CONNECTICUT, USA — The Connecticut Education Association, or CEA, released a new survey Tuesday, showing 98% of teachers are concerned about stress and burnout.
“Teachers aren’t valued," said Joe Holloway, a teacher in East Hampton for 25 years.
He gathered with other teachers, officials from the CEA and state lawmakers to discuss the new survey of more than 5,000 K-12 Connecticut educators.
“Burnout is real,” Holloway added. “The burdens placed on our teachers are continuing.”
The top issues contributing to burnout include insufficient pay, challenges with student behavior and lack of respect.
“Teaching, it's a lot,” explained Newington teacher Elsa Batista. “Rewarding, but it's very emotional.”
“The conditions that we provide for our educators are the conditions that we provide for our learners and our learners deserve the best,” said CEA Vice President Joslyn Delancey.
The survey shows the number of educators likely to retire or leave the profession early has dropped in the past two years from 74% to 62%, but CEA still calls it a major concern.
CEA said in Connecticut, salaries for teachers are 25% lower than for other professions with similar education and experience.
In terms of solutions, state lawmakers said the legislature has made moves to address these challenges, but more needs to be done next session.
“The profession needs to be valued, the students need to be valued, and this is a way that we can show them that we care,” State Rep. Kevin Brown, (D-Vernon) said.
Legislators want to prioritize alleviating financial burdens for licensure, incentives for recruiting and retaining teachers, and lowering class sizes, but educators said this boils down to funding.
“We’ve made a lot of changes,” Delancey said. “The one thing that those changes haven’t been is financial.”
“Data is not destiny,” CEA President Kate Dias continued. “It is not the end of the story, but a step along the way.”
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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