The Real Reason Behind the Utah Teacher Shortage Problem

A quick introduction if you're new to our blog: Rachelle and I {Natalie} are both teachers in Utah. We love teaching and we enjoy sharing our ideas with teachers from all over the world! Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoy this heart-felt post about teachers in Utah. We'd love to connect with you on Facebook and Instagram.




Recently Utah teachers have been in the news because of a few different news articles published about how teacher retention in Utah is becoming a large problem. The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that 2 out of every 5 public school teachers are leaving the profession within 5 years. I've seen lots of comments about this and a lot of people sharing their opinions as to why this is happening. Today I'd like to share my opinions and observations. 

I didn't go into teaching expecting to get rich. I knew the payscale I was choosing before graduating from college. This is not a complaining post. But I want to be real and honest. I believe that there are 3 main reasons why teachers leave the profession within 5 years. 
   1.) Teachers are not paid enough to support their families on a single income. 
   2.) The high majority of Utah teachers are straight out of college. Within 5 years a large portion of these teachers get married, have children, and choose to stay home with their babies.
   3. Teaching is HARD! And I'm not talking about the actual teaching. It's all the "other stuff" and additional responsibilities teachers face in addition to regular classroom duties. 

I'm going to talk about the first two reasons today. The real problem is that Utah teachers are not paid enough. In Utah, male teachers aren't paid enough to support their families, and female teachers can't afford child care to be able to keep teaching. 

I'd like to tell you about one of my very good friends. He is a male teacher in Utah who has taught elementary school for 5 years. This guy was born to be a teacher. He's charismatic, multi-talented, and his students LOVE him! His wife is currently pregnant with their 4th child. They are in debt (student loans to become a teacher... go figure!), can't afford a house payment, and currently live with their parents. He tutors on the side, directs after school plays, and takes odd jobs (including Christmas tree decorating and carpet salesman) during weekends and holidays. His sweet wife is a part-time preschool teacher who tries to contribute to the family income. He is an amazing educator, but unfortunately he is currently seeking new jobs outside the field of education so he can better provide for his family. 

Last week I got to attend the Miss Utah Pageant. After the top 7 finalists were announced, they began the on-stage interview portion of competition. JessiKate Riley, one of the contestants, was asked about the teacher shortage problem in Utah. She gave a great answer about how her own mother has been her high school music teacher and that her mom has had a hard time juggling the role of being a teacher and a mom. She said, "I wish schools would make it easier for her to be able to better support her own children, as well as all the children she teaches." I believe this to be true for all teacher-moms. 

What's my story? For the past 10 years I have taught in the Utah public schools system. I started as a newlywed straight out of college with the goal to teach about 3 years before starting my own family. Baby #1 came and I couldn't afford to quit teaching. We depended on my income, so I kept teaching. Baby #2 came and I soon realized that raising two small kids and teaching full-time wasn't going to work for me. I decided to continue teaching in a part-time teaching position as a way to stay home with my children more, but also stay in a profession that I love. It cut my paycheck in half, but it has been a wonderful way for me to juggle my two important roles of mother and teacher. However, it has been very difficult at times to teach with 3 small children at home. The cost of child care is expensive and takes a large chunk of my paycheck. This past year I had a lot of problems where my kids would wake up sick, but it was too hard to call in a sub and write sub plans. It is very difficult for teachers to balance their own kids, on top of all their school responsibilities. 

In addition to teaching, I write for this blog, own my own business selling lessons plans and activities online, I'm a Doterra consultant, and I have a little photography business on the side. I do all of this as a way to earn enough money to supplement my part-time teaching salary. I know I am not alone. Many teachers all over the country are finding ways to boost their income as a way to help make ends meet. Let's just take a minute to recognize all the teachers who work second (and sometimes third) jobs to earn extra money. Seriously, teachers are amazing! However, I have to ask the question: What if teachers didn't have to take on extra jobs outside of teaching? Think about that for a second. 

As I mentioned earlier, this is not a complaining post. It is simply to state some of the major problems that real teachers are facing, not only here in Utah, but all across America. These 3 examples show how difficult it is to juggle home and family life as well as how financial burdens play a role in why teachers leave the classroom.

Because I'd never like to point out problems, without offering solutions, here are a few things I think would be able to help with teacher retention:

1. Raise the teacher salary in Utah to at least the median national teacher income level. 

2. Pay off student loans after an x amount of years teachers stay in the profession. Also, offer scholarships or tuition reimbursement to teachers seeking master degrees and higher levels of education.

