Hayley Little always thought she was going to be a teacher, and for five years, she was.
A lack of work-life balance that felt expected, feeling severely underpaid for the amount of work she put in and restrictions on what and how she was allowed to teach contributed to her decision to leave after the 2021-22 school year, she said.
Across Tennessee, the percentage of teachers who said they plan to remain in education long term has declined. From 2018 to 2021, the percentage hovered around 70% before falling to 64% in 2022. It increased slightly in 2023 to 65%, according to a Tennessee Education Research Alliance report.
The difficulties educators are facing are not necessarily new. High levels of stress, low wages and heavy workloads have long characterized the teaching field.