8 Top Reasons Teachers Quit


| by Hannah Sparling

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Dear [your name],

This message is to inform you I am resigning my teaching position, effective immediately.

Sincerely,

[your former teacher]

If you’re a school leader, chances are you’ve gotten one of these emails. Or many of these emails. The fact is, teachers are increasingly dissatisfied at work, and more and more are choosing to quit their jobs or the profession altogether.

Below are 8 of the top reasons teachers will quit their jobs in 2025. The good news is, if we are aware upfront of why teachers are quitting, we can take steps to address the problems, improve teacher satisfaction, and stop some of those resignations from ever being sent.

1. Limited Career Vision or Growth

Sometimes, teachers feel stuck. It’s difficult enough to plan for tomorrow, let alone next year or five or 10 years down the line. But teachers, like any other professional, want to grow their careers. They want to expand their skillsets and take on new responsibilities and leadership roles.

Dr. Elizabeth Dubberly, a dual language academic support specialist in Georgia, said career planning should start in the interview conversations, before a teacher even takes a job with a particular school.

“It would be great to have a system where everyone knows what the future plan is,” she said, “where the job description is already creating a vision for how this person could stay and become a leader in the district.”

The message from administrators should be clear, Dubberly said: “We want you to spend your whole career with us, and we’re going to invest in you. I think that’s something new teachers want to hear.”

2. Student Behavior

Most teachers, 68%, say they’ve been verbally abused by their students.

Four in 10 teachers say a student has been physically violent toward them, and one in 10 say it happens at least a few times a month.

This data, from a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, shows the severity of what teachers are facing in the classroom. Teachers also reported issues with students:

  • Showing little to no interest in learning (47%)
  • Being distracted by cellphones (33%)
  • Getting up and walking around when they’re not supposed to (21%)
  • Being disrespectful toward teachers (21%)

Teachers, especially newer teachers, need more support when it comes to classroom management, said Moreland Curriculum Manager Fayth Buriff. That could include administrative support, increased professional development, and a strong mentorship program.

“Someone to be there and walk with them through those trenches,” Buriff said. “Because it can be tough, being a first-year teacher, and I think schools need to do a better job of having support in place to help guide them.”

3. Insufficient Administrative Support

Think about the last few conversations you had with a teacher. Were you thanking them for their hard work? Congratulating them on progress with their students or how they handled a difficult conversation with a parent?

Or were you reminding them the dress code requires a button-up shirt and questioning whether a recent lesson was tied strongly enough to state standards?

Teachers want to interact regularly with administrators, said Phillip Brede, a Wisconsin teacher and Moreland University graduate, but if the interactions are always negative or nitpicky, that’s going to have a negative impact on teacher job satisfaction.

Instead, Brede said, spend meaningful time in the classroom to really get to know your teachers and what they’re facing.

“We want to see administrators remembering what it’s like to be a teacher,” he said. “Teachers need to feel safe, too. If they always feel that the administrator is looking for them to fail, it’s going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

4. Minimal Cooperation from Parents

The Pew survey showed teachers struggling with the support, or lack thereof, they’re getting from parents. Teachers said parents do too little when it comes to:

  • Holding their children accountable for misbehavior at school (79%)
  • Helping their children with schoolwork (68%)
  • Ensuring their child attends school (63%)

Julie Alm, Director of Educator Preparation for Noble Education Initiative, said teachers face parents or community members bullying or trying to control the classroom. When this happens, she said, administrators need to step in and run interference so teachers can focus on teaching.

“Empower your teachers to be decision makers,” Alm said. “Support the initiatives they’re interested in, and make sure they know you’re in their corner.”

5. Poor Communication

Poor communication and a lack of transparency are among the top reasons teachers quit, said Dr. Eddie Johns, a Moreland University instructor and graduate who did his dissertation on teacher recruitment and retention.

It’s easy for schools to fall into an us-versus-them mentality, Johns said: administrators versus teachers. There’s a “disconnect of empathy” from people who are supposed to be on the same team.

Whenever possible, Johns said, administrators should include teachers in the decision-making process. Teachers have great ideas, and they are highly invested in the school’s success, so they’re going to come up with new and creative solutions.

When that’s not possible — if a top-down decision is necessary for whatever reason — it’s imperative to communicate that openly and honestly with teachers.

6. Unrealistic Expectations

We expect so much from teachers. Plan a lesson. Make sure it’s tied to state standards. Make sure students are engaged, in dress code, and off their phones. If a student is upset, provide emotional support. If they’re angry, calm them down. If they’re hungry, find them food.

Teachers are expected to be therapists, social workers, cheerleaders, and disciplinarians. It’s too much, and it can lead to stress and burnout.

As an administrator, do whatever you can to take some of those extras off your teachers’ plates. Free them up to focus on teaching.

Sometimes, even just acknowledging the complexity and difficulty of teaching can help. Let your teachers know you see how hard they’re working, how much they’re doing, and that it matters.

7. Lack of Control

Teaching comes with so many rules. State mandates, federal mandates, policies and procedures at the local level. Sometimes it gets to the point where teachers don’t feel like they have any control over their own classroom, and that can push them out the door.

This is where you can step in and empower your teachers. Whenever possible, let them decide how to run their classroom. Teachers are creative — encourage that instead of telling them what to do.

They’ll probably do things differently than you would. But different isn’t necessarily wrong.

8. Low Pay

Finally, it’s no surprise, but it still has to be said: Teachers don’t make enough.

The average U.S. teacher salary in 2022-23 was $69,597, according to the National Education Association. But that ranges from $95,160 (California) down to $53,098 (Florida).

Even in states with higher teacher salaries, when you take into account the higher cost of living in those areas, teachers are often still struggling.

Ask a teacher why they went into education, and money is almost never the answer. But no matter how much they love it — no matter how committed they are to their students, their school, their community — if they’re not making enough to pay the bills, they may have to quit.


Moreland University partners with school districts across the country to help educators grow their careers and earn professional certifications and master’s degrees. Learn more at Moreland.edu.

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