Stockton Unified teachers cite lack of support, student behavior as reasons for quitting

Concerned Stockton Unified School District parents and staff gathered Tuesday evening at the School for Adults for a town hall meeting to address staffing, retention and the state's PBIS discipline strategy.

Teachers who attended the meeting cited lack of support from administrators and student behavior as top reasons why they are fleeing the district. Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez insisted otherwise.

"The majority of the teachers are retiring, for the most part ... I don't know our analysis here, but I will say I studied it deeply in my last district," Rodriguez said. "People are leaving education in general. When they leave, they're not leaving to go to another school district. They're leaving the profession of education so they're going to do something else."

Last year, the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) School Pulse Panel reported 42% of all principals said that teachers and staff leaving the profession became a "more pressing concern" during the previous school year — amid the pandemic.

Trends in staff shortages are even worse for schools with large numbers of minority students. About four in 10 schools with more than 75% minority populations have multiple teaching vacancies, according to study.

The superintendent added that her research at her last district, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, also found that educators are leaving California.

While Stockton Unified hasn't studied the mass exodus of teachers, the superintendent boasted about the district's recent progress in hiring.

Stockton Unified has hired more than 400 teachers in the last three years, according to Rodriguez. During the 2021-2022 school year, 110 teachers joined, while 192 teachers were hired a year later. Nearly 170 of those teachers have returned for the 2023-2024 school year.

So far, 139 new teachers have been hired in Stockton Unified schools this school year, but teachers said many of their colleagues are quitting. They want the district to know why.

Sherry Jackson, Stockton Unified's director of human resources, said teachers are offered exit interviews when they leave their jobs, which gives them the opportunity to voice their grievances. Jackson did not specify how the district uses the information collected in exit interviews, which is common practice among large employers.

"We definitely need to know the reasons (why teachers are leaving) and then once we know the reasons, we can start tackling the problems," Rodriguez said.

Chaos in the classroom?

Teachers who attended the town hall suggested that student behavior and soft-on-consequences discipline could be a reason why teachers are heading for the exits. Some questioned the effectiveness of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) — an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students' behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health.

The model is used across the state and based on positive reinforcement and intervention.

"PBIS doesn't mean that students don't have consequences for their actions," Rodriguez assured. "PBIS means that students have very explicit and clear directions on what we expect of them, and through positive reinforcement, we do encourage (good) behavior."

What are teachers supposed to do when they are threatened or even assaulted by students, some asked?

"We see this going on across the board," said a teacher, who didn't give her name during the meeting. "Students are physically attacking teachers, teachers are physically attacking students, and we want to know what is the percentage (of teachers leaving because of it) in our district and how much of it is an issue."

Rodriguez said the number of teachers leaving Stockton Unified because of physical altercations with students is "probably super small."

Attacking a teacher, unless mental health is an issue, is typically a reason for suspension, if not expulsion.

"Now, if we talk about verbal (altercations), then that's different," the superintendent added. "I think what we're trying to help people see is that there are de-escalation techniques ... kids want you to care about them and love them."

Thaddeus Smith III, chairman of the African American/Black Parent Advisory Committee — a committee that focuses on giving African American/Black students an equitable balance in education, opportunities, and safety — said teachers and administrators must be aware of how they speak to students because it may fuel bad behavior.

"It could be a lot of different things ... it could be cultural differences, the way that people talk to each other in their homes versus the way they talk at schools, they just don't know how to appeal to that so that could cause a clash," Smith said before adding that the district's sensitivity training is ineffective.

"It doesn't happen. It happens at the administrative level and administrators are supposed to train teachers, but that's not their forte," he said. "...we need to have better training for these teachers on how to communicate with students."

Special education students, staff need more support

Also at the town hall, special education teachers made a plea for help amid staffing shortages.

"What is it going to take in order to get the help and support we need in our classrooms?" a special education teacher asked. "I was promised and promised and promised that I would get more (paraprofessionals), but I have not gotten any."

Paraprofessionals are credentialed education professionals who work alongside and under the direction of a certified teacher. They help teachers feed and care for students, tutor students, supervise students, and prepare class materials.

Throughout the U.S., there is a recorded critical shortage of special education teachers and paraprofessionals. Many are part time, offered only a few hours a day and no benefits.

The Stockton Unified teacher said she has students with moderate-to-severe autism and doesn't have enough paraprofessionals to tend to students' basic needs. With a lack of support in her classroom, the teacher said she often fears for her students' safety.

"I am not getting the support that I have been promised for years, that you all took away from me," she said. "It's not just my classroom. There are other classrooms it has happened to ... something needs to be done to keep us. I'm tired."

Rodriguez said that she could not promise the teacher more support, but pointed to Kasey Klappenback, the district's assistant superintendent of educational services, to answer questions regarding special education. Klappenback did not respond to questions publicly.

Tuesday's meeting was the first of five town halls announced by the new superintendent to discuss concerns in her 30-day progress report. The next town hall addressing facility improvements will be held from 5:15-6:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Primary Years Academy.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: SUSD teachers cite lack of support, student behavior as reasons for quitting