Recently, I joined WKRN News anchor Tori Gessner on a story about teacher attrition. Tennessee saw the largest percentage decline in its teacher workforce between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, losing 10.36% of its educators, or more than 7,400 teachers.
Teacher turnover is a major problem in Tennessee. The most frustrating part is that leaders often spend time arguing about how we rank nationally instead of addressing the real problems. Are we first, fifth, or tenth in teacher turnover? Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. The issue is critical. There are currently over 2000 openings in Tennessee alone.
If a rural district can't find a special education teacher, if a principal takes months to fill vacancies, or if experienced educators leave the profession, families are not reassured by statistics. The crisis is that many classrooms are becoming harder to staff with effective educators. The question isn’t whether teacher attrition exists. It does. The question is whether we are serious enough to address it.
Tennessee deserves credit for recognizing the problem. State leaders have raised the minimum starting salary for teachers to $50,000, expanded Grow Your Own initiatives, supported teacher apprenticeships, and offered stipends for student teachers. Grow Your Own has not lived up to its potential and needs reevaluation. Yet recruitment without retention is like pouring water into a bucket riddled with holes.
We can recruit promising young teachers all day long. We can create alternative pathways into the profession. We can offer stipends, signing bonuses, and celebrate new hires. These are meaningful steps. Yet if experienced teachers continue to leave faster than they can be replaced, we are simply managing decline. The truth is that teachers do not leave solely because of pay.
Compensation matters. Veteran educators, in particular, have watched new investments focus heavily on entry-level salaries while their years of expertise often go unrewarded. But salary alone does not explain why so many capable teachers decide to pursue other careers.
Teachers repeatedly cite the same concerns: crushing workloads, endless paperwork, excessive testing requirements, inconsistent discipline policies, insufficient administrative support, and bureaucratic mandates that pull them away from actual teaching. Perhaps most importantly, many no longer feel respected.
Educator Stacia Anglin summarized it perfectly: “Respect is a retention strategy.” That statement should be printed and displayed in every legislative committee room and district office in Tennessee.
Teachers are professionals. They want to be trusted to exercise judgment, maintain orderly classrooms, and focus on student learning rather than on compliance checklists. Increasingly, many believe they are treated as interchangeable employees rather than as skilled professionals whose experience matters. Williamson County, one of the wealthiest districts in the state, has a high turnover rate. At one school, Longview Elementary, there have been three principals in three years. There are about 10 vacancies this year alone.
Behavioral issues compound the problem. Parents know it. Teachers know it. Administrators know it.
Safe and orderly classrooms are not optional. They are prerequisites for learning. Teachers should not have to choose between maintaining high expectations and preserving their own well-being. Schools cannot become places where disruption is tolerated while educators are expected to absorb the consequences in silence. The warning signs extend beyond current vacancies.
A growing number of veteran teachers are approaching retirement. Younger educators are remaining in the profession for shorter periods. Nationwide, enrollment in teacher preparation programs has fallen dramatically over the past decade. The pipeline is shrinking just as demand is increasing.
Education author Douglas Reeves described the situation as a “perfect storm” created by diminished respect, toxic evaluation systems, adverse working conditions, inconsistent leadership, professional isolation, lack of efficacy, and inadequate compensation. He is right.
Yet amid the discouraging headlines, there remains reason for optimism. Despite criticism of public education, talented young people and second-career professionals still choose teaching. Idealism has not disappeared. They continue to enter classrooms because they believe they can change lives. They deserve better than a system that burns them out.
Tennessee should pursue a diversified strategy: reward veteran teachers, strengthen discipline policies, streamline unnecessary bureaucracy, expand pathways into teaching, improve reciprocity for educators relocating from other states, and ensure that colleges of education, classroom teachers, and local leaders all have a seat at the table. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But doing nothing is not an option.
A state’s economic future depends on the quality of its education system, and the quality of its education system depends on the quality of its teachers. Without enough great educators, every ambitious reform eventually collapses under its own weight.
Teacher attrition is not merely an educational issue. It is an economic, workforce, and community issue. Tennessee cannot afford to lose another decade debating the problem while talent walks out the door. The time to act is now.
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JC Bowman is the executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee.
