More Than Half Of Teachers Looking To Quit Due To Pandemic Burnout, Poll Finds

New polling out Tuesday reveals pervasive burnout among the nation’s educators as pandemic-related staffing shortages and other difficulties drive a potential exodus from the teaching profession. Released by the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union of any profession, the member survey shows, according to NEA president Becky Pringle, that “after persevering through the hardest school years in memory, America’s educators are exhausted and increasingly burned out.”

While staffing shortages at the nation’s schools existed pre-pandemic, Pringle said the current situation represents “an unprecedented staffing crisis across every job category” that hurts both education professionals and students alike.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents, for example, said that they’ve had to fill in for colleagues or take on additional duties. Schools being short-staffed also means students who need one-on-one instruction aren’t getting that need met.

The survey was conducted January 14-24 by GBAO Strategies and paints a clear picture of educators who are absolutely fried. According to an NEA statement, 90% of members said feeling burned out is a serious problem, and 67% said it was a very serious problem. Ninety-six percent of respondents support boosting educator salaries to help address the problem. – READ MORE