CEA-Advisor_April-2023-issue_web

PUBLICIZING

4 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2023

MEDIA SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON TEACHERS’ ISSUES Educators talk salaries, stress, student needs

Heavy burden “Teaching has always been a hard job,” said Staysniak, “and those who were maybe on the edge of leaving the profession decided during the pandemic that they couldn’t do it any longer. The days that are most difficult are when you feel there’s just one more thing put on your plate when your plate is already overflowing. Those are the days when you think, ‘Does anybody know what it takes to get this job done, and is anyone here to help me?’” “We’re covering classes, and sometimes we don’t have enough staff to cover them all,” said Abate, noting that demanding curriculum coupled with greater needs and fewer paraprofessionals and other resources have made teachers’ workloads untenable. “That often means we’re giving up a planning period, or we’re giving up lunch, another piece of our schedule. When we talk about burnout, the special education and elementary school teachers are taking a real thumping, and they’re feeling it.” Indeed, Nyberg noted that a record number of teachers and paraeducators are leaving for other districts or other careers, with student teachers barely making it into the classroom before realizing teaching isn’t for them. In 2022, only three years after being named Connecticut Teacher of the Year, Bridgeport music teacher Sheena Graham—still at the top of her game—retired early, citing burnout as a factor. “Some of the burdens were just getting a little too heavy,” she said. “There’s so much that teachers are now dealing with outside of their subject matter that we find ourselves crying in the car. You’re dealing with whether your classes are too large, whether your working conditions are safe—and that’s everything from ventilation to security.” Now a CEA-Retired member, Graham continues to advocate for her colleagues in the classroom, testifying before the legislature in support of improved teaching and learning conditions in Connecticut’s schools. On the plus side Highlighting the positives about teaching despite the many challenges, teachers shared what they love most about their profession. “There are so many phenomenal educators in Connecticut,” said Graham. “What they’re doing with students on a daily basis, despite the challenges, never ceases to amaze me.” “The best part for me,” Jett said, “is building relationships. I absolutely love working with kids. Those are the positives that keep me coming back every day.” “I love seeing former students come back, show that they’ve succeeded, and talk to you about it,” said Abate. “In fact, one of my students recently took a job here, and those are the stories that are so rewarding.” “Teachers are amazing people,” said Dias. “They are also strong advocates for themselves and their profession, and I think that’s exciting.”

Delving into issues ranging from teacher salaries to burnout, WTNH News Channel 8 aired a month-long series of interviews with educators who shared their personal experiences, ideas for solving new and enduring problems, and the most cherished aspects of their work. The series—Educating Connecticut—wrapped up with a live, televised town hall featuring five teachers and an administrator: CEA President Kate Dias, CEA-Retired member and 2019 Connecticut Teacher of the Year Sheena Graham, Hamden teacher David Abate, New Haven teachers Da’Jhon Jett and Stephen Staysniak, and Senator Douglas McCrory.

Funding solutions “Educators are facing all sorts of issues,” reporter Ann Nyberg led the discussion. “Teacher shortages, school security concerns, mental health challenges, diversity issues, and struggles with teaching the neediest. What are we going to do to help our educators stay in this profession?” “We’re looking at the generational impact of salaries that haven’t kept up with other professions,” Dias said. “This is a female-dominated profession, so for generations, women were told that their wages didn’t need to increase, because they were the second earners. As the profession has evolved, we’ve tried to make gains, but we have these enormous professional standards we’re expected to uphold, and we’re still looking at decades of suppressed wages— sometimes just above the poverty level. We’re asking the legislature for a big investment of dollars to bring teachers’ starting salaries to at least $60,000, because that’s where they belong. It’s what, at a minimum, we should be paying for the level of education and energy that goes into this work.” Diversifying While more than 50% of students are nonwhite, teachers of color make up only about 11% of the profession.

Graham recalled, “It made a huge difference when I had an English teacher who looked like me. I was a child of the sixties, when you didn’t always see people of color in these professions. Having her as an educator showed me there were options I could consider.” “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it,” Dias agreed. “We need to show our students of color that this is a profession that’s available, accessible, and welcoming to them. That’s through recruiting, through new pathways into the profession for paraeducators, through tuition assistance, and more.” New normal? Much of the conversation turned to issues of school safety, dysregulated students, and both social-emotional and academic issues made worse by a global pandemic. Regarding school safety, Nyberg pointed out that firearms are now the number-one cause of death among the nation’s children and teens. “Despite all our best efforts, Uvalde happened,” Dias said, “and it happened ten years after Sandy Hook. When you think about that, it speaks to the fact that we’re not actually solving the problem. What we need to have are responses to the underlying causes at the root of the

problem—the anxiety, the fears, the trauma and anger students are experiencing—and truthfully, we have to make sure that access to weapons is limited. We’re talking about responsible gun ownership and about making sure children and families are supported.” Pandemic strain Educators noted that problems that existed before COVID have been exacerbated, and children are having difficulty regulating their emotions and handling conflict resolution. “We just don’t have enough counselors to meet the demands,” said Abate. “Without enough school counselors, students often keep things inside.” Students’ academic needs have also deepened as a result of the pandemic, beginning with those in the earliest grades. When schools operated remotely, very young learners missed out on mastering basic skills, such as socializing, sharing, holding a book, turning the pages from right to left, and tracking the print from left to right. Both educators and students have spent much of the last two years struggling to catch up.