NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee classrooms are losing teachers at a higher rate than any other state in the nation, according to a new report from the National Education Association.
The report found 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 during that period, or more than 7,400 teachers.
JC Bowman, executive director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told News 2 the findings are concerning, but not surprising.
Cheatham County Schools ban zipper binders for next school year
“It’s a Peace Corps mentality,” Bowman said. “It used to be in the 1960s, 1970s, people would go and join the Peace Corps, do two or three years of service, and they’d come back and either pay loans off or whatever. Teaching’s become a Peace Corps way of teaching.”…