Veteran teachers calling it a career
Changing pension, testing requirements discourage educators from continuing in classroom
Ohio teachers have been heading to the exits in large numbers in recent years, propelled by changes in the state’s teacher-pension program.
Leaders of the State Teachers Retirement System anticipate another uptick in teacher retirements this year with new rules taking effect in August. But several teachers offer another explanation for their departure: a changing education climate that relies on more testing.
“I don’t know if I was ready to leave in some ways,” said Jack Minot, a science teacher at Bexley High School who is retiring after 33 years. “But I do feel affected by the new rules of testing. I feel like that’s become the dominant priority. I don’t feel like it’s something I’m willing to accept as a dominant priority.”
Ohio schools started administering new state assessments this year that are tougher and take longer to complete than the tests the state previously used. That’s in addition to other exams that educators give, such as district tests that identify student skills and help teachers better focus their instruction. Many also have to administer assessments that measure student growth, as part of their teacher evaluations.
“I just don’t have the energy to do the good teaching the way it needs to be done and jump through the increasing number of hoops the state government and the district administration are requiring,” said Ellie Wiseman, an English teacher at Pickerington Central High School who is retiring after 43 years in the classroom.
STRS doesn’t track the reasons that educators are retiring, but 2015 looks to be a year when a lot of them will wrap up their careers, spokesman Nick Treneff said.
According to STRS, fiscal years 2012 and 2013 were peak years, with 7,613 retirements and 7,658 retirements, respectively. Fiscal year 2014 dropped to a more typical pace of 5,875 retirements.
Workers are waiting for retirement applications for June and July but note that, so far, fiscal year 2015 is tracking closer to the 2013 pace.
Teachers have been able to retire at any age and get full benefits if they have worked for 30 years. But the age and years-of-service requirements rise in August under changes in the STRS pension-reform plan approved in 2012. Teachers who want to retire early would take a bigger hit financially if they do so after the changes take effect.
As a result, districts were bracing for a retirement flood. In some places, such as Hilliard, Gahanna-Jefferson and Worthington, it wasn’t quite as big as administrators expected.
“We were anticipating a large number,” said Roy Walker, director of human resources at Hilliard schools. Walker expected the teacher retirement numbers to reach 50 this year; so far, 36 have announced their plans. There were 39 retirements last year.
Some teachers who were eligible to retire said they couldn’t afford it and needed to work a few more years before calling it a career, Walker said.
Columbus, however, is facing 217 retirements — the most in the past five years. Spokesman Jeff Warner attributes that to the changes in teacher pensions.
School leaders in Bexley, Pickerington and Whitehall also have noticed an uptick in the number of retirees this year.
Several retiring teachers offered their reasons for heading to the exits.
Phil Peters, who taught social studies in Gahanna-Jefferson for 35 years, is retiring because he has hit a “sweet spot” with STRS. (Also, he wants to do some hiking while his legs still work.)
Tim Jones, a special-needs teacher at Groveport Madison South Middle School, still plans to stay in education after 30 years of teaching. He recently published a book, The Caring Teacher: Using Compassion To Connect With Kids, and hopes to provide professional development to educators.
Carolyn Dougherty, a social-studies teacher at Hilliard Tharp Sixth Grade School, knew it was time to stop.
“I did not want to be one of those teachers that kept on teaching because I can,” said Dougherty, who has taught for 36 years. “The demands that are being made on teachers today are extremely difficult, and the amount of time that we spend on testing is ridiculous.”Veteran teachers calling it a career | The Columbus Dispatch:
