the safe retirement and other “perks” couldn’t compete with the lure of a positive work environment that respects its workers.

Just yesterday my husband sent me a link to a video of the Gwinnett County 2022 Teacher of the Year’s speech at the board of education meeting outlining why he was leaving the profession and forfeiting the chance to compete for State Teacher of the Year. He is taking himself out of the running for a chance at $10,000 because of abysmal classroom conditions.

The examples go on and on.

Two teachers agreed to share their experiences with me on the condition of anonymity. I’ve changed their names and other identifying factors. Both have left the profession within the last two years.

Sean, a middle Georgia teacher in his 40s, has over 20 years of distinguished and highly respected experience in the classroom. Teaching has left his physical and mental health in shambles because of outlandish hours spent outside the normal workday and unrealistic expectations placed on teachers. Depression and anxiety have settled in.

I asked Sean if he could identify one main cause of his dissatisfaction: “There were no major factors like being unhappy with administration or kids that occurred…I just got to where I really didn’t want to do this anymore.”

While COVID was not the sole driving force in his exit, it “exacerbated the problems that were already there.” Sean’s future plans? Unknown, but looking for the right fit every day.

What a loss for our students.

Similarly, Daniel, 35, a metro Atlanta teacher and award-winning educator in his own right, with over 10 years of experience, contends that COVID influenced his decision as it “exposed the incompetence of our leaders at the school and county levels” who “expected [teachers]to continue on as if there wasn’t a global pandemic traumatizing students and staff on a daily basis.” He cites “staggering . . . classroom toxicity and disrespect” as a prime motivator for his career move.

When asked if there was anything his school or district could have kept him in the profession, Daniel names important aspects of public education: “Provide greater administrative support, better financial support, listen to teachers, hold administrators more accountable, and make [teachers] feel like [they are] valued members of the team.”

Additionally (and I’m openly admitting my slow-wittedness here), I’m talking about myself! It didn’t register with me until I started drafting this article. . . I left public education last year! I retired a year early for so many of the reasons stated above. I purchased a year of service, retired, and immediately accepted a position at a metro Atlanta independent school. I’m happy to report that I have a renewed passion for teaching and a strong professional fulfillment that I have never known before.

And working outside public education now allows me to speak out on behalf of public school teachers.

A New Manifesto for Public Education: How We Keep Quality Teachers in the Classroom

Protect them. Protect them in the classroom. Don’t allow unruly repeat offenders to remain in their classes. Their presence undermines what little authority teachers have and puts them and the other children in the class at risk. Commit to finding another appropriate educational setting for them so that teachers can teach their students as they have been trained to do. Protect them in conferences. Don’t allow parents and stakeholders to yell at them, berate them, or humiliate them.
Cultivate a culture of respect. I know this is an extremely nebulous concept, but teachers need to feel valued. When people in the community complain about public education, they typically base their criticisms on distant teacher unions and groups that have virtually zero influence on what happens in the local schools, but when asked about how their local schools fare, those same people find few faults. They proudly boast and post about their children’s successes at the local school. Please appreciate the teachers your children actually have, the ones who care for them, and the ones your kids love in return. Defend them when people badmouth public education. Teach your children to do the same.
Reduce class size. Yes, it’s going to take more money out of the system budget, but seriously, teachers cannot meet the needs of 30+ students in a classroom. In high school, 25 is the tipping point. Any more students than that and individuals start getting “lost.” Find the funds. Every student deserves a teacher who knows their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Hire more permanent substitute teachers. Invest in more full-time subs to help with supervision, testing, and class coverage. Since COVID, many teachers have found themselves going days to weeks at a time with no planning periods. Some schools (even entire systems) have created a culture of shame around teachers who need to be absent. They then cast the burden on other teachers to cover their colleagues’ absences. Resentment rises and workplace satisfaction plunges.
Make data specialists part of the school faculty. If public education has really and truly sold its soul to for-profit testing megacompanies, then data collection is here for the long haul. Budget for personnel who can gather the data, test scores, and growth percentiles required by the systems and the states. Teachers are hard-pressed to provide quality instruction and gather, collate, and display data across a variety of ever-changing platforms. Trained experts can (and should) do this on teachers’ behalf.
Remove outdated “pink collar job” restrictions. Education, a female-dominated or “pink collar” industry, is still reeling from what Margaret C. Rung calls a lingering “paternalism” that “codifie[d] gender inequities” in the workforce. Teachers need flexibility and freedom, not decades-old attempts to limit movement, creativity, and financial gain in a majority female occupation. Let teachers leave campus during lunch or planning periods to go to the bank or get food or coffee, like literally every other employee in every other profession. Don’t make it a big deal. They’ll take less time off overall and have more job satisfaction with a relaxing of these archaic limitations. Give them time to design, plan, evaluate, and refine instead of filling every free moment with training or limitations.
Create realistic and thoughtful guidelines for teaching in the COVID and post-COVID era. Yes, we all know Zoom and Google Meet are not going away. Teachers want to meet the needs of our sick and quarantined students, but there must be measures set in place that won’t undermine the quality of in-class instruction or cause undue stress. They can’t teach the same way remotely as they do in person. Some classes can’t be taught virtually at all! Ask their opinions and collaborate with them to create workable and sustainable solutions.
Align supplements to compensate for extra hours worked. Public school teachers are acutely aware of the fact that they do not work in corporate America, and, thus, realize that their salaries will reflect that disparity. Holidays and summers off are a perk. However, coaches, band directors, and other club sponsors put in so much extra time for students that their hourly salaries in extracurricular work are far below minimum wage. While most will never make what they deserve, they coach and direct because they love it and they love your kids. Those extra hours equal sacrificed time with their own families. Increase their supplements.

Are there other things teachers need? Absolutely. Empathetic administrators who understand the implicit hardships in day-to-day classroom functions. Practical help to deal with student apathy. Respectful cell phone policies.

But the eight ways listed above might just be a step in the right direction. Our society depends on effective public education.