A Class of Their Own

It’s alarming that one in four public school teachers in the U.S. mentioned they might leave their jobs within the next year. The reason? Only about a third feel genuinely appreciated. This is according to a troubling survey.

To be specific, just 35% of K-12 teachers feel they “matter a great deal” at their schools. On the flip side, nearly 19% indicated that they don’t feel they matter much or at all, based on a report issued by the Walton Family Foundation, Gallup, and the Mattering Institute.

The survey highlighted that among those teachers who feel like they don’t matter, a staggering 68% report feeling burned out frequently. Quite a few of these educators—less than half—plan to stay in the education field long-term.

Interestingly, teachers in private, independent, or charter schools are significantly more likely than their public school peers to believe they have a meaningful impact.

Teachers working in special education also feel a stronger sense of significance compared to those in other teaching areas. Age seems to play a role in job satisfaction, too. Nearly half of the teachers aged 60 or older expressed that they feel they matter a great deal, while that number drops to about 31% to 34% for younger educators.

In fact, about one in four public school teachers indicated they are either very (12%) or somewhat (13%) likely to leave their jobs within the next year. Meanwhile, just over half—52%—of educators intend to stick with teaching for the duration of their careers, although 12% are set on leaving the profession and 24% are uncertain.

The survey found that teachers who feel they’re valued are much more inclined to stay in the field. Over a third (41%) of educators with low feelings of significance said they were likely to leave, compared to 24% of those with moderate feelings and only 12% with high feelings of investment in their role.

Jennifer Wallace, founder of the Mattering Institute, described these findings as revealing a concerning gap. “Too few of America’s K–12 educators feel they truly matter,” she stated. However, she also noted that there are straightforward practices, supported by research, that school leaders, parents, and communities can adopt to help educators feel valued and recognized. “The people who help our children know they matter deserve to know they matter, too,” she concluded.