Let's appreciate our teachers and their passion for education

May is a month to recognize the amazing teachers in Sarasota County Schools who do so much for their students and for our community. It is also a time to reflect on and address challenges teachers face today.

A November 2022 study from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University revealed a steep decline since 2010 – well before the pandemic – in four key measures:

• The prestige of the teaching profession.

• Interest in the teaching profession.

• Preparation for the teaching profession.

• Satisfaction with the teaching profession.

The report paints a concerning picture of this essential profession in crisis, a picture borne out by the number of teachers leaving the classroom. An article in the Wall Street Journal, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimates approximately 300,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers across America left the classroom between February 2020 and May 2022 (a 3% drop).

Teaching today is challenging. These challenges include:

• Managing a classroom.

• Writing lesson plans.

• Finding ways to reach all students no matter their learning style.

• Grading papers.

• Facing the added pressures of testing and helping students manage their mental health while also maintaining their own as teachers.

It’s a lot.

When veteran teachers leave, new teachers miss out on valuable mentoring. And when fewer teachers enter the profession – while so many others leave within the first five years – students suffer. They miss out on the life-changing teachers all of us surely remember.

The causes of the current teacher shortage are complex. They involve changes in areas such as technology, laws and the environment, and it will require a sustained, multi-pronged approach to reverse the outflow of exceptional educators from schools across America. In Sarasota County, the school district, philanthropic partners and other organizations are all working to address this problem.  And we can also do something as a community.

I know that addressing the challenges teachers face today can seem like a huge lift. But as we celebrate teachers this month, I assure you that every individual can make a difference. One person at a time, we can affirm the essential role teachers play in our community and across our nation. We can celebrate their unique ability to reach students of all backgrounds and experiences and help them identify their unique purpose and thrive in school – and in their lives after they graduate.

Gestures big and small make a difference. What matters is we do something that uplifts teachers and validates the difficult but profoundly rewarding and important work they do each day. Share stories, reach out to teachers, advocate for them, volunteer.

At a time when young people desperately need exceptional, caring educators – those individuals passionate about their subject and about instilling in their students a lifelong love of learning – we can all agree that teachers are essential. Many provide the most stable, loving environment a child knows. Many sacrifice time with their own families so they can be there for their students.

Please take time this week to reflect on an excellent teacher who inspired you. If you have a child or children in school, think about the teachers in their lives who mean so much and who do so much for them. Please tell these professionals, past and present, how important they are.

As the British novelist William Thackeray said, “Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” When we appreciate amazing teachers, we help ensure excellence for generations to come.

Jennifer Vigne is the CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Area teachers deserve our admiration for their commitment to education