INDIANAPOLIS -- Hundreds of current and former teachers are reacting to a Call 6 Investigation into why thousands of educators are leaving the classroom.
In the state of Indiana, 12,426 educators, or 18 percent of Indiana's teachers and administrators, left their schools over a single school year period, according to the most recent data from the Indiana Department of Education.
Call 6 Investigates found the state of Indiana does not track the reasons why every teacher leaves, and school districts are not required to gather the information.
But teachers offered up their own opinions to RTV6 on why they left the profession.
Call 6 Investigates compiled them into five main reasons:
- Pay
- Standardized Tests
- Overcrowded Classes
- Politics/Lack of Support
- Lack of Advancement Opportunities
Currently, the average teacher salary in Indiana is $45,841.
Jason Sipe, who lives on the west side of Indianapolis, earned $35,000 a year when he decided to leave teaching after eight years.
He’s now starting up his own online tutoring business.
“I get up bright and early in the morning and I teach Chinese children,” said Sipe.
Sipe is one of thousands of Indiana teachers who’ve left the classroom.
“Teaching to the test is at the top of the list, but it’s also pay, and it’s also treatment of the profession,” said Sipe. “You start out with a bachelor’s degree and you’re expected to get a master’s degree. Where’s the compensation that would compare to similar levels of education?”
Sipe was not surprised to learn that Indiana does not track the reasons why every teacher leaves, unlike other states like North Carolina which surveys every teacher to help get an explanation.
“I believe in smaller, limited government but I do see a need for increased understanding for why people are getting out of the profession,” said Sipe.
A current teacher with 15 years of experience in Indiana said she did not want to be identified because she is a single mother who can’t afford to lose her job.
She listed a slew of reasons why teachers are leaving including the rising cost of health insurance, non-classroom duties such as car rider, small resource rooms, and too many elite groups that influence administrators.
The state of North Carolina tracks the reasons why every single teacher leaves and puts out a report to their legislature.
Call 6 Investigates surveyed the 10 largest school districts in central Indiana and found only one, Perry Township, that appeared to track the specific reasons why teachers are leaving their classrooms. Those reasons included health, family needs, performance or a new job opportunity.
Former teacher and Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, Jennifer McCormick, is concerned by what Call 6 Investigates found.
“We need to get a handle on the true reason for that before we can address the issue,” said McCormick. “Indiana needs to be doing a much better at tracking data to see why teachers are leaving.”
McCormick said it should be fairly easy for school human resource departments to collect the information during exit interviews.
“It’s an easy fix at the local level that would not require a lot of time, but would also let us know as a state, what are those reasons, is it because of pay, is it because of the lack of autonomy, is it because of the teaching mess,” said McCormick.
McCormick also said pay is a huge issue that needs to be addressed.
“We have to make sure we’re paying teachers what they need to be paid,” said McCormick. “We need to do what we need to do to get that salary up. We also need to preserve the autonomy in the classroom, which is very important so that we’re preserving instructional time and decreasing the time spent on assessment.”
Current state superintendent of public instruction Glenda Ritz said gathering data on why teacher’s leave would require a change in state law.
“It’s a top priority,” said Ritz. “We have to get great teachers in the state of Indiana. We are working with districts already on retention.”
Ritz put together a Blue Ribbon Commission to look at teacher turnover.
Ritz plans to take several issues to the state legislature including pay and teacher evaluations tied to assessments.
Jason Sipe agrees pay absolutely needs to be addressed to alleviate teacher turnover.
"I didn't get into it for the money, but I did get into it with the expectation of a reasonable amount of pay,” said Sipe.
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