Increasing Early Teacher Retirement Could Cause "Brain Drain," School Officials Say

In schools across the country, those beloved veteran teachers who've taught generations of parents and their children alike might give up their passion much earlier than expected.

Schools trying to mend budget holes are offering teachers incentives to retire early, as replacing the highest-paid staff with new, lesser-paid employees saves money and averts layoffs. Other teachers, uncertain about the future of bargaining rights, are retiring early as well.

But losing experienced educators could come at a cost.

A wave of teacher retirements in Wisconsin could jeopardize the quality of its schools, Mary Bell, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"The amount of experience and expertise that walks out the door with these retirements is going to be impossible to replace," she said.

In Milwaukee, many educators are fearful of what might happen to their retirement plans in coming years, given Gov. Scott Walker's aim to eliminate teachers' collective bargaining rights. Karen Scharrer-Erickson, a Milwaukee teacher with 43 years of experience, tells the Journal Sentinel:

"I never thought about retiring until the (Gov.) Scott Walker situation, because this school is so special and I am working with the most incredibly caring teachers I have ever known."

Wisconsin districts are seeing record numbers of senior teachers turn in retirement papers; Green Bay, for example, saw three times as many retirements this year compared to last.

In the Pittsburgh-area Plum District, the school board is actually requiring 12 teachers to sign on to a plan that would pay them $1,000 a month for three years for retiring early.

It would save the district about $2.5 million over three years. One board member, however, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the district can`t "afford" to lose more than 20 experienced teachers, calling it a "brain drain."

Officials in Washoe County School District near Reno, Nev. hope that by offering an "Early Separation Incentive Program" for veteran teachers, layoffs can be avoided. Tom Stauss, human resources chief, says the district will find good teachers to fill the retired staff members' spots, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports:

"There is a little bit of a brain drain when that happens, but part of our teacher plan is we are recruiting high-quality folks to replace those who leave," Stauss said.

And in Ohio's Strongsville District, the school board just announced the early retirement of 36 teachers, each of whom will receive an additional $39,000 over three years.

Jeanne Brooks, who's been a teacher in the district for 30 years, fought back tears and commented about the effect of losing so many veteran teachers, according to Cleveland.com.

"We love this district and want to see it go well," she said. "That's a hit that you can't put a price tag on."

Comments

[CarryOn]

10:22 AM on 05/02/2011

boggles the mind that only now ar those counting the coins realizing the overall impact of their words and actions.

Great OP Ed in NYTimes comparing military to teachers...http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[Swedenworks]

07:32 PM on 05/01/2011

Wow, they vilify older teachers across the country and now call it a brain drain when they want to leave. Go figure.

[veteran teacher]

10:42 PM on 05/14/2011

We have been trying to tell them....so tough

[colred]

01:56 PM on 04/30/2011

Well, I for one am out next year. Can't risk losing my pension and tired of having 140 students. Love my subject; love my students. Don't need the hassle anymore. It doesn't matter if they lose the veteran teachers. No one in administration listens to us anyway. Only the kids do.

[veteran teacher]

10:43 PM on 05/14/2011

Have you noticed how the quality of administrators has declined over the years?

[colred]

07:18 AM on 05/15/2011

Have I ever. Most stay what now, three years??? I've had three new administrators in the last 4 years. Of course, I had to move buildings due to budget cuts. Now why is it schools are not doing well? Oh yeah, only the teachers.

[any mouse]

12:28 AM on 04/30/2011

Anyone that goes into teaching these days in the US is either naive, stupid or desperate for any job they can find, because there is no career future in education.

basically the US is gutting our schools, such that in a few years most of the people in the US will essentially be uneducated.

During this same time, our economic competitors are increasing the stature of teachers and setting higher and higher academics standards. Student in China are now REQUIRED to be fluent in BOTH Chinese and English (the business language of the world).

I have a simple question for those that are defunding schools ... what do we do with all the functionally illiterate people we are producing? They can not work in any of the jobs that will be available. They can not even function in our modern military. These people will do what ever it takes to survive, which means if necessary they will take what they can from those with slightly more.

Education system are a PRIMARY source of wealth and power for a country and we are destroying ours. Why?

[Swedenworks]

07:35 PM on 05/01/2011

There aren't enough crumbs left to go around for those that are educated. The the powers that be couldn't care less about any but themselves.

[hculliton]

06:59 AM on 05/14/2011

Nailed it! The top 10%ers send their kids to private schools. From their POV the underclass shouldn't get much book-learnin' anyway. Might make them ask uncomfortable questions.

[corwin]

06:30 PM on 04/29/2011

Is this a trick question ? Does someone think things are going well in the education system?

