After months of online teaching and separation from students and colleagues, many educators are eager to return to brick-and-mortar classrooms鈥攚ith the exception, perhaps, of one demographic: older teachers.
This group of teachers鈥攚ho are 55 and older鈥攈ave more reason than most to be anxious about going back into the classroom before there is a vaccine against COVID-19. That age group accounts for the from COVID-19. Further, anecdotes from older teachers point to frustration over technology demands posed by the pandemic鈥檚 virtual learning environment, which is likely to continue into the upcoming school year and beyond.
In Education Week鈥檚 2020 Technology Counts Report, one anonymous elementary school teacher from Maine offered these thoughts: 鈥淎s the oldest teacher in the school, I was not prepared for teaching online the way the younger teachers were and I wasn鈥檛 ready for the loss of contact. The learning curve was steep and I鈥檓 still learning.鈥�
At nearly 20 percent of all public school teachers, those who are 55 and older are an essential sector of the overall teaching force. And despite the outsized challenges that the pandemic and the pending return to school pose to older teachers, experts are urging K-12 administrators to make it a priority to address their health and safety concerns.
鈥淗aving a teacher with 20 or more experience translates to a lot,鈥� said Linda Darling-Hammond, the president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, a research and policy group. A by LPI on student academic performance found that teaching experience translates directly to improved academic achievement and better attendance.
But just how schools plan to reassure and ultimately retain this valuable teaching demographic post-pandemic remains unclear.
Considering Health Concerns of At-Risk Teachers
Planning for a new school year has never been this complicated or cloudy. Most districts still don鈥檛 know whether they鈥檒l return to school in the fall virtually, in-person school, or in some hybrid version. Some school officials suggest this broad uncertainty is undermining their ability to meet specific challenges, like addressing older teachers鈥� concerns about what lies ahead鈥攅ven when they鈥檙e at least vaguely aware of them. Some administrators are hearing that older teachers may opt to retire early.
鈥淚 have heard: 鈥業 was planning on staying longer, but I have the years and I just 鈥� I鈥檓 done,鈥� said Gladys Cruz, the superintendent of the Questar III Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which provides support and services to districts in upstate New York. But when asked if her regional district has made provisions for older teachers if schools reopen in the fall, she said: 鈥淭he conversation around older folks hasn鈥檛 come up.鈥�
If teachers are uncomfortable returning to school for health reasons, Cruz said schools need to address their concerns.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have to deal with these cases on an individual basis,鈥� she said.
Other school leaders responded similarly.
Brian White, the head of human resources for Auburn-Washburn USD 437 in Topeka, Kansas, said there鈥檚 too much uncertainty around what form the reopening of schools will take to have concrete plans at this stage for older teachers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to make decisions because we don鈥檛 know what the fall will look like,鈥� White said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a good answer for that yet.鈥�
White did say, however, that the district routinely distributes engagement surveys to employees, and that recent responses did not indicate dissatisfaction or concern from older teachers regarding COVID-19.
Creative Retention Strategies
Others believe it鈥檚 in the best interest of schools to take a proactive stance around pandemic-induced concerns that, ultimately, could impact retention among older teachers. John P. Bailey, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, says he鈥檚 surprised the issue isn鈥檛 getting more attention.
鈥淚 understand the challenges they [schools] are facing. On the other hand, nothing is more fundamental to school operations than having teachers able to teach,鈥� Bailey said.
In a written by Bailey and released by the American Enterprise Institute in May, Bailey provided some potential strategies for retaining older teachers. One suggestion involves the creation of a virtual teaching corps. When schools return to in-person instruction, that corps of teachers鈥攃omprised of those who choose to continue sheltering in place鈥攚ould be online tutors, mentors to teachers, or even do televised instruction. Districts would provide professional development and ongoing support for the virtual corps to build their skills in those areas.
The tactics put forth by the AEI report could prove particularly useful to schools that adopt the widely proposed idea of returning to school in a rotated or staggered schedule, in which students stay home on certain days to allow for smaller, in-person classes. Such strategies could also help accommodate the scores of families who feel unsafe allowing their children to return to school in-person this fall.
LPI鈥檚 Darling-Hammond agrees that both older teachers and schools stand to benefit by investing in creative strategies that utilize the talents of these seasoned employees.
鈥淚 think you鈥檙e going to have some teachers who will opt out of returning to school, feeling it鈥檚 too stressful or too dangerous. But you鈥檒l have a number of them who have a lot of knowledge and can contribute on the curriculum design front, the mentoring front,鈥� she said.
Darling-Hammond notes that implementing these new roles would require schools to provide training for teachers. Finding the resources to do so could be challenging, particularly in light of significant pandemic-related school predicted for this fall and beyond.
That hasn鈥檛 deterred some private sector companies, which see opportunity. Bailey points to a growing number of startups like and , which are offering their educational and coaching services to school districts with a focus on professional development for teachers. 鈥淎 variety of these companies are rising to the challenge of helping train teachers quickly,鈥� he said.
This support can be critical. Data reported by suggest that teachers鈥� rate of improvement over time depends on the supportiveness of their professional working environment. Given the current unprecedented circumstances, the potential fallout from choosing not to take proactive measures to support older teachers could be significant.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to lose all that expertise,鈥� Darling-Hammond said.
AEI鈥檚 Bailey suggests an even more dire result of inaction, saying: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 reopen schools if there aren鈥檛 teachers that are able to teach.鈥�
