A few photos floated through my social media feed from the local school district this week that made me stop in my tracks. 

Sullivan West was paying tribute to a number of teachers who had achieved a milestone — at least 30 years in education. I recognized all the faces in the photos but some stuck out especially as I’d once sat in their classrooms and more recently my daughter did the same. 

Thirty years in any profession is something to be celebrated as technology and employment practices both have dramatically changed the work landscape and the longevity of the average tenure in any one job. 

But we’re not just talking about any profession. 

We’re talking about education. 

We’re talking about education in 2022. 

This summer 72 percent of principals and other school district leaders around the country were reporting they could not find enough applicants to fill open teaching positions. 

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 300,000 public school educators and staff left the field between February 2020 and May 2022. They didn’t just change schools or school districts. They left public education entirely. And in their wake, with fewer and fewer people stepping into the fray, one survey by a popular teaching website found 80 percent are buckling under the burden of taking on more work due to unfilled positions in their district. 

Our education system is in crisis mode with teachers exhausted after years of criticism at every turn — criticism over the books they read, the worksheets they assign, the markers their students are meeting (or not). 

Everyone thinks they can do it better. Somehow this belief remains steadfast even after the spring 2020 shutdown of schools and the collective panic of parents everywhere proved once and for all that we simply cannot. 

And still, despite all of this, despite colleagues running out of the fire, so many continue to march directly back in to ensure day after day that another generation of doctors, lawyers, engineers, snowplow drivers, mechanics, and nursing home orderlies have been given all the tools they need to help make our world a better place. 

They’re sticking around not just for kids but for the future of our community. 

I’m so glad they’re there.