Why Good Teachers Leave: Understanding the Exodus, One Experience at a Time

Teachers are leaving the profession in unheard of numbers. This isn’t anything new. If you work in education, you know it first hand.

Not only is it sad to see great teachers leave your school but also it’s potentially devastating to a school that’s already struggling to fill open positions.

If we want to keep great teachers at our school doing the important work of educating our students, we need to truly understand why some of our best educators are packing up their desks and heading for the exit.

Overwhelming Workload

Emily, a high school English teacher, spends her weekends grading essays and creating lesson plans. She teaches several different courses, including an ACP composition course, and she feels like she’s always falling behind:

• If she doesn’t spend time after school grading, the pile of essays just grows and grows.
• If she spends extra time grading, she misses out on time with her family.

And Emily isn’t alone.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 30% of teachers report working more than 50 hours a week on instructional and non-instructional activities. That’s simply not sustainable for the long-term.

So how do you fix it? Some things teachers have recommended to combat this issue is fewer courses for teachers to teach and prep for per semester, fewer meetings to free up grading time, and more prep time built into their day.

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Lack of Support

David, an elementary school teacher, doesn’t feel supported by his administration:

• When he has issues with classroom resources or student behavior, he feels like he’s on his own.
• He feels like sending students to the office marks him as having poor classroom management, and when students come back, their behavior isn’t improved.
• He feels there’s a level of contention between teachers and administration that isn’t helpful to his goal of becoming a great teacher and educating his students well.

While this isn’t true across the board, it isn’t uncommon for teachers to feel like administration doesn’t have their backs when it comes to student behavior and parent conflicts.

There isn’t an overnight fix to this issue, but it starts with listening and understanding how teachers want to be supported and being open to making changes. If teachers don’t feel comfortable voicing their concerns to leadership, it might be time for an anonymous survey.

Low Salary

Sarah, a middle school science teacher, loves her job but struggles to make ends meet. She’s even taken on a part-time gig job on weekends, which is demoralizing and exhausting.

Financial strain is real, and the stress of affording basic household costs is driving teachers to look at higher paying roles outside the classroom.

As an administrator, you likely don’t have the power to unilaterally give out raises, but you can be their voice and advocate for them to the powers that be. Knowing that you have their back goes a long way toward creating a trusting relationship and might make a huge difference.

High-Stakes Testing Pressure

Mark, who teaches third grade, finds that the intense focus on standardized testing stifles his creativity and reduces valuable teaching time. He misses taking his students on educational adventures outside the textbook.

While we can all recognize that standardized testing provides some valuable data, we also know it isn’t a perfect system.

Teachers need to feel like they have the autonomy to teach in the best way for their students, not feel an immense pressure to teach to a standardized test. Administrators can help by both recognizing the importance of these tests while still providing teachers with support and autonomy to provide learning experiences that go beyond multiple-choice answers.

Parental Pressure and Expectations

Laura, an elementary school art teacher, constantly deals with unrealistic expectations from parents. Whether it’s demands for higher grades or criticism of her teaching style, she feels like she’s under a microscope and she can’t enjoy her job.

Laura isn’t alone.

Administrators can help by providing encouragement and support to teachers who, just like anyone else, like to hear what they are doing well, not just what they should fix. And it goes without saying, you should always step in if a parent ever communicates with a teacher in a hostile or aggressive way.

While teaching is undoubtedly a noble and often rewarding profession, the reasons for teachers leaving are complex and multi-faceted. If we want to keep our best educators where they belong — in the classroom — it’s time for policymakers, administrators, and communities to step up and address these issues.

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