Burnout could reduce the number of teachers in our schools.

55% of teachers say they are thinking about leaving the profession early because of the stress of the last two school years, according to a recent survey from the National Education Association.

The number is higher among Black (62%) and Hispanic (59%) teachers.

"I've thought more than I ever have in my career about leaving education," said Kevin Adams, a 16-year veteran of the Denver Public Schools system who teaches a mix of high school and middle school social studies classes. "Some of the work feels unsustainable."

Adams' story is a common one. 90% of teachers reported "burnout" as a serious issue for educators, according to the same NEA survey from early February. Other issues included low pay and a lack of support staff.

Adams said educators of color are dealing with an added stressor: Racial battle fatigue.

"It feels like there is a lot of pressure, particularly on Black educators, to solve problems with kids of color," Adams said. "We are seen as the experts when it comes to kids of color. Oftentimes, we are given a heavier burden when it comes to dealing with the issues and challenges facing kids of color."

Adams said those fights happen in places beyond the classroom.

"Black educators are criticized and critiqued for the way we present ourselves," Adams said. "For being unapologetically and authentically our Black selves. Sometimes it's, 'I didn't appreciate your attitude in the meeting when you brought stuff up.' But if we're talking about how our kids are oppressed, we're going to bring that up in a passionate way."

The lack of diversity in U.S. schools is a problem that spans decades.

But it's gotten worse in the last few years.

In 2018, 15% of public school students were Black, compared to only 7% of teachers.

"We are absolutely concerned with the diversity of our teaching profession," said Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association. "It's not just teachers going into the profession. Teachers are leaving the profession at disproportionate rates."

Several grassroots organizations have emerged recently to address racial disparities in the teaching profession.

The list includes the Center for Black Educator Development, whose mission is, in part, to "rebuild the Black teacher pipeline."

"Students are seeing this," said Mimi Woldeyohannes, the director of strategic partnerships for CBED. "It's playing out right in front of their eyes. They're seeing teachers leave for a variety of reasons, or they're seeing that teachers are not lifting up this profession as much as they used to."

Woldeyohannes and the team at CBED are focused on addressing educational inequities. The group is working to get more teachers of color into the classroom, and to keep the teachers who are already there.

"We're trying to get our educators to understand the true impact they can have," Woldeyohannes said. "You may not see the fruits of your labor in a year, or in a few years, but they will never forget the kind of long-lasting impact that you had."

Adams, the Denver teacher, agreed, calling the students the top reason he keeps clocking in for work.

"When I see the kids connect and be silly and be themselves," Adams said, "those are the things that bring me joy, and pull me through the harder stuff, the racial battle fatigue. Those are the things that tell me, 'This is why I'm doing the job.'"

GRANT COUNTY, Ky. — Grant County Schools is hoping a new program designed to advance the careers and increase the salaries of its teaching staff will help reduce teacher turnover.

The district had to hire between 35 and 40 new instructors at the start of this year just to keep up with the growing problem.

“COVID has made it worse because there are less people going into education,” Matt Morgan, superintendent of Grant County Schools, said. “We manage every year but you’re constantly going back and retraining every year.”

That training is necessary, Morgan said, because many of the new teacher hires haven’t ever done the job before. The district hopes a new partnership with BloomBoard, a teacher credentialing service, will give incentive for teachers to stay in Grant County rather than move to another district or leave the teaching profession entirely.

“We thought this would be a way for us to keep teachers here for a while and get some stability for our kids,” Morgan said.

Grant County Schools will cover the cost of the BloomBoard program in exchange for a commitment from staff to stay for four years after completing the training. In Kentucky, teachers who successfully finish this process through BloomBoard are able to move up the state’s rank system. That translates into a higher salary and offers additional career opportunities.

“Anytime that your employer is willing to devote time, resources and funds for your development, you can’t pass that up,” Sam Ryan, a math and business teacher at Grant County High School, said. “That’s awesome.”

BloomBoard’s founder said more needs to be done to support teachers and keep them in the profession.

“Especially given the pandemic, I think everyone now appreciates how hard teaching can be and how hard it is,” Jason Lange, President of BloomBoard, said. “The reality is we just don’t pay teachers enough relative to what they’re actually doing and the lift and their importance in society.”

In addition to offering advancement opportunities and better pay for teachers, the district also expects this credentialing process to make its staff more effective in the classroom.

“I saw it as a win-win,” Morgan said. “We get a better teacher. The teacher gets a pay increase when they complete it. Our kids get somebody in the classroom stable for the next six years.”

“Anything that I gain from this program will make its way to the student,” Ryan said.

Grant County Schools expects to officially roll out the program in January.

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