Texas school principals head to DC to talk teacher shortage, mental health access
Several Texas school leaders spent their spring break in Washington, D.C., asking federal lawmakers for help in dealing with a persistent shortage of teachers.
Hundreds of school principals from across the country were on Capitol Hill on Thursday as a part of an annual advocacy conference organized jointly by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
During meetings with members of Congress and legislative staffers, principals asked them to support pending legislation creating pathways into the teaching profession and expanding access to mental health services for students.
Cooper Hilton, principal at Wilson Elementary School in the Coppell Independent School District, was one of a contingent of Texas principals at the event. Hilton met with Rep. Beth Van Duyne, Rep. Pete Sessions and Rep. Michael Cloud during Thursday’s meetings.
In those meetings, Hilton talked with lawmakers about the challenge of recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in a post-pandemic environment. Over the past few years, Hilton has noticed a dramatic decline in the number of applications he gets for each position. That’s especially true for specialized positions like special education, bilingual education and early childhood, he said.
Although issues like school funding and teacher pay are primarily state-level matters, Hilton said there are things Congress can do to support schools. By supporting federal student loan forgiveness programs, lawmakers can help make a career in teaching a more attractive option, he said. He also encouraged lawmakers to be more thoughtful in how they talk about public schools.
“Our elected officials hold tremendous power, even just with the words that they use,” he said.
Post-COVID teacher retention remains a challenge
Years after the end of school shutdowns and hybrid learning, Texas teachers have continued to leave the profession in record numbers. Texas’ teacher turnover rate for the 2022-23 school year stood at an all-time high of 21.3%, according to state figures gathered by the United Educators Association, which represents teachers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That means that about one out of five teachers who worked in Texas schools in 2022-23 didn’t return at the beginning of the current school year.
Even among teachers who did return, reported job stress is high. Last month, Texas AFT, a statewide teachers association, released survey data showing that about three-quarters of educators across the state reported experiencing burnout over the past year, and about 69% said they were considering a career change.
During his State of the Union Address this month, President Joe Biden called for pay raises for public school teachers. He also touted student loan forgiveness programs for teachers and other public service workers, highlighting the story of Keenan Jones, a Minnesota teacher who had his college debt eliminated through the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
“He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college,” Biden said of Jones, who was a guest of First Lady Jill Biden during the speech. “Now, he can help his own daughter pay for college.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 3:18 PM.
