KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As another school year comes to an end, some teachers may not return to the classroom when classes resume.
In January, the National Education Association released a survey of their 3,621 member educators.
Key findings show 67% find burnout as a "very serious" issue. 55% report they're ready to retire or leave teaching because of the pandemic.
“That’s the same type of information that we get every single day when we hear information from our retirees," Jerry Henn, the executive director of the Kansas Association of Retired School Personnel, said.
Henn said he hears stories of teachers leaving the profession because of technology changes brought on by the pandemic, or educators simply aging out.
“You lose the experience, the knowledge, the know-how," Henn said. "What teaching actually is."
Fourth grade teacher Christina Melecio has also heard of fellow educators leaving the profession.
"It’s exhausting. It’s physically exhausting, it’s emotionally exhausting, it’s just a really tolling profession," Melecio said. "And to not have any support, is honestly detrimental. I wouldn’t be able to do it either.”
Melecio is in her third year of teaching and considered a future outside the classroom.
“I actually had plans to leave to go to law school at the end of this year, and I changed my mind to push it off for a couple more years," she said.
Melecio said she's staying in the classroom because of support she gets from her administration and coworkers in helping her with problems she encounters.
In future years, Melecio will be joined by other teachers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employment for kindergarten and elementary school teachers is projected to grow 7% between 2020 and 2030. That rate is considered about average for all occupations.
Despite challenges in the profession, Melecio said she's still committed to teaching.
“At the end of the day, when I’m leaving, I’m like this was good! It was a good day," Melecio said. "There are bad chunks during it, but overall, we had a great day. We had fun. I love watching them learn."
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