Over the last two years, more than half a million teachers and school staff have walked off the job and left the field. Now, the mass exodus has created shortages that are being felt as the school year inches closer.
The total comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It reported that from 2020 to 2022, approximately 600,000 teachers and staff walked away from education.
Regarding what's fueled the national teacher shortage, burnout, pandemic fatigue, low wages, and retirement are only some of the reasons that have created a problem with few solutions.
Those who have been in education report that the current shortage is unlike anything the industry has ever faced. Just last week, Dan Domenech, the executive director of the School Superintendents Association, shared with the Washington Post that he has "never seen it this bad."
Now with schools getting ready for their back-to-school weeks, reading, writing, and math classes are still vacant.
One cause fueling the fire is a 10-year low for colleges graduating teachers, as students are choosing other fields due to low pay — as the average salary for a starting teacher is $43,000 to $61,000 — and high stress.
The U.S. Department of Education has shared that from the 2008-2009 school year to 2018-2019, the number of students completing education degrees has dropped by almost a third.
And the trend hasn't stopped, as from 2019 to May of this year alone, the number of teaching vacancies has increased by 70%, going from 155,00 to 388,000 open positions, the National Education Association reported.
Mary Kusler, a Sr. Director for the National Education Center for Advocacy, shared with NewsNation that throughout the last year, more and more teachers have started to consider life outside of the classroom.
"Last August, 37% of our members were looking to leave the classroom this year. When we asked that same tracking poll question in February of 2022, it was suddenly up to 55% of all of our educators looking to leave the profession," Kusler said.
However, low pay, high stress, and numerous other factors all lead to one thing, dissatisfaction. A poll conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that the number one reason teachers leave education is that they are no longer satisfied with their work.
The poll also found that while a third of educators pursue other work, many end up finding better pay in less stressful fields.
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