NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – From threats to physical attacks, teachers, many times have to deal with a lot inside the classroom.
Violence, however, isn’t the only stressor.
The pandemic continues to put a strain on teachers. Many educators tell News 3 they’re putting in extra hours and are burnt out which goes hand-in-hand with the teacher shortage.
Conor Collins is a Newport News high school educator and a member of the district’s education association. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Collins said he’s noticed many teachers are under more stress, taking on more duties while juggling bigger class sizes as school districts across the board deal with staffing shortages.
“Teachers are spread thin,” said Collins.
Those aren’t the only stress factors.
“Students’ personal issues have become a big stressor as well,” said Collins. “When they have problems at home and in community, that comes into the classroom as well.”
The added stress has been taking a toll on some teachers as they do their best to catch students up academically, emotionally, and socially.
Despite a 6.5% pay bump in the Newport News school district for the 2022-2023 school year, teachers are still leaving.
The pandemic has only widened that gap. A survey by the National Education Association shows 55% of teachers plan to leave the profession or retire early due to burnout. That’s almost double the number from three years ago.
“We’re dealing with a very different type of students now since post COVID with a lot of trauma they’ve experienced, trauma in the community, at home and with limited resources in the school district,” Collins said. “It just causes a lot of stresses from the bottom all the way to the top.”
As Richneck Elementary teacher Abby Zwerner continues to recover in the hospital after police say her 6-year-old student shot her on Jan. 6, Collins said certain conversations need to take place at home and in the classroom.
“There’s this new war against education between parents and teachers and educators of what should we be doing and what should they be doing at home,” he said. “Maybe this conversation isn’t being had at home, so having that conversation in schools about what we might think is common sense of you don’t bring any type of weapon to school because this is a safe space, maybe that isn’t common sense anymore.”
