DETROIT – The coronavirus pandemic has led to learning deficits, contentious battles over masking and a shift to online learning in schools across the country.
The pandemic is also having an impact on educators themselves and on Monday, the Michigan Education Association came out with a study that shows there’s a major crisis in classrooms. There aren’t enough teachers.
Read: Michigan governor’s budget proposal will include more than $2B for educator incentive program
The MEA did a study last August and then again at the end of January, asking 2,600 teachers to gauge classroom concerns. The biggest issue they see is their workloads increasing as the number of fellow teachers and educators decreases.
There’s little doubt that Michigan education is at a crossroads. MEA President Paula Herbart said it’s worse than most know.
“Michigan teachers, support staff and other public school employees are at a breaking point,” Herbart said.
The results of the January study list concerns you’d expect: Staffing shortages, student behavioral issues, mental health, attacks on teachers and school funding.
The warning starts with job satisfaction, 70% are somewhat or not satisfied with their work and that’s up 16% in six months. The author of the study, Emma White, said COVID only made a difficult classroom situation worse. Around 14% of educators want to leave the profession, but estimates of retirements are at 20% and nearly 10% are looking to leave their district for another.
The survey also showed 25% of educations with 6 to 10 years on the job are planning to leave the profession. The MEA is pushing hard for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new budget proposal because it includes more than $18 billion in funding that includes incentive and retention bonuses for teachers.