MORGANTOWN – West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee presented the Senate Education Committee with the results of a survey that show high levels of stress and burnout across all staff – teachers, support staff and service personnel – and challenges recruiting new teachers.
“The staffing issues will continue to grow if something isn’t done to address the concerns,” he said Thursday. “It’s time for us to focus on public education in a way that improves the working conditions of our employees and the learning conditions of our students.”
The survey was conducted last November, he said, among 700 WVEA members.
Dissatisfaction with working conditions was high: 73%, somewhat dissatisfied, 33% very dissatisfied, 27% somewhat satisfied; only 2% very satisfied. Dissatisfaction was highest among teachers with five years or less of experience.
Four issues ranked as the top concerns, all identified by 98% of respondents: stress and burnout; leaving the profession; lack of respect; and salaries. Asked to narrow the field to just two issues, salaries and student behavior rose to the top.
In the area of teacher burnout, 26% said this school year is the highest year ever for them, while 36% said burnout is higher than in previous years.
Will they keep teaching: 18% are very confident they will; 54% are somewhat confident; 35% are not at all confident and 12% are unsure. Lack of confidence is highest among those with six to 20 years of experience.
What would convince them to stay: raises, 28%; respect, 20%; improve safety and student discipline, 19%; less paperwork, 17%; smaller class sizes and more 1-1 instruction, 11%.
Lee said the survey revealed that teacher stress levels are higher now than during the pandemic. And there has been a 14% reduction in the number of students entering education programs, meaning it’s harder to recruit.
West Virginia isn’t the only state experiencing these problems, he said. It’s nationwide. But other states are working on solutions so competition for educators is at an all time high.
Many states are offering raises and reforms, he said. While West Virginia has provided teacher raises in the past four of five years, the raises aren’t keeping pace with other states and West Virginia fell from 46th to 50th in the National Education Association ranking of average teacher pay.
The senators thanked Lee for the information. Committee chair Amy Grady, R-Mason, said that next week, either Tuesday or Thursday, they will review a state Department of Education survey conducted among all teachers that drew almost three times the responses: 2,022.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
