Georgia teachers are set to receive a pay raise, which is definitely good news. However, there are still concerns surrounding new educators and burnout within the profession.
Governor Brian Kemp has implemented his fourth pay raise since taking office.
New educators are left wondering how the raise will impact their careers.
According to Lisa Morgan from the Georgia Association of Educators, while the extra raise is beneficial, it may not fully address the challenges that newer teachers are encountering.
“Our average teacher salary is the highest in the southeast, but our beginning teachers is not quite as high, and that really concerns me, because it’s our beginning teachers that we are losing from the profession,” Morgan says.
According to her, the problem does not lie in the teaching or the students. Rather, it is the extra responsibilities and expectations placed on educators.
The Georgia Association of Educators acknowledges that the additional funds could assist in retaining teachers. However, they emphasize that there is still more work to be done to address the issue of teacher burnout in their state.
Within five years, almost half of all teachers leave the profession, as reported by the Georgia Department of Education.
“The teacher shortage is something we’re facing all across the country, but we have to address those other factors that are leading to teacher burnout,” Morgan says.
In 2022, the Georgia Department of Education commissioned a report that documents the prevailing factors identified by teachers as contributing to burnout.
There are several reasons for this, including a lack of personal time, teachers feeling unsupported by higher administration, and unrealistic learning expectations following the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Morgan, this funding will offer much-needed relief to teachers throughout the state, and ideally, encourage them to stay in their positions.
“From around 2009 up until 2015 or 2016, teachers in Georgia got zero raises during that time period. But when you think about all those years, it feels like we’re kind of catching up,” Morgan says.
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