In the years following the COVID lockdown, Nederland Middle Senior High School (NMSHS) has seen at least five of its teachers resign, leading many students and parents to question the causes for this sudden uptick in teacher turnover.

What some may not realize is that this is a national issue, placing NMSHS among thousands of US schools whose teachers are retiring or resigning at higher rates than before the pandemic. According to the RAND Corporation, districts reported an average of 10% of their teachers leaving during the 2021-2022 school year. In contrast, the same districts reported only 6% leaving per year before the pandemic.

This issue is amplified at the state level: according to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the number of unfilled Colorado teaching positions increased by 64% just before the 2022-2023 school year, meaning that 722 positions were left partially taught by long-term substitutes or completely canceled.

As schools scramble to find teachers, they often resort to hiring “alternately certified” educators, or those who have not been trained in the field they will be teaching. This is likely very difficult for those teachers, and certainly frustrating for students.

These issues have been felt in Nederland in the past few years, raising concerns about the availability and quality of classes. In the hope of shedding light on the causes of this problem and possible steps toward relief, teachers were interviewed about the situation. Those interviewed were current and former instructors at NMSHS, who have asked to remain anonymous.

What all of the Nederland teachers agreed upon was that this occupation has involved high stress levels and high burnout rates since long before COVID. Statistics seem to back up this statement: as written in an article published by the University of Massachusetts Global, “...roughly nine out of every 10 teachers hired each year are replacing colleagues who left voluntarily, more than two-thirds of whom quit before retirement.” This statistic was in the context of a trend present since the Great Recession, making it clear that teacher turnover is nothing new.

When asked about the causes of these worsening issues, one Nederland teacher listed low wages and “the expectation that teachers wear a million hats” as two of the most important.

The first item is one that many have heard about teaching, but few understand just how serious the issue is. An inflation-adjusted calculation by the Economic Policy Institute showed that the wages of the average college graduate have increased by $445 since 1996, while teachers’ wages have increased by $29 in the same time frame.

As for the “million hats” statement, this is where COVID comes in. Nederland teachers agree that there has always been a culture around high expectations for educators, but due to the pandemic and its emotional impacts, these expectations have become unreachable.

Just like millions of people across the world, teachers struggled with the sudden transition to online learning in 2019. There was some forgiveness that spring as everybody had to shift their lives, but educators began to feel increasing pressure when the 2019-2020 school year began.

People of different perspectives seemed to have opposite expectations for the new form of learning. One Nederland teacher explained that many parents understandably wanted a “lax” workload, as their children were struggling mentally already. Others justifiably wanted the courses to remain rigorous so that their children would not fall behind. “None of the parents ended up particularly happy,” the teacher said, as neither of the expectations could be met without disappointing the other. As a result, teachers faced opposition from parents regardless of any changes they attempted to make.

Meanwhile, the district asked educators to cover the required standards while teaching new material only four hours a week, yet with much less time than they had in person. Again, neither the standards or the time restrictions could be met without neglecting the other.

As teachers struggled with this impossible combination, they also lost the pleasure of their jobs. A Nederland teacher who joined teaching for the enjoyment said that “(Online teaching) was…deeply unrewarding, as teachers received none of the usual positive feedback we get for teaching kids from the kids themselves.”

I know as a student that it was incredibly easy to keep my microphone off and leave it to my classmates to interact with the teacher (I was in 8th grade at the time). As I was among many who gave in to this temptation, teachers were often met with demoralizing silence.

With the return to in person learning came a lot of hope for normalcy, but the reality was far from easy. Many students returned with intense socio-emotional anxiety and academic gaps, two things that weighed heavily on Nederland teachers who felt very connected to their small community of students. In addition, teachers became directly responsible for their students’ health, having to enforce masking and social distancing. One teacher said: “I became so overwhelmed by my students’ needs and struggles that I neglected myself and found myself physically ill from the stress, which I’ve since learned is also called secondary trauma or compassion fatigue.”

In terms of academic “gaps,” I and a multitude of other students came back to school lacking certain foundational skills, especially in math and science. I am among many students with whom teachers have spent multiple lunches and planning periods in the attempt to fill in these gaps.

