Teachers express frustration with pay, respect and safety in new Colorado report

A new report by the Colorado Education Association shows nearly 60% of teachers surveyed across the state are considering leaving the profession.  

"It's sad because I love my job. I love teaching. When I think about leaving it breaks my heart because this is truly where I want to be," said Angelica Givler.  

Givler is a 5th grade social studies teacher at McAuliffe Elementary in Colorado Springs. She says the report's findings are not surprising, especially given the significant pay gap for educators across the state.   

"15 years in with a Ph.D. and I cannot afford to live in a house without another adult also paying bills,"' said Givler. "I will top out the salary schedule in my district at $80,000 and won't ever even get close to the amount compared to other professions, and I shouldn't have to pick up extra jobs and rent out rooms in my house so I can afford to feed my family, and that's outrageous." 

CEA's report outlines three main challenges for the state of education in Colorado: investment, respect, and educator safety.  

"I've only been out since May," said former teacher Jessica Shoeman. "I work a little bit more, but I feel way less stressed overall." 

Shoeman, who was once a math teacher with 27J Schools in Brighton, now serves as an education consultant with the hopes of improving the tone for how the public views the education system and student learning.  

"You want them to succeed and sometimes it's hard when it doesn't feel like the parents are buying in necessarily all the time," said Shoeman. "I sometimes feel like there was a gap between the communities and education right now, and I feel like sometimes when kids go to school, they don't see a purpose in it." 

Givler says teachers like her have been feeling like they do not get respected for their jobs, despite the task they are doing to help students succeed.  

"It is hard to be a teacher and hear how awful you are all the time," said Givler.  

85% of teachers surveyed in Colorado say politically divisive issues "have significantly or somewhat affected their feelings" about working in education and overall morale. 

Givler points to ongoing criticism of what should be taught in the classroom regarding issues of race and culture, banned books and other polarizing topics that have really impacted teachers directly.   

"It's just a constant fear that you're going to do something wrong, not on purpose, just trying to get the standards and help kids read and become educated beings and then get arrested or fired, or both. 

Teachers also say concerns about safety have played a major role in the deteriorating of their mental health as well as their students' mental health, with 70% of teachers who responded to the survey say students' mental health needs have worsened over the past few years while 66% of educators say their own mental health has deteriorated during the same time.  

"Every time I'm asked if an intruder comes in, what do we do, and I say, 'you stay back and I will do my best,' and they're like, 'how are you going to do it?' and I say 'I don't know but I will figure it out,'" said Givler. "It's awful that this is where we are, and that more isn't being done." 

Shoeman says beyond paying teachers better, the interaction between the community and educators needs to shift to trust. 

"I think if we bring communities in and bring that sort of support, it really would make it more of a team effort," said Shoeman. "It doesn't feel like you're independently trying to take care of every fire in your classroom." 

CEA hopes to hold the governor and legislature accountable to zero out the budget stabilization factor this upcoming session, which would improve education funding. 

However, that improvement would only fund schools at the level they would've been in 1989, so teachers say more work is needed. 

"It's not that there is a lack of teachers because we actually have a strong number of teachers that are registered with the CDE in Colorado," said Givler. "It is a lack of people that want to be treated poorly while getting paid poorly. That is where the issues lie."