A new survey from the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) finds nearly seven in 10 educators are dissatisfied with their working conditions.
The Delaware teacher’s union interviewed just over a thousand of its members between Nov. 27, 2023, and Dec. 10, 2023, and found only 3% of its members are very satisfied with current education conditions.
29% are somewhat satisfied, but a combined 68% of educators are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with their working conditions.
Additionally, 99% of respondents are concerned with stress and burnout, 97% are worried about staffing shortages and 96% are concerned with student behavior.
Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force member Bill Doolittle, who serves as a volunteer advocate for students with special needs, says he constantly gets calls from frustrated educators who are ready to quit.
“What I’m seeing in this questionnaire is consistent with what I’m hearing. I know it’s probably hard to believe, but I actually — since the mid 2010s — get more calls from educators than I do from parents/"
The survey also found one in three educators are "not at all confident" that they will continue working in education, while just 25% are "very confident."
75% of members say they are more likely to retire/leave education earlier than planned, and nearly half are "much more likely."
DSEA President Stephanie Ingram outlined some of the requested solutions they heard from teachers, including increased pay, improvements in school safety and student discipline and more educator respect.
DSEA also gauged preliminary feedback from educator listening sessions, which included allowing more time for mental health professionals to to provide services to students, making curriculums developmentally-appropriate, making student behavioral consequences clear and consistent and ensuring time and resources are available to connect with students and families.
Another topic of conversation at Tuesday's task force meeting was student cell phone usage.
The listening session found educators are concerned with communication devices creating "significant distractions in the classroom" and can lead to other issues such as bullying.
In June, the General Assembly approved one-time funding of $250,000 for a voluntary school cell phone pouch pilot program program, targeted to students in grades 6-12 to reduce cell phone distractions during the school day.
The Department of Education (DOE) is working on drafting applications for school districts to utilize if they want to apply to pilot the program.
Executive Director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network Kendall Massett says two charter schools have already implemented the program, and she would encourage other districts to come and observe the process.
“Two of our schools are already using it – Gateway Charter and Freire – and have had great success with that for their educators. The getting rid of the cell phone has been huge," she said.
Yondr is the company the charter schools utilize to implement the program, which distributes pouches to students, allowing them to keep their phone on their person while it is locked up, until it is tapped on an "unlocking base."
DOE Education Associate Rosalie Morales says the department is solidifying the timeline for the project and what performance metrics will be used to evaluate the program once established.
Once the pilot districts are chosen and the program is implemented, DOE will be required to provide a report showcasing any changes in school climate and academic performance by May 1, 2025.
The Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force is set to have five more meetings before presenting their final recommendations on how to improve education conditions in November.
