TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Federation of Teachers President Kevin Dalton said while a teachers' strike in Toledo is very unlikely, that doesn't necessarily mean teachers are satisfied with their current environment.
"We definitely had an uptick in teachers resigning over the summer, leading into this school year, and after talking to many of those individuals and talking to teachers at the end of last year, they felt burnt out and they felt a lack of support," Dalton said.
Toledo Public Schools' Senior Director of Talent Acquisition Lori Reffert said they're feeling the squeeze, particularly in high school science and junior high-level education.
Reffert said the root of the issue is multi-tiered, but it stems from a trend of teachers being judged and harassed by the public more than ever before, which turns people away from the profession.
"If we don't get people into teaching, and understanding that teachers are professionals, it's going to be a hard profession to fill, until there's a serious discussion and conversation across the country," she said.
To try to mitigate the damage, Reffert said TPS started a substitute teacher recruitment campaign over the summer, raising eyebrows when they received more applications than last year.
"It was actually surprising," she said. "We had a job fair on Aug. 3 and we had over 70 applications, which was awesome because the community was really stepping up," she said.
But they can't rely on a revolving door of substitutes forever, she said. And if the business doesn't change, this could lead to potentially dire consequences for the American education system down the road.
"If we can't fill basic math positions with people who know math, what are we going to do as a country?" Reffert said. "I still hold my teaching license in English. You can't put me in a math class, those kids aren't going to learn anything. So we have to take this seriously, and again, have this conversation about what are we going to do as a country to make sure this profession doesn't collapse in on itself."
Dalton said TFT has been listening to former teachers' complaints and have been working with TPS in the last few weeks to develop solutions to keep teachers around.
He said part of that solution is creating and nurturing "a pipeline of educators that come to Toledo Public Schools" and ensuring educators feel supported, respected and listened to.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, already some 300,000 public-school teachers and other staff have left the teaching industry between February 2020 and May 2022, a nearly 3% drop in the workforce.