Another issue that became prominent during and after the quarantine was the formation of polarization around the teaching position. As one Nederland teacher explained it: “I…think that teaching has become a lot more caught up in politics, what with varying beliefs around COVID-19/vaccines/ masks/science, the role of firearms in school shootings, and the censorship of important topics happening in classrooms across the country.” The teaching profession is understandably very scrutinized, as it determines the knowledge and beliefs of future generations. However, its stressful impact on teachers who get caught in the controversies is seldom spoken of.

With all of these issues culminating in stress and concern from all sides, teachers, parents, and students are desperate for relief. In the interviews, Nederland educators’ suggestions generally fit two categories: systemic, large-scale changes and small changes within the community.

In the systemic category, some things are already being done: 90% of districts surveyed by RAND claimed to be taking action. The majority of these districts listed higher pay and benefits, lower certification requirements, and expanding teacher education as their top three actions. The lowering of teacher certification requirements is controversial, however, as less-qualified teachers will pass less knowledge on to students, causing a generational decrease in understanding.

One Nederland teacher offers an opposite solution: to make the job more appealing to highly qualified people. “If we could siphon off a chunk of the population that goes into (engineering, science, medicine, finance, and law) and get them to teach instead, we would have much more qualified teachers, especially in math and science,” the teacher said. Unfortunately, making the job more appealing would likely involve higher wages, a change that is difficult to implement in the US.

Other major changes suggested by Nederland teachers included increased support for struggling students and the hiring of more teachers. If schools could somehow fund an increase in teachers and/or special education workers , this added help would relieve the pressure on current educators, thus decreasing the turnover. Many recommend increasing taxes for public education, but this is, of course, a controversial topic.

Smaller changes can come from both teachers and the community.

One of the teacher/administration oriented solutions comes from a surprising source: online learning. As one Nederland teacher explained it: “I think public education could have learned a great deal from the incredible pivot we made during remote learning… By posting everything on Google Classroom and recording lessons, we provided an opportunity that had never before been available - we made learning flexible…(but) when we went back to in-person learning we were discouraged and even prohibited from incorporating the structures we had developed throughout remote learning.” This teacher acknowledges that some students struggled with the online structure, and uses this fact to emphasize that a combination of online and regular teaching could be extremely beneficial. In the past school year, some Nederland teachers have made their classes examples of this system: one began posting their COVID recordings on the class site so that absent students could view lessons. Another began posting slides for absent students as well.

Another incredibly important step toward teacher relief is community understanding. Due to the fact that educators are essential role models for their students, complaining and venting their frustrations is not often an option for them within their job environment. As a result, children and their parents do not see the full picture, and therefore are less likely to realize the seriousness of the issue. Speaking to a teacher about the issue, searching for their experiences online, or any other form of awareness will allow families and communities to view educators with more understanding and possibly reconsider the expectations detailed above.

This may not seem like a very powerful or effective solution, but it may prevent or decrease the frustration toward teachers that certainly contributes toward their stress. Listening to their side of the story and realizing that it is a national issue may cause people to treat them with a little more patience. This increased awareness may also lead people in positions of power to take action sooner.

Before this story concludes, there is an important concern that is specific to Nederland: the worry that teachers are leaving because something is wrong with the school/students. This is a very stressful belief, one that the interviews widely contradicted. One Nederland educator wrote: “For me, the positives (of teaching in Nederland) well outweigh the negatives, which is why I have stayed here for this long. The relationships you get to build with students, admin, and the community are incomparable. Having the same kids throughout high school and bonding with them is my favorite part.”

Another teacher agreed: “I would probably have quit if I did not personally know the students and parents. Quitting for me was not really an option, as I would view it as a betrayal of my friends and neighbors.”

It is important to consider that these teachers work even harder than many others, often commuting up Boulder Canyon to teach 5-6 different classes instead of the Boulder Valley School District average of 2. The fact that the school and its community are their main incentive to stay despite all of this additional work shows just how valuable NMSHS is.

The pressure put on educators is understandable, as they are the backbone of our current and future societies. However, it may be more productive to turn the importance of the position into a reason to support them and work with them. In a small community such as ours, we have so much potential to help our wonderful teachers do what they love without having to struggle in silence.