[becut]

06:05 PM on 04/29/2011

Duhhhh! People trying to convince Americans (like Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, etc.) that experience does not matter means that their experience for the last 5-10 years is too old and need to be replace with some fresh ideas. Michelle and Bill really need to realize that their experience is expendable as well. If we need replacement teachers every few years, we also need replacement reformers every few years.....................just to keep everything fresh and energized. Michelle and Bill have been pedeling their old and tired ideas for years and they have not changed anything and education is actually worse. We really need new and improved people to shake up the system some more. Now it is time for those 2 especially to go sit down and let someone with less experience tell them what works best.

[corwin]

06:32 PM on 04/29/2011

Do you mean,"peddling".

[eceresa]

04:53 PM on 04/29/2011

Great idea. Let's force out the most experienced teachers (most often the best). We'll leave ourselves with newer, less secure, less experienced teachers that are more likely to do what they're told. And what they're being told to do is to dumb things down, pass more kids, and teach to the test.

Too many of us voted Republican, and we're getting what we deserve for it. Not that the current crop of Democrats is more than marginally better.

[researcher]

03:36 PM on 04/29/2011

old teachers new teachers it does not matter.

the educational paradigm needs to change.

this change is not about changing teachers.

they are the closest to the problem so we blame them alone. they are only a part of the problem.

there are many aspects of this problem. the rhees of america are one aspect of the problem. the trumps of america are another aspect, banks, wall street greed, parents, yes teachers, professors, mega military complex, indeed american culture itself with a mentality of results only oriented, a focus on cost not quality, leadership, too many admin's, hungry ok starving lawyers, materialisn gone wild, profits over people mentality we call capitalism, need I say more. :-)

[senseandnonsense]

08:56 PM on 04/29/2011

Sentences begin with a capital letter.

[FunctionOfTheCrisp]

03:50 PM on 05/01/2011

You have a plural subject (Sentences) with a singular predicate (letter). You need to retype your sentence so that they match.

[LewAshby]

03:04 PM on 04/29/2011

Meanwhile, in the state of New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie has made teachers and their union Public Enemy Number One, a record number of teachers have submitted plans for retirement, almost doubling the normal attrition.

The main reason is that Christie is attempting to end collective bargaining rights, eliminate tenure, require all public employees to pay at least 30% of their health insurance, implement an unknown plan to tie any pay increase to student test scores, and generally exhibit total disdain for teachers.

In the face of such rabid criticism, is it any wonder that so many New Jersey teachers are submitting papers for retirement.

They are fearful that their pension benefits will be cut if Christie gets his way, so by retiring now, they insure that they will receive full payment from the pension fund they have paid into all these years. Last year Christie skipped the mandatory state contribution to this pension fund, using the $4 billion as part of "balanced budget" he so proudly proclaimed. Kind of like not paying your mortgage, and then claiming you paid all your bills this month.

And there are those who naively think Christie should run for president?

[becut]

05:52 PM on 04/29/2011

The Union Busters definitely have their sights on bigger fish...........Obama and the White House. The Teacher's Union is just bait for dismantleling the support for Obama's re-election. Right Wing Think Tanks do nothing but make plans to manipulate the public for total take over, not just to destroy the teaching profession: although that is an added benefit for them, but their sites are much bigger than that.

[changing]

07:21 PM on 04/29/2011

Obama is on the side of the privataters and teacher union busters. His education policies are Bush on steriods. The right wing does want to dismantle unions to keep them from electing Democrats but the White House is aiding and abetting them getting rid of teacher unions in every way possible with his charter school and privatization agenda. Guess he can't remember who is is base is.

[mmsuki]

02:50 PM on 04/29/2011

The right-wingers who have decided to make teachers their personal whipping-boys constantly harping wrongly about working conditions and salaries should realize that about half of new teachers leave the profession within 3 years.

If it's so easy and such a cushy job, why aren't some of the haters teaching?

[tokyo kat88]

03:12 PM on 04/29/2011

Fantastic point.
I don't think they could pass the test to get a license though.

[Swedenworks]

07:40 PM on 05/01/2011

It's all about the pension $$$. If you pay in and walk away after 3 years, they pay you nothing when you retire.

[pa30]

02:27 PM on 04/29/2011

Early retirement doesn't equal brain drain, and should be used more often ,based on merit

[mmsuki]

02:42 PM on 04/29/2011

It is impossible to accurately compare one teacher's effectiveness over another, in most cases.

Standardized tests will not do it, since it's the "luck of the draw" when classes are assigned.

[LewAshby]

03:12 PM on 04/29/2011

Actually, classroom assignment isn't "luck of the draw." In most instances, the principal decides which students to place with which teacher.

In some instances, he/she places a majority of the better and/or well behaved students with a favorite teacher, while assigning a less favored teacher with more students with behavioral issues.

A good teacher can handle a few problem children, but when a class has too many disruptive cases, all the students in the class suffer.

And even the best teacher will be hard pressed to deliver high quality education, when too much time is spent dealing with one or two bad eggs, especially if the principal does not provide the necessary support and intervention.

One of the many reasons it will be unfair to tie teacher evaluations and pay increases to student performance evaluations on standardized tests.

