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A class of their own.
One in four US public school teachers said they are likely to quit within the next year — as only a third of them feel appreciated, according to a concerning new survey.
Just 35% of K-12 educators say they “matter a great deal” at their school, while almost one in five (19%) say they don’t matter much or at all, according to a report released Wednesday by the Walton Family Foundation, Gallup, and the Mattering Institute.
Among those teachers who feel like they don’t matter, more than two-thirds (68%) described themselves as frequently burned out, and fewer than half planned to remain in education, the survey found.
Teachers at private, independent, or charter schools, meanwhile, were far more likely than their public school counterparts to believe they matter a great deal.
Educators who teach special education were also more likely than those teaching other subjects to feel they matter a great deal.
Age was also a major factor in job satisfaction among teachers.
Almost half (47%) of teachers 60 or older said they mattered a great deal, compared with 31-to-34% among younger age groups.
An astonishing one in four public school teachers said they were either very (12%) or somewhat (13%) likely to leave their current job within the next year.
Just over half (52%) of educators said they plan to remain in the classroom for the rest of their careers, while 12% said they don’t plan to remain in the profession and 24% said they were unsure.
The study found that those teachers who felt like they mattered were far more likely to say they wanted to stay in the field throughout their careers.
Over a third (41%) of educators with low investment scores said they were likely to leave, compared with 24% with moderate scores and just 12% with high investment scores.
“The findings of our study reveal a troubling gap,” said The Mattering Institute founder Jennifer Wallace.
“Too few of America’s K–12 educators feel they truly matter. But they also point to a path forward, with simple, research-backed practices that school leaders, parents and communities can use to help educators feel valued, supported, and able to see the difference they make,” she went on.
“The people who help our children know they matter deserve to know they matter, too,” Wallace added.