Teacher Resignations Are on the Rise in BC

In the midst of an ongoing countrywide teacher shortage, fewer B.C. teachers left the profession last year than in the 2021-22 school year, according to data obtained by The Tyee.

But those who did leave were more likely to be resigning, rather than retiring or finishing their contract positions.

“The numbers definitely align with the trends we’re seeing and hearing about from members,” said Clint Johnston, president of the BC Teachers’ Federation, which represents 50,000 public school teachers in the province.

The data, obtained from the BC Public School Employers’ Association, shows the number of teachers who left their school districts on an annual basis from the 2018-19 school year up to and including the 2023-24 school year.

The number of teachers leaving their district for any reason peaked at 1,684 in 2021-22 school year, dropping to 1,310 in the 2023-24 school year, the most recent data available.

With an overall reduction in teachers leaving their positions — and less than four per cent of the public school teaching workforce leaving per year — it might seem like the province’s struggle with retaining teachers is coming to an end.

But the number of teachers resigning from their positions has been steadily increasing over the past four years, up to a high of 647 teachers quitting in 2023-24.

The data, compiled from reports sent to the BC Public School Employers’ Association and the Education Ministry by all 60 public school districts, does not track where teachers went after they left their district. This means they could have taken up teaching positions in other districts, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry told The Tyee via email.

“The ministry is currently working with education partners, including BCPSEA, on a comprehensive education workforce report that is expected to be published in the new year,” the ministry spokesperson’s email read.

The Tyee requested an interview with Education Minister Lisa Beare, but she was not made available.

‘Teaching is a caring profession’

BCPSEA’s data aligns with anecdotal accounts from both the BC Teachers’ Federation and the BC School Trustees Association that the province is struggling to retain teachers.

“It’s good to see that the total number of teachers who left has dropped over the last couple of years,” said Carolyn Broady, president of the BC School Trustees Association, which represents elected school board members. “That’s encouraging.”

“But what we are hearing is, aside from retirements, an increase in educators leaving the profession around the five-, six-, seven-year mark. What we need to understand is, why?”

During the peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic, from when the virus shut down schools in spring 2020 to the end of mask mandates in schools in the 2022-23 school year, teacher retirements increased from around 250 annually to 277 in 2020-21 and 296 in 2021-22, before dropping back down to 274 in 2022-23 and 248 in 2023-24.

“We did see a lot of retirements and a lot of people leaving the profession during COVID, for a variety of reasons,” Broady said, adding that we are reaching the end of the baby boomer retirement wave as the last of that generation reaches retirement age over the next five years.

Johnston thinks it is possible that the wave of baby boomer retirements is ebbing. But it’s also possible it reflects the “desperate need for teachers” in an ongoing teacher shortage, he said. In other words, teachers who may be ready to retire could be delaying their retirements so as not to exacerbate a teacher shortage at their school.

“Teaching is a caring profession, so I expect there are some educators who think, ‘I could leave this year. But if I leave, I know the school’s going to be short a teacher or two. And I care about the kids, so I might stick around longer,’” Johnston said.

Why resignations are up

Teacher resignations increased by 37 per cent from 2018-19 to 2023-24, to a high of 647 teachers quitting in the 2023-24 school year.

“What we are hearing is we need to do more around [teacher] recruitment and retention,” Broady said.

That includes changing where teacher education takes place, including allowing teachers to train in rural and remote districts instead of travelling to post-secondaries in large urban centres.

“We need to bring programs to community as much as we can,” Broady said, including hybrid online and in-person learning, as well as teacher practicums in rural and remote districts.

Work on this front has already begun in B.C. The University of British Columbia’s first rural and remote teacher education program cohort of 24 students recently graduated, studying from their home communities in the Peace River South, Nechako Lakes and Bulkley Valley regions.

The province has funded a second cohort of 43 students, who are expected to graduate and be ready to teach in their communities in 2026.

The ministry has invested $500,000 for hybrid options in existing teacher education programs in the province, as well as offering financial incentives to over 30 student teachers this year for completing their practicums in rural and remote regions.

BC Teachers’ Federation president Johnston said both internal union membership surveys and anecdotal member accounts confirm teachers are leaving the profession much earlier than they used to.

“Teachers coming in are having a more difficult time and are more likely to leave the system earlier,” he said.

Traditionally, teaching was seen as a career you stayed in your whole working life, Broady said. But that’s now changing.

A kindergarten to Grade 12 working group composed of government representatives, school trustees, union representatives, independent schools, the First Nations Education Steering Committee and other stakeholders has been meeting for a couple of years now to address the issue.

According to the ministry spokesperson who emailed The Tyee, the group is currently working on a provincial mentorship program to support existing teachers.

“This committee will advise on this program’s development that will provide teachers across B.C. with tailored mentorship supports to further their professional growth and career development,” the spokesperson’s email read, in part.  

‘An untenable workload situation’

Earlier this year the BC Teachers’ Federation released the results of its second annual membership survey, completed by 10 per cent of the province’s public school teachers.

Of those who responded, 15.2 per cent said it was unlikely they would still be teaching in the provincial public school system in two years.

More than 58 per cent of respondents said their workload had increased over the previous school year, while less than 25 per cent said their students’ academic and social and emotional needs were being “completely” or “very much” met.

“We’ve been trying to sound the alarm for quite a while about how teaching is changing,” Johnston said, citing legislation changes from the province, an increase in the number of required student assessments and the increasing complexity of students’ needs.

“It’s creating an untenable workload situation,” Johnston said.

Public school teachers do earn a high salary compared with average wages in the province, Johnston noted.

“That said, you go to university for five years to get that education, and in the beginning years, the combination of having to pay for university and having to live in communities that are increasingly expensive, clearly in metro areas, is a real barrier as well,” he said.

“People are seeing other avenues they can take, where they could make more money more quickly and have a better lifestyle.”

Ultimately it is the students, however, who are paying the price for teachers leaving their jobs, Johnston said.

“There’s kids going through the system right now that undeniably can’t possibly be getting the support that they deserve to succeed as best they can,” he said.

“If it’s not addressed quickly, there’s going to be more and more of them who go through a system without adequate supports.”

Broady said the provincial working group has been attempting to tackle the issue of retention for years now.

The government has been “proactive” in bringing together stakeholders to “try and find a way forward,” Broady added.

Increasing hiring in remote and rural areas, increasing international recruitment

In their emailed statement, a ministry spokesperson noted the province had put aside $4 million for teacher training and hiring this school year, hiring over 60 teachers in remote and rural areas. Last year 50 teachers were hired in rural and remote districts.

“The initiative provides cash incentives of up to $10,000 for teachers to work in areas with the highest need and is supported through $1.5 million in provincial funding over three years,” the email reads.

The province is also reaching out to secondary school students interested in becoming teachers, with 20 scholarships worth a total of $100,000 on offer.

The province also recently updated its internationally educated teacher certification standards, as well as reducing fees for applicants.

“These initiatives have helped double the number of teacher applications from internationally trained teachers wanting to work in B.C. classrooms over the past year, setting record certification application levels with more than 1,700 applications expected this year,” the ministry spokesperson wrote.

“While there is more to do, the ministry will continue working with education partners to build a strong, sustainable K-12 workforce that students and families can rely on now, and for future generations.”