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Survey: Half Of Teachers Say They鈥檒l Leave The Field Because Of COVID

Wearing a face mask and shield to protect against the spread of COVID-19, kindergarten teacher Judith Ramos prepares her classroom in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Eric Gay
/
Associated Press
Demands on teachers have only increased since COVID-19 hit, with many having to adapt to online and hybrid environments and deal with the added stress of health and safety precautions. Despite these extra demands, pay hasn't increased.

A survey from the nonprofit publication Education Week shows more than half of the nation鈥檚 teachers are thinking of dropping out in the next two years. That鈥檚 a jump of 20% compared to before the pandemic.

The of 1,000 teachers found 54% said they are 'somewhat or very likely' to leave teaching in the next two years. Prior to the pandemic, that number was 34%.

Rena Honea leads the largest teacher鈥檚 group in the Dallas Independent School District, the Alliance AFT.

She is not surprised by the survey results.

鈥淥ur teachers, not only in Dallas, but in Texas, are being asked to do more and more,鈥 Honea said. 鈥淭heir responsibilities have increased. They're having to teach simultaneously in two different platforms. They're not seeing pay increases, because the state has not released some of the money that is available in districts. Quite frankly, (districts) don't have as much as many people think because they've had to spend it on pandemic spending."

Honea doesn't know if local teacher employment numbers reflect the national study because Texas teachers have until the summer to let a district know if they鈥檙e not returning in the fall.

Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter .

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Bill Zeeble has been a full-time reporter at 四虎影院 since 1992, covering everything from medicine to the Mavericks and education to environmental issues.