The Connecticut Education Association representing over 40,000 educators in Connecticut is continuing to raise concerns about teachers struggles.
“I think what we are hearing and what we are seeing is what we already knew,” said Jen Rodriguez, a first-grade teacher in Newington.
She described the struggles in her district regarding burnout and lack of retention that she believes is consistent with teaching across the state of Connecticut.
“The mandates, and the stressors continue to pile up to the point where you have to make decision for your own wellbeing,” Rodriguez said.
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In new survey results released Wednesday at the statehouse, the union expressed their deep concern in a lack of movement in addressing some of the critical problems impacting educators.
“Seeing that we haven’t really shifted that needle significantly from our educator’s standpoint is really important,” said Kate Dias, president of the CEA.
The survey results for 2023 revealed over 77% of educators report being stressed out or burnt out, up 8% from 2022. 74% are considering retiring early, or leaving the profession all together.
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“If you look at our data, it’s telling a story that a group of our educators are stressed out, overwhelmed and not feeling tremendously supported in the foundation of their work,” Dias said.
As for reasons why, the survey reports alarming agreement over concerns of burnout, pay, staff shortages, lack of respect for educators and student mental health degrading as major reasons.
A new question asked on the survey as well - classroom decisions being made by politicians or non-educators was marked as a major concern for 97% of educators surveyed.
“Recognizing that those of us that stand in classrooms with children have an extraordinary amount of education and expertise that needs to be respected,” Dias said.
As for solutions, the CEA survey results showed overwhelming support for more competitive pay, smaller class sizes, limits on non-teaching duties, more planning and prep time and more teacher autonomy in the classroom.
Legislators present at the survey result announcement noted that in the coming session, there will be discussions happening regarding removing unnecessary barriers to become a teacher, increasing input from teachers on legislation regarding education and discussions about more funding for schools for all districts.
Union leadership said the needle needs to start going in the right direction.
“We are actually starting to get into an excessive place, where teachers are far more than just educators, we are mental health coordinators, we are family resources, we are the outreach on every possible concern our schools have, and that’s really starting to take its toll on our teachers,” Dias said.
