“We are at risk of losing many of these highly qualified educators if we do not take a careful look at the factors contributing to burnout in the profession.”— Richard Woods, State Superintendent of Schools, June, 2022.
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | My wife was a Georgia country girl, raised on a farm in middle Georgia. Her father’s first cousin was the county superintendent of schools, and her uncle was a principal in the north Georgia hills.
I remember her father, an electrician and plumber, telling me many times that teaching is “an honorable profession.” I agree. In fact, my daughter, son-in-law, brother and sister-in-law are all Georgia public school teachers. But despite what many people incorrectly believe, it is not an easy job.
With 3,112 openings, Georgia has one of the highest numbers of teacher vacancies in the nation. Of the 37 states reporting, only Florida has more teacher vacancies. Georgia is currently in a pitched battle for teachers with surrounding states which also have vacancies. The South has more openings than any region). Many competing states pay better than Georgia.
Are Georgia’s teachers happy with their profession? A recent report suggests that they are not.
And this appears to be a long-standing problem, pre-dating the pandemic which just made things much worse. A 2015 study surveyed over 50,000 teachers and found the new teacher attrition rate to be a startling 44 percent. It also discovered that two thirds of current teachers would not recommend going into the teaching profession to high school graduates. “Why? The report identified three key factors:
- Poor teacher evaluation methodologies;
- Over-emphasis on misguided testing; and
- Lack of teacher participation in key decision making.
The state responded by restructuring its testing/evaluation system, providing teacher raises and funding for supplies, and adding an active teacher to the State Board of Education, as an ex-officio member. These positive actions were welcome. But they are insufficient to address the growing teacher retention problem.
So, what are the existing issues? State School Superintendent, Richard Woods, had the wisdom to establish a Task Force on Teacher Burnout, composed of ten of the top teachers in the state and other key parties. The UGA Institute of Government was assigned to assist them. Their survey and report stated that a key factor is burnout.
I found this report to be an excellent evaluation of where we stand regarding teacher satisfaction and retention. It also makes a multitude of recommendations as to actions to correct our deficiencies. Recommendations include items, such as reducing class size; cutting down on bureaucracy and redundancies; providing extra pay for added tasks; adding support staff; having higher pay based on longevity; assisting teachers with mentoring;, and strengthening existing mental health programs for both students and teachers.
The state of Georgia, since it collects more tax than needed, has in the Kemp Administration, returned money to taxpayers. In effect, this is nothing more than buying their votes.
A far better way to use the state surplus would be to focus on reducing the rate of attrition of our public-school teachers. It’s not real complicated. Just pay ‘em more!
In the long run, with dedicated, long term teachers who are well qualified and well paid, our children will benefit greatly.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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