Across the country, some teachers are deciding not to return to the classroom this September. The pandemic didn’t create the problem of teacher burnout, but it made a bad situation worse. Fed up with low pay, hampered by partisan politics intruding in the classroom, and shaken by the recent Uvalde shooting, many say they have reached their breaking point.
Teacher vacancies have left school districts across the U.S. scrambling to find enough qualified faculty for the fall. In some areas, competition for teachers is fierce, and schools are finding creative ways to hold on to existing teachers and attract new talent.
Host Don Gonyea speaks with John Kuhn, Superintendent of Mineral Wells Independent School District in Texas, about the bold changes he made to retain teachers.