[SangZe]

02:26 PM on 04/29/2011

Anyone who goes ito teaching in the USA is either incompetent, or so rich he/she can work for nothing.

[bigshotlawyer]

02:38 PM on 04/29/2011

You went to public school i bet.

[senseandnonsense]

09:03 PM on 04/29/2011

You went to a private school? Always capitalize the letter "i" when using it to refer to oneself.

[mmsuki]

02:43 PM on 04/29/2011

Thanks for demeaning all of the hard-working teachers across America, some of whom might be your neighbors or even relatives, who love their profession and the children they guide.

Think about the hurtful things you say.

[Gem Mayers]

02:20 PM on 04/29/2011

I get tired of this idea that the more senior the teacher, the better and more knowledgeable they are. Yes there is some truth to it- with experience comes knowledge. But I've been a 1st year teacher in a few different schools and have been treated like a dummy, told not to speak up because I didn't know what I was talking about. I feel that new teachers should have a voice in the schools too. No one is perfect and new teachers certainly have a lot to learn but we're not idiots. Perhaps this "less than" notion coupled with last in first out, and the public dismissal of the importance of teachers and education, is why so many teachers leave in their first 5 years, never to step foot in the classroom again. http://3rseduc.blogspot.com explores some of my experiences as a teacher...among other education related things :)

[mlaiuppa]

05:11 PM on 04/29/2011

Yes, they should.

And I don't doubt that after five or ten years you'll be amazed how much smarter those experienced teachers suddenly are. And you'll quietly realize why some of those ideas you had weren't so great after all.

In how many schools were you a first year teacher? If your ideas are so great, why is it you keep switching schools? Demonstrate how great these ideas are with your classes and others will take notice and follow your lead. I would think if your students are showing such great improvements, you'd see recognition and be rewarded.

[Gem Mayers]

08:58 PM on 04/30/2011

I did get rewarded for my efforts in my third teaching job. The first two jobs, they had budget cuts and with Last In First Out, I got pink slipped . At my current job I had improved test scores dramatically and. since tests aren't everything (NCLB will disagree...) I also had praise from students, parents, the board.

I was not a perfect teacher my first year and still have room to grow. However, if new teachers are villianized and hired/fired repeatedly, (hence cheap labor) they will not get the experience needed to be master teachers and will add to the droves of teachers already leaving in their first five years on the job. Then you offer early retirement to master teachers and who do you have left to do the teaching?

[Eric Mann]

08:07 PM on 04/29/2011

Mark Twain once said "When I was 18 I didn't think my father knew a damn thing. By the time I made it to 28, I was amazed how much the old man had learned in 10 years."

Point is, you will be amazed how little you know as a novice teacher. I've been at it for a decade and am amazed at what I learn.

[asiclilpup]

02:13 PM on 04/29/2011

Thank You very much teapubelickers. Soon all posts will look like nothing but baggertrollie school graduates.

[teacher39years]

02:35 PM on 04/29/2011

BC News featured a story where the Tea Party was having "Blogging School" and sites like the Huffington Post would be targeted. You can sure tell, can't you?

[asiclilpup]

02:49 PM on 04/29/2011

Oh yeah look at the obvious baggertrollie posters with very few fans. Many sreen names I haven't seen before. Fav My dad was a teacher for 27 yrs, so here's to you.

[Olderandwiser55]

05:57 PM on 05/17/2011

I would love to read that. You'll find many with a lot of fans. They pretend to be disillusioned dems.

[drmindhealer]

02:10 PM on 04/29/2011

Burnout is occurring more rapidly. The incredibly high demands, including larger classes, more behavioral issues in the classroom and more paperwork have taken the joy out of teaching for many young promising teachers. The brain drain is occurring on both ends of the pipe: fewer teachers in it for the long haul and an increase in veteran teacher retirement. It is occurring on all educational levels.

[Tauna Rogers]

02:26 PM on 04/29/2011

Could it be that all this is anything but accidental? Study ed reform closely and follow the money and it is very hard to believe that those in authority really want public education to succeed.

Ed reform has served to demoralize, drain, divide, and basically undermine public education in every conceivable way under the guise of "accountability", while giving only the illusion of progress through highly manipulative test score gains. Our children are the biggest losers in this fiasco.

The profoundly undemocratic imposition of market principles in our public schools has led predictably to unprecedented levels of gaming and corruption, just like Wall Street.

And the media and politicians continue to bend their ears and their efforts toward the very "experts" wreaking such havoc.

[bessielil]

12:38 PM on 05/01/2011

And standardized testing companies have received the most benefit from requiring standardized test. Absolutely, follow the money. If they can convince every town to tie teacher merit pay to raising test scores, get that entrenched into the very fabric of schools, who will benefit?

[mmsuki]

02:45 PM on 04/29/2011

Please do not forget the hateful, demeaning comments from the right about teachers that hit home, big time.