Stress, more than low wages, is the main reason teachers drop out in public schools. And now the coronavirus pandemic has increased the pressure on teachers.
This is according to newly released data from RAND Corporation, which surveyed nearly 1,000 former public school teachers in December. Of those surveyed, 55 percent gave up in the two school years before the pandemic, while the others left after March 2020. In both groups, most teachers either resigned, retired early, or took unpaid leave.
Forty-three percent of teachers who left voluntarily and before their planned retirement said they did so because the stress and disappointment of teaching didn’t pay off – almost twice as many as those who said the pay was insufficient. And among teachers who left largely because of the pandemic, 64 percent said they weren’t paid enough to deserve the risks or stresses of teaching.
According to surveys by the EdWeek Research Center, teachers’ morale has declined over the course of the pandemic. Teachers say they face technology challenges, a decline in student engagement, fear of graduating from COVID-19, and personal childcare or care. Many teachers also say they feel unappreciated by the public as the debate about reopening school buildings reaches a climax. A vocal contingent from parents and others has accused the teachers unions of blocking the way to the classroom.
As the RAND survey data shows, teachers were stressed even before the global pandemic broke out.
“COVID is a kind of straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Lisa Pellegrino, a fourth grade teacher in Maryland.
Pellegrino switched careers and became a teacher seven years ago because she wanted to work with children and feel like she was making a difference. But in recent years her class size has grown, her district cut funding to support Paraducators, and a promised raise was canceled. She spent hours after work planning and grading classes. Pellegrino’s fear rose and she couldn’t sleep at night.
Then the pandemic made things worse: distance learning was even more challenging and time-consuming, and Pellegrino feels that teachers have been made “mean” by the public for being lazy not to return to the classroom right away.
Now your school district is resuming face-to-face teaching. Pellegrino, 55, is not entitled to accommodation to work remotely. However, her husband is at high risk of serious COVID-19 complications and she is uncomfortable walking back to the classroom and possibly bringing the virus home to him.
Instead, she is taking a three month vacation under the Family Medical Leave Act due to her anxiety disorder, which has worsened due to the prospect of returning to the classroom without what she believes is sufficient. And Pellegrino said she wasn’t sure she would be teaching again after her vacation.
“As much as I love my students, I won’t kill myself over it. I don’t mean COVID kill, I mean they are working me to death, “she said. “Honestly, I’d rather be a barista at Starbucks than a teacher right now because I could get away from work at the end of the day.”
Will more teachers leave?
Before the pandemic, around 8 percent of teachers were leaving the job every year.
Much was expected that COVID-19 would lead to an increase in teacher churn. So far, however, Education Week reporting and survey data have shown that the projected surge in retirement and resignations across the country has not yet occurred.
Still, experts are wondering whether there will be an increase in the number of teachers leaving the school year in the face of falling morale.
“Stress, stress, stress – that seems to be at the core of teachers’ decision to leave,” said Heather Schwartz, director of the Education Systems Program before K-12 at RAND and author of the report. “COVID fueled the flames of stress.”
RAND researchers found that nearly half of teachers who left voluntarily since March cited COVID-19 as the main reason they left. When these teachers were asked about their biggest COVID-19 reason for leaving, stress was high on the list.
After that, a third of teachers said their biggest pandemic-related reason for leaving the hospital was because they either had a health condition that put them at higher risk for serious COVID-19 complications or that they had a family member with one . Other reasons for the termination were responsibility for childcare, challenges with distance learning leadership and insufficient support from administrators.
Childcare concerns were particularly pronounced among teachers under 40. Almost a quarter of younger teachers who left primarily because of the pandemic cited childcare as the main reason for dropping out. Women were also much more likely to report leaving because of childcare concerns, but so few men were in the sample that researchers urged caution against overinterpretation.
Andrea, who asked for her last name to be withheld due to privacy concerns, left her 6th grade teaching job in North Carolina when her district announced that he would be starting face-to-face classes again. Going back to the classroom meant that Andrea would expose her 10 month old daughter to everything she picked up at school and that she would have to take her baby to a daycare center.
“We don’t know anything about long-term effects [of COVID-19]. I wasn’t that worried about getting it, but she’s just a baby, ”she said. “The concern was just too great.”
Andrea is now looking after another family, a job where she can also look after her daughter. She wants to go back to the classroom one day, but isn’t sure when she’ll be comfortable with it. And she’s not sure if she’ll be returning to her school district – she feels like administrators are lighting teachers with gas lights by telling them there is nothing to worry about.
“I have a feeling that a lot of teachers everywhere just feel very undervalued and disrespectful,” she said.
Some teachers might return one day
Even so, districts could potentially lure back some of the teachers who left, the RAND survey found.
“It sounds like a significant proportion of teachers are willing to come back so that they are not forever lost to teaching in public schools,” Schwartz said.
When students and staff are regularly tested for COVID-19, 13 percent of teachers who left due to the pandemic are “definitely ready” to return to class and another 42 percent are “somewhat ready”. But many teachers who have left are campaigning for widespread vaccination of students and staff: That would make 34 percent of those who have left because of the pandemic “definitely ready” and another 27 percent “something ready” to close again teaching.
However, this benchmark is a way out. At least 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have qualified some or all teachers to receive the coronavirus vaccine, according to Education Week research. However, a vaccine has not yet been approved by most students.
Public health experts believe that middle and high school students may be eligible for the vaccine early in the next school year. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert, said children through first grade could also be admitted by then – but other experts say that is an optimistic schedule.
And even after the pandemic subsides, the structural issues that caused so many teachers to quit will remain, RAND researchers said. They encourage districts to ask their teachers what is contributing to their stress levels and then ask for ideas on how to address these issues.
Part of this response may be to give teachers more freedom in their timetables: the ex-teachers who took other education jobs most likely said they did so for flexibility.
“This is another systemic problem to expect after the COVID,” Schwartz said, adding that flexibility is especially important in keeping teachers with young children.
For example, districts could allow teachers to work part-time or to share responsibilities with another teacher. According to another RAND survey, 20 percent of district leaders expect distance learning to continue to be an option after the pandemic for some students who wish – which could be a good long-term solution for some teachers, Schwartz said.
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