There are currently 3,445 teachers involved with Omaha’s schools. In May of 2022, over 1,400 educators and staff resigned from the teacher position to pursue another career, or possibly teach in another district or school.

These numbers have heightened following the pandemic, due to teacher burnout. Covering classes due to understaffing, an unhealthy work-life balance, and not enough support for self-care.

Quoting Jenna Workman, a teacher who was interviewed for the Omaha magazine for their “Teacher Retention: A Failing Curriculum” article, “Over time, I started to feel demoralized,” she said. “It increased as the years went on. I value education so much, so as I was constantly working so hard to give my best to my students, [but] it was always at the expense of my own life and my own wellness.”

Over her nine years of being a teacher, she became more stressed, causing mental burnout, which played a role in becoming burnt out professionally. Teachers all around the nation share a variation of the same story, adoring their job the first time they walk into the school, then slowly becoming tired and discouraged to show up or continue the career path.

Most teachers who quit also tend to point out the administration, and how they fail to support any of them, as well as any of their students. Quoting Kristen Hansen, another teacher interviewed in the Omaha magazine article, “It was always for an evaluation or just watching you teach,” she said. “I don’t need that. I just needed them to come in and see what I do every day, or if there was a student struggling, come in and observe and come up with ideas how to best serve that student.”

She claims she only received one or two visits from administration her entire last school year. Often feeling ignored when suggesting ideas to the administrators, paired with burnout, she decided to quit and pursue another job.

Teachers need to be seen and heard, money is not the only reason they decide to drop a career. Lots of other factors are in play, and they desperately need support before the nation runs out of them.