EDUCATION Local panel reveals most teachers in Texas looking for career switch
Leander ISD sta were on a 2023 South by Southwest EDU Conference panel called “5 Year Problem: Keeping Teachers in the Classroom,” where they discussed relevant statistics and implications of teacher retention. TACKLING TEACHER RETENTION
BY GRANT CRAWFORD
Hoover, teacher specialist with educa- tion policy nonprot Raise Your Hand Texas. “It takes too long to become a teacher to have them burn out so quickly, and we can’t recruit our way out of 77% of people wanting to leave.” Teachers RYHT spoke to indicated a number of factors have led to the retention issue, including insucient stang, and a need
A statewide survey by the Charles Butt Foundation found 77% of Texas teachers have seriously considered leaving their job in the last year. This gure was presented in front of a March 7 panel with Leander ISD teachers at the 2023 South by South- west EDU Conference. Of those who
GRANT CRAWFORDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
CONSIDERING LEAVING
77% have seriously considered leaving the profession Of those, 93% have taken actionable steps to leave
have considered leaving their job, 93% have taken steps to leave the profession, such as updating their resumes or applying for a nonteaching job. This, combined with data showing almost half of all new teachers
Out of 1,291 Texas public school teachers polled in the 2022 Texas Teacher Poll by the Charles Butt Foundation, 77% of them have seriously considered leaving the profession. Of that 77%, 93% have taken actionable steps to do so.
for better salaries and benets, such as parental leave and aordable health care. The SXSW panelists called for lawmakers to bolster teachers’ work-life balance.
“I WORRY THAT IF WE DON’T BUILD UP OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM WITH TEACHERS AT THE HEART OF IT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OUR SOCIETY?” SUSAN HANSEN, LEANDER ISD DUAL LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION COACH
TOTAL: 1,291
7% have not taken actionable steps
SOURCE: CHARLES BUTT FOUNDATIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Among LISD’s focus areas for
STEPPING AWAY
are leaving after ve years, has left advocates and educators concerned. “I worry that if we don’t build up our public education system with teachers at the heart of it, what will happen to our society?” said Susan Hansen, a dual-language instruction coach in LISD. According to advocates, there is a ve-year problem facing public education. A study by the University of Houston Education Research Center shows out of 16,517 people who started teaching in the 2011-12 school year, 43% found other careers after ve years. By the start of year 10, 59% had left the profession. “We notice our colleagues are burning out too quickly,” said JoLisa
the legislative session are amend- ments to House Bill 4545, which established requirements for accelerated instruction. Stephanie Stobie, RRISD language arts and social studies teacher, said exibility in the number of tutoring hours mandated by HB 4545 would help. The bill requires any student who does not perform well on manda- tory state tests to receive 30 additional hours of instruction in that subject per school year. “There was no nancial support; there was no time compensation,” she said. “Our policies need to be able to improve our working conditions and make our workplace somewhere we’re going to actually be able to do our job.”
The panel’s title comes from a University of Houston Education Research Center study that shows out of 16,517 people who started teaching in the 2011-12 school year, 43% found other careers after ve years.
Percentage of teachers retained
100%
After ve years, more than 40% of the teachers had left the profession
80%
60%
40%
0%
Academic year
Source: University of Houston Education Research Center/Community Impact
Parents know their child’s education is more than just one high- stakes test on one day. Let’s prepare our students for the future, expand public school accountability, and Measure What Matters.
Ad paid by Raise Your Hand Texas
12
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook