80 Percent Of DC-Area Teachers Considering Leaving: Report

Four out of every five teachers in the D.C. region have considered leaving their profession, according to a new report.

A News4 I-Team investigation found that there is a widespread concern among education administrators about coming teacher shortages. It's part of a nationwide trend, so the problem is not unique to our area -- but it may be more acute.

The national average for teachers leaving the profession each year is 8 percent -- however, in our area it's higher. About 13 percent of D.C. public school teachers departed after the 2017-18 school year, and figures in Maryland and Virginia hovered around 11 percent, according to the report.

The I-Team conducted an "informal" survey of 4,934 area teachers and found that the vast majority have considered leaving the teaching profession in the last two years.

Teachers cited a number of factors for feeling this way, but the two most common answers were "stress associated with the demands on teachers" (39.6 percent of respondents) and "lack of support/student behavior" (27.9 percent).