School resumes, but how can we keep teachers at their job?

There’s never been a more stressful time to be a teacher. I say that as someone who worked in K-12 schools for more than 20 years, first as a teacher and then as a principal.

Educators enter the profession out of a passion for teaching and helping kids. But today, they’re leaving in droves. Between 2020 and 2022, about 300,000 public school teachers and staff quit, and some 55,000 teaching positions across the country remain unfilled. According to a Gallup poll, K-12 teachers have the highest burnout rate of any profession, and a recent McKinsey report found that nearly a third are considering leaving the profession.

For the sake of the next generation, school districts and local governments need to figure out how to keep teachers in classrooms. Improved salaries would help — teachers are underpaid relative to professionals who have similar educations and work as many hours. But even that wouldn’t entirely solve the problem. We need to turn schools back into places where teachers want to be. Many of these institutions are no longer havens for learning.

Pressure on teachers has mounted over the last few years as society has made them scapegoats in myriad cultural and political battles. They’ve taken the heat for district-level decisions on school closures. They’ve been asked to police mask-wearing, report on students’ gender identities, and alter curricula to fit conflicting political agendas. They face unprecedented and unwarranted criticism from both parents and governmental officials.

And those are just the voices from outside school walls. Stressors are also increasing inside.

For instance, schools are growing more violent, as a study from the Institute of Education sciences shows. Since the pandemic, 38% of K-12 schools have seen an increase in physical violence between students, 45% have seen an increase in threats of violence, and 37% report an increase in bullying.

Teachers are also dealing with chronic absenteeism, which changes how they work. Last year, more than a quarter of K-12 students missed more than 10% of school days, according to a study by the American Enterprise Institute. That’s twice as many as just three years prior. Teachers have to adjust lesson plans for those who are missing out and sometimes downgrade goals for the whole class.

Meanwhile, the teacher shortage, along with all-too-common staff and program cuts, force those who remain to take on more responsibilities — things like ushering morning drop-off, monitoring lunch and recess, or supervising afterschool programs. Yet most teachers can’t afford to spend more time on the job at the same pay. Already, more than 80% of teachers have worked a second job to help make ends meet, according to nonprofit the Teacher Salary Project.

Burnout is a downward spiral. It drives teachers away, which in turn increases the workload — and burnout — of those who stay.

Of course, the elephant in the classroom is money. Local and state governments must allocate more funding to their public schools. But instead, states like Connecticut, Hawaii and Utah are slashing education budgets. Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma are considering rejecting billions in federal education funding. And nearly $200 billion in COVID-era emergency federal aid is set to expire soon.

In Texas, lawmakers failed to approve teacher pay increases despite a $38.7 billion surplus.

It’s clear that we need to increase school funding to retain and attract more teachers. But how we go about using funds is just as important. Schools should prioritize hiring assistant teachers and tutoring services. They can also fund teachers’ trips to conventions that encourage their passions, while hiring the substitute teachers that make such trips possible.

Even schools dealing with budget cuts can make concrete changes to support their teachers. For instance, administrators can show teachers they value their expertise by standing behind their decisions when dealing with quarrelsome parents.

It also makes a big difference to respect their time. When I was a teacher, I’d often be up by 5 a.m., at school by 6:30 a.m., and home at 6 p.m., all while juggling family responsibilities — and preparing the next day’s lesson on my own time.

It doesn’t cost any money to cancel a meeting that could be an email or have administrative staff take turns covering morning drop-off or lunch supervision duties. As a principal, I provided teachers with prepared meals donated by local restaurants, freeing up time after work so they could enjoy dinner at home with their families. Administrators should think creatively about providing other perks that save teachers time, like dog-walking or laundry services.

If we care about children, then we have to nurture their teachers. Too many have lost the joy of educating and inspiring students. By respecting their time and improving their workplaces, we can help bring that joy back.

Emily McGinnis worked 21 years as a teacher and principal in the Charlotte, N.C., area and holds master’s degrees in teaching and school administration from Wingate University.

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