A poll of Illinois Education Association members show that one-third of teachers are considering leaving the profession over concerns of safety and stress.
“This should sound the alarm for every person in Illinois who values our children and their education. We are already in the middle of a teacher shortage. Teacher retirements are at their highest rate in five years, and others are considering switching careers,” IEA President Kathi Griffin said. “We need to figure out how to keep our talented people in education. And we think the best way to do that is by asking local health departments to intervene when school boards and/or administrations aren’t keeping their students and staff safe.”
IEA polled more than 1,300 members of the entire 135,000 teachers, classroom aides, paraprofessionals, janitorial staff, school secretaries, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, school nurses, social workers, grounds crews the week of Oct. 19 to ask about several issues.
One question, “Thinking about this year and everything that has come along with it, how has this experience affected your plans to be an educator or teacher?” led to 12-percent of teachers say they don’t want to be a teacher anymore, 10-percent considering early retirement, and 13-percent are considering re-evaluating their career path.
“I wish I could say I’m surprised so many are considering leaving the profession, but I’m not. Our teachers are struggling. Our support staff are struggling. Some of them are working in school districts without a safe plan in place. Others are working in districts where there is a safe plan, but the district is not enforcing it,” Griffin said. “And even those in districts where everything is being done safely and appropriately, they are saddled with extreme amounts of stress and extra work.”
Sixty-nine percent of those who responded to the survey said that they did not feel that it was safe for full in-person learning to happen during the 2020-21 school year.
“We are not against in-person learning, we are against unsafe learning. Based on metrics alone, in 75 of Illinois’ 102 counties, and Chicago, there is evidence of significant community spread,” said Kathi Griffin, president of IEA. “What’s happening now is many districts aren’t following their own plans or, they aren’t following the state’s guidance. And, in some places, it seems local health departments and school districts are not coordinating strategies as outlined in state guidance. Or, boards of education are ignoring school leaders’ advice. We’re turning to the Illinois Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) again for its assistance to review plans and advise districts on ways to improve safety. If schools don’t make changes, local union leaders will report these issues to local health departments. If that doesn’t work, we’ll determine our own steps.”
“School reopening is important to student well-being and education but it can only be done if districts have and follow plans to maximize the safety of students and staff,” said Daniel Johnson, MD, FAAP board member of the Illinois Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infections Disease Specialist. “We are happy to lend our expertise to schools and participate in town halls to support educators, school administrators, parents and communities on mitigation best practices.”
Seventy-six percent of members said that this year’s workload was either somewhat, or much heavier, than last leading to 66-percent saying, “I have been more burned out more than usual this year.”
