Many North Dakota teachers weigh leaving profession, union survey says
BISMARCK A recent survey by North Dakota's largest teachers union found more educators in the state are feeling unappreciated, disrespected, overworked and a general sense of frustration about their profession amid the COVID-19 pandemic and "relentless attacks" from politicians.
More K-12 teachers are leaving or considering leaving their job, and in a survey conducted earlier this month by North Dakota United, which represents more than 11,500 public school teachers, only 41% of 1,100 respondents said they see themselves remaining a teacher until retirement a dramatic decline from the 90% who said they would when they were first hired.
"When you take all of this as a whole, what we're seeing is a great deal of frustration on the part of teachers caused by things that they don't have any control over," North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta told The Forum. "I think that not very far down the road that can create some very real issues for education in North Dakota."
Teacher retention is a major concern this year, Archuleta said, and 74% of teachers believe it will continue to be an issue during the 2022-23 school year, according to the survey. All school districts in North Dakota are seeing a shortage of educators and substitute teachers, he said.
Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/many-north-dakota-teachers-poised-to-leave-profession-union-survey-finds