When teachers quit their jobs in large numbers, it's because of Republicans.
And when teachers don't quit their jobs in large numbers, it's despite Republicans.
That's the narrative advanced by Democrats in the News & Observer story about teacher retention.
“Our struggles with inadequate resources, overcrowded classes, out-of-control standardized testing and crumbling buildings are very real. But North Carolina is blessed to have really dedicated teachers who are willing to stay and fight to improve those conditions because we believe our kids are worth it.”
That's a quote from Justin Parmenter - a leader in the leftist Red4EdNC group.
Fewer North Carolina teachers are quitting their jobs, but there’s a debate over whether that means conditions are improving in schools or that educators are persevering despite the problems.
The annual report on teacher turnover shows that fewer North Carolina educators left the profession or changed school districts in the 2017-18 school year compared to either of the prior two years. State Republican legislative leaders say the report, which will be presented this week to the State Board of Education, shows how things have improved for teachers despite complaints from critics.
Of North Carolina's 94,909 teachers, 7,674 quit last year. That's about 8.1%.
By comparison, US companies report an annual turnover rate of about 23%. It's even higher in the Southeast.
According to the world's largest human resources consulting firm, Mercer :
The US Employee Turnover Trends by Region
Taking this a step further, the turnover data was segmented to reflect various geographic areas to determine separation trends or patterns at a regional level. The following findings highlight which regions boasted the highest and lowest total employee separation:
The national average for total separations was 23%.*
The Southeast region had the highest total separation rate at 42%.
The South Central region had the lowest total separation rate at 34%.
Leading Causes of Workforce Turnover in the US
When asked, the majority of organizations responded that they did keep track of the reasons why their employees left. As a result, most were able to shed light on the top reasons for their voluntary turnover, providing many insights in the process.
The top-listed US reasons why employees left their organizations during the surveyed time period were:
Personal/Family (57%)
Promotion Opportunity (35%)
Career Change (27%)
Base Salary (24%)
Job Satisfaction (24%)
And when you drill down into the NC teacher retention data, you find that virtually every single teacher who left (as in years past), left for reasons pretty unrelated to the Republican legislature:
The most common reasons cited by teachers statewide for resigning were retiring with full benefits, resigning due to family relocation, and resigning due to career change. Nine percent of the teachers who resigned said they were doing so to teach in another state.
The data shows only 123 teachers quit due to being dissatisfied with teaching. Terry Stoops, vice president of research for the John Locke Foundation, said that goes against the narrative being portrayed on social media and at events such as last May’s mass teacher rally in Raleigh that teachers are quitting because they’re dissatisfied with state policies.
Most teachers don't leave. Those who do leave, take another job as a teacher. Usually in North Carolina.
The idea that there has been a massive exodus out of teaching in the Tar Heel state - due to GOP policies - has always been political agitprop.
Also, it's interesting to note that there would be no better time to leave the teaching profession than during the current economic boom. We are, essentially, at full employment. Companies are having to enlist headhunters to go find employees.
If ever there were a time to start a new career path, this would that time. Yet, we see the teacher turnover figure decline.
Perhaps there is far more to this issue than simply framing it as "Republican policy is bad."
You can read the full report here .
Pete's Prep: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019
- From the News & Observer : Hurricane Florence evacuees with disabilities endured unsafe and "disrespectful" condition, according to a report from Disability Rights NC.
- From the Asheville Citizen-Times : "Andrew Brunson, a Western North Carolina missionary who was imprisoned in Turkey for nearly two years under espionage accusations, will attend the State of the Union address Tuesday alongside his wife as guests of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis."
- National Review has the details on last night's US Senate vote against infanticide... which was blocked... by Democratic senator Patty Murray of Washington.
- From the San Francisco Chronicle : "San Francisco has more drug addicts than it has students enrolled in its public high schools, the city Health Department’s latest estimates conclude."
- From CNN : "Quadriga, Canada's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said it's unable to gain access to $145 million of bitcoin and other digital assets after Gerald Cotten, its 30-year old CEO and co-founder, died of complications arising from Crohn's Disease while traveling in India."