Survey reveals widespread burnout among Conn. teachers
Many educators considering change to different careers
Nearly three-quarters of Connecticut educators say they are more likely to leave the profession than they were a few years ago, a new survey from the Connecticut Education Association has found.
That figure was one of several eye-popping findings in the survey of nearly 6,000 CEA members, which was conducted in partnership with a polling firm. Other notable results included:
61 percent of educators said public schools in
Connecticut were on the “wrong track,” compared to only 23 percent who said things were going in the “right direction.”
72 percent said they were dissatisfied with conditions in their school district.
98 percent cited stress and burnout as a concern, and 96 percent cited staff shortages.
69 percent said their level of frustration at burnout were higher than in previous years or at its highest level ever, compared to only 8 percent who said their level of frustration and burnout was lower than previously.
Asked for proposals to address burnout, educators in the CEA survey suggested higher pay, more hiring and a limit on non-teaching duties and excessive paperwork.
“I don’t know how much more of a siren I can wail on the sense of urgency around this issue,” CEA president Kate Dias said during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. “We cannot wait until 100 percent of our educators are looking to leave the profession before we decide to act.”
Connecticut, like much of the country, has faced an increasingly dire shortage of educators, as difficult working conditions drive teachers from the profession and hinder efforts to replace them through recruitment.
According to previously unreleased state data, Connecticut schools had at least 1,221 teaching vacancies at the start of the school year, as well as another 1,322 among paraprofessionals and 257 among special service employees. More than 70 percent of all teaching vacancies were in the state’s 36 lowest-performing districts, known as alliance districts, according to the state data.
Educators say the problem has not improved in the months since, leaving large class sizes, heavy workloads for teachers and a widespread reliance on long-term substitutes. As of last week, New Haven was still short about 100 classroom teachers, according to a spokesperson, while Hartford had about 200 vacancies, about 80 of which were classroom teachers.
In a statement, Connecticut’s State Department of Education said the agency was “acutely aware of the challenges our districts face in both hiring and retaining a high quality and diverse educator workforce” and would work with CEA, teachers unions and the legislature to pursue solutions. A spokesperson for the department cited several initiatives to help recruitment, such as a program bringing college students into classrooms and efforts to make it easier for teachers in other states to become certified in Connecticut.
At Tuesday’s press conference, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers pledged action to address the educator shortage and improve conditions for teachers during next year’s legislative session, though they offered few specific proposals.
Rep. Anthony Nolan, a Democrat from New London and a member of the education committee, suggested lowering barriers to certification for new teachers and more equitably funding education statewide so that poor districts are disproportionately affected by staff shortages.
“It is ridiculous that we’re not spending and putting as much effort into teachers, who are the lifeline to our children,” Nolan said. “When we don’t make an effort to bring in as many teachers as we need, we are failing our kids.”
Rep. Kathleen McCarty, a Republican serving Waterford and Montville who is ranking member of the education committee, said she’d support loosening curriculum requirements to provide teachers more flexibility. As for funding disparities, McCarty said the issue was “worth looking at.”
Kevin Brown, a representativeelect from Vernon who teaches high school social studies, said he witnesses the crisis in schools firsthand.
“This is an emergency situation, and we have to treat it as such,” Brown said, “As a high school teacher, every day I go in and I face class sizes that are bigger than they should be, and we face resources that are not as much as they should be.”
Dias appealed to legislators to help teachers, not only for their sake but for the sake of the children they instruct.
“We work tremendously hard, we are a worthy investment, and we will give you back exponentially what you give us,” “But if you fail to take care of your educators, they will fail to be able to take care of their students.”