It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, but more than two years into the pandemic, many teachers are struggling to find the light in a darkened tunnel. According to the National Education Association, a nationwide teacher shortage and widespread burnout have a significant number of teachers considering leaving the profession entirely. Recent cases have also underscored the ways in which both liberal and conservative leaning educators feel constrained by their districts.

We speak with Prudence Carter, Professor of Sociology at Brown University about what this moment represents for teachers nationwide.

For this story, The Takeaway also spoke with Rachel Stonecipher, a former teacher at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. After it was discovered that the school had removed "LGBTQ safe-space" stickers from classroom doors, Stonecipher and other teachers sent an email to administrators asking for an explanation. Shortly after, the Irving Independent School District placed Stonecipher on administrative leave.  Later, in April of 2022, the district declined to renew Stonecipher's contract, which she believes was, in part, done in response to her stand on the “safe-space" stickers. 

The Takeaway reached out to the Irving Independent School District in response to this story and received a statement dated April 22 that reads in part: “[O]n April 18, 2022, the Irving ISD Board voted on both renewals and terminations...[t]hese Board votes impact contracts for the 2022-2023 school year. No teacher contracts were terminated with immediate effect.”