DETROIT (WXYZ) — Michigan’s education sector continues to take a major hit as the teacher shortage has now become a crisis. That's according to the Michigan Education Association (MEA).
Since the start of the pandemic, many educators have left the profession to start tutoring or a different career path.
Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that across the country 53% of public schools reported feeling understaffed at the start of this new school year and 69% reported having challenges hiring teacher.
7 Action News reporter Faraz Javed spoke to some educators in metro Detroit to see why they left the profession and what is being done to bring them back.
A teacher of over seven years, Amanda Grawburg has always been passionate about teaching children.
"Showing up every day for the students, and kindergarteners will tell you, I love you, you are like my mom, just hearing those things are fulfilling," said Amanda Grawburg.
When asked what changed and why she left the profession, Amanda replied, "Just having overloaded classrooms and not enough support. Challenging behavior also became prevalent each year. Having 28, 5-year-old kids that need super one-on-one attention, it's just not possible."
Amanda is one of several educators who left teaching during the pandemic. The 34-year-old says COVID-19 only exacerbated the brewing problem.
Thomas Morgan from the Michigan Education Association says the state is now facing an educator shortage crisis.
"We did a survey earlier this year of our members and found that 1 in 5 were looking to change careers in the next couple of years," Morgan said
Meanwhile, more experienced staff are opting for early retirement or changing careers.
Katie Maklebust is one of them. After teaching for five years, she switched to a corporate gig last month.
"I didn’t feel compensation lined up with the amount of work you needed to do to be successful at your job. And having a summer to reset wasn’t enough either. So, I think that just the expectations placed on teachers were high and unfair," said Katie Maklebust, former teacher, now a sales team leader at a local company.
From 12-hour workdays to taking work home, Katie was constantly stressed and unhappy.
When asked if she would ever go back to teaching, Katie replied, "I would say no. I don’t think it's worth it. I think I can find something else if my current job isn't for me."
Seeing the crisis at hand, Morgan says organizations like his are fighting every day on both local and state levels for better contracts and working conditions for educators.
"That’s why we are so proud of the work that the governor and the legislators did in a bipartisan fashion to provide a record level of funding to school districts and provide additional mental health funding and provide funding to help train the next generation of teachers," Morgan said.
Meanwhile, Amanda is now focused on being her own boss while working as a tutor.
"I still get to do what I love, which is working with kids but I get to be completely one-on-one with them. The world needs great teachers and we need young people to be in the profession, but I think more and more people are realizing that maybe it's not a sustainable career," Amanda revealed.
