City schools face a massive brain drain – with tens of thousands of veteran and rookie teachers ready to call it quits in the next few years, a City Council survey found.
The telephone poll of 2,781 teachers found that more than 70 percent of the most experienced teachers – those with at least 25 years in the classroom – said they’re likely to retire within two years.
About 30 percent of new teachers with less than five years of experience also said they’ll probably also call it quits soon. One quarter of the so called “mid-career” educators felt the same.
“What this investigation should be is a wake-up call,” said council Speaker Gifford Miller.
There are 80,000 teachers in the school system.
Some veteran teachers cited salary, discipline and safety problems as reasons for chucking their careers.
Others felt it’s simply time to pack it in – they’re retiring because they’re eligible.
Rookie teachers pondering leaving cited unhappiness over lack of support, a shortage of materials and supplies and large class sizes.
Two years ago, Mayor Bloomberg raised starting teacher salaries to $39,000 and top salaries to $70,000, which helped narrow the gap with suburban teacher salaries.
But the council study noted there’s still a significant disparity. The median salary of city teachers is $47,345, compared to $66,262 for teachers in Nassau County and $90,000 in the upscale Westchester community of Scarsdale.
The study recommends boosting salaries, improving school discipline and safety and giving teachers more discretionary funds to buy classroom supplies.
The troubling findings are a continuation of a trend.
About 20,000 teachers and school supervisors retired over the past three years – and about 25 percent of all teachers leave the system every two years, more than double the national average.
The United Federation of Teachers, locked in tough labor talks with Mayor Bloomberg over a new contract, provided the names of teachers used in the council poll and endorsed the findings.
But Bloomberg blamed the union contract for the hemorrhaging in the ranks of rookie teachers. Because of seniority rules, new teachers are assigned to the most troubled schools, often leading to low morale and departures.
“Under the current labor contract we have no choice,” said Bloomberg, who wants more flexibility to initially assign rookie teachers to less challenging assignments while they learn the ropes. “I’m surprised we don’t have more turnover.”
UFT president Randi Weingarten blasted Bloomberg, insisting the union contract is not the problem. “The mayor wants to rip schools apart and say, just like the Army does, that they want to be able to forcefully transfer teachers to different places . . . It’s not a zero-sum game,” she said.
(p. 8 in metro)
Teacher Brain Drain?
A City Council survey of 2,781 teacher found that:
* Over 70 percent of teachers with at least 25 years of experience expect to retire within two years.
* 29 percent of new teachers with less than five years experience say it’s likely they’ll quit within three years.
* 26 percent of mid-career teachers are likely to leave within two years.
* Veteran teachers are most dissatisfied with salary and school discipline/safety problems.
* Rookie teachers are unhappy with lack of support, instructional materials, supplies, and large class sizes.
* The median city teacher salary is $47,345, compared to to $66,262 in Nassau and $90,000 in Scarsdale.
* Study recommends raising salaries, improving discipline and lowering class size.