How Badly Do Nation’s Teachers Want to Live in New York? Really Bad.
What teacher shortage?
As previously reported, New York knows how to treat its teachers right.
The state offers some of the highest teaching salaries nationwide, as well as one of the best student-to-teacher ratios. Plus, it doesn't hurt that New York invests a lot of money into its students.
Read More: How Well Does New York Treat Its Teachers?
So it's no wonder that New York got an A+ in terms of being one of the top states teachers wish to call home.
New National Ranking
This new finding comes courtesy of Study.com, who surveyed 871 teachers about which state they would move to in 2023.
When rating the states educators are most eager to relocate to, New York landed comfortably in the top 10. Overall, the Empire State finished in sixth place.
The news comes as researchers look into the root causes of the nation's teacher shortage and what needs to be done to attract more people to join the profession.
New York is certainly working to rectifying its own teacher shortage. Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that even though billions of dollars are continually invested in the state's school systems, time is running out to address the gap:
New York, however, is also facing a steep retirement cliff in the coming years -one that has been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. The state needs approximately 180,000 new teachers over the next decade to meet workforce needs.
Read More: Utica's First School Opened 226 Years Ago. Where Is It Now?
The state is now aggressively finding ways to recruit and retain the educators it already has, while making it easier for individuals to obtain the appropriate certification.
Additionally, the state will pour even more money into its public education system.
What's Fueling the Nation's Teaching Shortage?
While New York's problem appears to be an aging workforce, nationwide shows a different picture.
Teachers are largely suffering from burnout as a result of longer hours, lower pay, heavy workloads, an increase in challenging student behavior, and essentially becoming a lightning rod of all the blame of what's going wrong in society.
Additionally, teachers are dealing with demands from parents and politicians alike on how to run their classroom.
Book bannings, name calling and threats have accelerated the rate of teachers leaving the profession. It also doesn't help that some school administrators can't offer support to their employees due to legal restrictions or community pressure.
At the moment, 26 percent of respondents to Survey.com said they plan on jumping ship and finding employment in a new field.
On a larger scale, 89 percent said they are feeling burned out.
They offered several examples of what would make their jobs easier. The majority called for a workload reduction, while the second-highest priority was more administrative support.
More than half, 56 percent, lobbied for an increase in pay. However, when asked if they were in charge of addressing the teaching shortages affecting their state, a whopping 71 percent said they'd increase salaries.
Additionally, when asked what factors would most influence their decision to move to another state to teach, a higher salary was the top pick with 67 percent of the vote.
States Teachers Most Want to Move To
While New York came sixth in this latest roundup, here's the top 10 most desirable places teachers want to call home.
10. Vermont
9. Arizona
8. Hawaii
7. North Carolina
6. New York
5. Florida
4. Oregon
3. Washington
2. Colorado
1. California
Do you agree these are the best states for teachers?
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