3. Offer affordable child care services to teachers with small children. 

4. Hire more aides for the classroom teachers so that teachers can spend more time teaching children and less time making copies, doing paperwork, and other tasks that take up large amounts of after school time. 


Thanks for sticking around and reading my thoughts on some of the problems facing education. Teacher retention really is a problem in Utah and I would like to do my part to help fix these problems. Being a teacher is something I am very proud of and love very much. My hope is that we can find a way to ease the burden teachers are facing so that we can better improve the education of students across the country.


Are you a teacher?
We would love to hear your story! 
Please take a minute to type your story 
in the comments and tell us 
the struggles you face as a 
classroom teacher.

One Month Until #2016OrlandoMeetup

Today is June 13th, which means that in exactly ONE MONTH we'll be getting ready for our biggest event of the year, the annual Teacher Meet-Up! Here's what you need to know:



Our Teacher Meet-Up is moving to....

Sunny Orlando, Florida! July 13th at 6pm. #2016orlandomeetup

This will be our 5th annual teacher blogger meet up. If you've ever joined us before, you know there will be lots of fun, lots of laughing, and lots of prizes to give away! Thanks to our main sponsor TeachersPayTeachers

Here's a shot of some of the fabulous teachers who came out last year!
{Check out more pictures from our 2012 and 2013 and 2014 meet ups!}




At last year's meet up we gave away hundreds of prizes and this year will be no exception! We have lots of surprises in store for this meet up, so PLEASE join us!




(A peek at last year's prizes. All donated by our awesome sponsors!)
We had so many other sponsors that helped donate over $55,000 worth of swag, prizes, and goodies!  Can you believe that?!  I don't know about you, but to us... that's a whole lotta love for teachers!  



What you need to know:

*All teachers are invited to this meet-up! You do not need to have a blog to attend this special event!

*You can RSVP on our official Facebook event page: HERE! If you do not have a Facebook account, you can RSVP by commenting on this post.

*Please don't be shy! Every year we have people who are worried about not knowing anyone. This is a great opportunity to say hi to some of your favorite teacher-bloggers, as well as meet new friends and connect with teachers from all over!

*Please download the nametag template HERE.

*The meet up will be held at The Swan and Dolphin Resort, but the actual conference room number will be posted closer to the meet up. Follow ourFacebook event page to get updates on the exact location.

We are super excited for our trip this year and know that this Teacher Meet Up will be the best one yet!!
Here are the meet-up organizers from last year!



Can't wait to see ya'll in sunny Orlando!

Gifts for End of Year

I know I'm a day late and a dollar short.  We are still going strong with 3 weeks left of school so I'm just barely putting together my end-of-year gifts for my secretaries, custodians and administrators. I couldn't have gotten through this year without them!  If you're out of school, save this for next year. HA! For my students, I'm going with my jump ropes again.



Click the picture to download




Bookroo...I love you!

I'm always on the search for new books for my classroom. I want NEW or UNIQUE titles that I haven't read and more specifically that my students haven't read so much they have it memorized. I love reading them a new story that they've never heard of. It's so fun to create new activities (writing activities, comprehension strategies, etc.) with a fresh, new book in my hands!

Now this is a monthly subscription box that ALL TEACHERS (and parents) will love!  You get a monthly subscription of BOOKS!  Hello?!?!  How fun would it be to get your mail and have 2 new books waiting on your doorstep? It's like getting 2 books for the price of one.
*This post contains affiliate links

 It's called Bookroo and you can sign up to get 2 picture books (which is what I did) or 3 board books (if you have little ones at home or teach preschool).  I love this company so much that when I saw them on TV-- I reached out to THEM!










My favorite things about Bookroo monthly subscription
*You get 2 hardcover books (and the price of the books always exceeds your subscription price so you are saving money!) or 3 board books depending on what you select.
*The books are wrapped in wrapping paper so it's like your birthday each month
*They read and test the books before sending them out (with 12 different families)
*They don't send you "the classics" because they know you'll have those books
*IF you already have one of the books in your collection, you can take a picture of yourself giving that book to someone else (maybe a student, another teacher, a neighbor) and Bookroo will give you a $5 credit on your account. I can say that I've never even heard of the 2 books they sent me last month and the books are ADORABLE!

USE THE CODE TEACHERWANTS FOR 15% OFF!

Check out Bookroo today!





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