Page 14
Fund lack
dispiriting
teachers
A new Oregon State
University (OSU) survey
suggests that many Oregon
kindergarten through 12 th -
grade teachers are becom-
ing increasingly frustrated
by the state’s budget woes.
The results are that the
combination of low sala-
ries, larger classrooms and
fewer resources is causing
many educators to rethink
their profession, move out-
of-state, or seek additional
employment, according to
the study.
Most of the teachers
surveyed said they would
prefer remaining in Oregon
because they like the area
and have family ties. But
others cited fiscal instabil-
ity and a lack of support as
factors that may sway
them into moving across
the state borders.
“Oregon is in danger
of facing an epidemic of
teacher burnout and attri-
tion,” said LeoNora
Cohen, an associate pro-
fessor of education at
OSU. “Teaching is not an
easy profession to begin
with, and the added
stresses of job insecurity,
growing classrooms and
dwindling support are ex-
acerbating the problems.”
Cohen and a team of
graduate students surveyed
90 teachers in Oregon on
their perceptions of the
funding crisis in Oregon
public schools. The
lengthy questionnaires fo-
cused on teacher attitudes,
personal and financial is-
sues, classroom and work-
ing conditions, and
changes in the teaching
profession.
Not surprisingly, said
OSU, many of the respon-
dents said they enjoyed
teaching less today than
they did five years ago,
though they felt student
achievement is compara-
ble. As a group, however,
they expressed a low de-
gree of optimism for the
direction Oregon public
schools are going.
“Oregon has very high
standards for teaching;
there has been an enor-
mous impact from the ‘No
Child Left Behind’ man-
date; the retirement system
is failing; and now the lack
of a budget cushion is add-
ing multiple pressures on
teachers,” Cohen said. “It
isn’t just teachers who are
discouraged -- it is parents,
community leaders, and
students themselves.
“Our education woes
haven’t gone unnoticed
nationally, either,” she
added. “Oregon is fast be-
coming known as ‘the
Mississippi of the West’.”
Cohen said the survey
-- which she calls explora-
tory, yet important --
tapped into a vein of frus-
tration that many Oregon
K-12 teachers are feeling.
The “big picture” issues of
larger classrooms and
fewer teachers are well-
documented, she said, but
teachers point to a variety
of issues that affect student
learning yet may not be as
visible.
A growing number of
students are on Individual
Education Programs (IEPs)
and that, coupled with the
loss of teacher aides, can
have a profound effect on
classrooms, said OSU.
In the OSU survey, 81
percent of the teachers say
they are teaching more
students with special needs
than five years ago. Many
of these students have at-
(Continued on page 16)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, January 21, 2004