The Great Resignation

Teaching is one of the most challenging careers in the work force. Stopping “The Great  Resignation” of teachers proves to be the most pressing obstacle of this school year. Teachers  having to quarantine, feeling the political pressures surrounding COVID-19, and risking their  own personal safety include just a handful of reasons why so many are leaving the profession  while others no longer consider it.  

Research done by a teacher in the Clark County School District states, “Of all three largest  month-to-month decreases in licensed staff, all three occurred during this [2021-2022] school  year. (-110, -55, -39).” As teachers continue to leave the profession and conditions worsen, student teachers consider if a degree in education will still be worth it, resulting in the major  decrease of staff.  

Teachers across the nation feel that they remain in unsafe working conditions, with low wages  that does not compensate for the high risk level. As a result of the record-breaking surge in  COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, not to mention the low wages, lack of resources,  and overall burn-out, school districts continue to experience droves of resignations from licensed  teaching staff.  

In January 2022, the Chicago Teaching Union addressed the unsafe working conditions for  teachers and students returning to in-person learning. Despite the risks surrounding COVID-19,  President Joe Biden wants to keep schools open and teachers in classrooms while many argue  that the long-term effects of remote learning cause more detrimental effects on students. 

Despite the nation-wide teacher shortages, Nevada, California, Washington, Indiana, Arizona,  Hawaii and the District of Columbia suffer the worst of it. However, CCSD attempts to combat  the shortages in Nevada by offering a $2K COVID-19 retention bonus to full-time employees.  Ms. Jacqueline Therialult, a dedicated Biology teacher at Sierra Vista says “I think people that  

are on the fence about leaving will see the bonus as an incentive- at least to stick around for one  more year.” 

Additionally, research shows that for every missing teacher throughout the district, 100 Clark  County students are impacted, equaling roughly 22,000 students that lost a teacher since the  2021-2022 school year began. Licensed individuals continued to dwindle so rapidly throughout  2021 that in October, CCSD announced that “Emergency Substitute Teacher Licenses [were]  available for individuals who [held] their high school diploma (or its equivalent).” CCSD  continued by saying that the emergency substitute licenses created a great opportunity for  “parents and community members” to become a substitute teacher, even if they did not have the  college credits required to have a substitute teaching license.  

Sierra Vista High School’s Office Manager, Mrs. Susan Hrisca says that the number of teachers  out each day fluctuates. “It is a hard question to answer [how many teachers are out per day].  Sometimes it ranges from 14 teachers all the way up to 28.” SVHS teaching staff consists of  about 130 teachers, so with 28 teachers absent, roughly one fourth of teachers remain absent.  Furthermore, the teacher shortage leaves students feeling unprepared and overwhelmed about the  next school year with many having long-term substitute teachers. At SVHS, freshman English  classes experience the effects of a revolving door. When Ms. Charlcie Holguin accepted a  position of Assistant Principal at Sedway Middle School at the beginning of the school year, the staffing shortage left her students with substitute teachers coming and going, until the second 

semester when Ms. Pamela Poster, SVHS’s librarian and former English teacher, filled the  position. However, the moment of relief fled the students, when Ms. Poster announced that she  had to leave for emergency surgery. Currently, teachers of various departments fill the English  position during their prep-periods, while students continue to earn credit for the semester through  APEX, a digital curriculum that supports in-class, hybrid, and virtual learning.  Despite the shortages that swarm over the school district, SVHS’s Ms. Jessica Lovell continues  to combat them by “ensuring a high level of support to all who need it.” Lovell also mentions  that she plans to keep teachers on staff through a retention bonus. “In addition, I plan to offer a  $1,000 retention bonus to any teacher who stays at Sierra Vista.” Moreover, the aforementioned  retention bonus will be in addition to the CCSD bonus.  

Despite the bonus, some teachers remain undecided of whether or not they should stay. Lovell  states, “As of right now, we have one resigning from teaching and one leaving Vista to go to  another school for a different position. We have a few others talking about making changes, but  nothing has been decided yet.” 

Lovell also advises that students with long term substitutes should do the work assigned in order  to be prepared for next school year. “Our long term subs work closely with our teachers and  administrators to ensure students are learning what is absolutely necessary for them to continue  to be successful.”  

When asked what could be the cause, Lovell responds, “There is a lack of respect for teachers  that is coming from parents and students. The increasing demands of the job without pay to  support them are a factor too.” Low wages cause teachers to leave and influence young people  entering the career force to choose a different occupation. In the uncertainty of this situation,  Lovell states the undeniable fact: “This unfortunate reality is taking teachers away from the 

profession and into other jobs.” However, despite the challenge of the predicament, Ms. Jessica  Lovell is determined to support her teachers and keep students learning.