*NOTE The Cover Photo is not the teacher I'm referring to in this article*

Schools have never needed teachers more and in the midst of a teacher shortage, one former Iowa school teacher explained the real reasons teachers are leaving schools. You might be surprised that salary was never mentioned even though most people agree teachers need to be paid more.

Unsplash - National Cancer Institute
Unsplash - National Cancer Institute
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According to KCRG, there is a nationwide staff shortage in just about every school district. It has become a problem around the country, not just in Iowa.  As of July 28, 2022, Cedar Rapids School District (2nd largest in Iowa) has 30 open teaching positions.

Why are so many lifelong educators resigning or retiring early? Jessica Camacho won a teacher of the year award in 2019 and she's been a teacher for 15 years, she recently resigned and explained why.

She told KCRG she would miss the kids but didn't feel support from her administration and district offices.

I would knock on the door of my administration or call the district offices and I felt like they were more annoyed that I was asking for help.

She also mentioned a lack of breaks, supplies, and support from the district and the union.

From my first year to my last year I lost about 75 minutes of prep time.

Teachers would often be asked to help fill in and substitute in other classrooms during the day leading to a lack of breaks and prep time for teachers. Camacho told KCRG she would purposely go thirsty so she couldn't leave the classroom.

I would purposely dehydrate myself so I couldn’t/didn’t leave the classroom and I mean that wasn’t healthy. There are lots of unhealthy things happening

How does something like this happen? Teachers are teaching the future minds of the state and country as a whole and the lack of support is quite shocking. No one becomes a teacher for the money so I would like to think most do it because they love teaching. Well, this is what happens when teachers stop loving it. They resign or retire early.

KCRG reports Springville had 4 teachers resign, Libson had 7, Dubuque had 49, and Cedar Rapids Districts had 105, while Iowa City Schools had 55 resignations. This is something the Iowa State Education Association needs to put a stop to and fast. What does Iowa do when there are no teachers left?

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