On the list of why teachers and staff say they are resigning and retiring is the lack of counselors and behavioral health specialists in the schools.
The teacher’s voice is loud and clear on this issue. Teachers can’t teach if they are spending an inordinate amount of time correcting the behavior of students. Students can’t learn if the behavior of some students results in the loss of instructional time for the class.
We can determine and debate what is causing the rise in disruptive behavior. Listening to classroom teachers is a start to this discussion, but the bottom line is students need behavioral health professionals in the school.
As your board member, I will explore partnerships with our Health Department and other agencies that can help to support student behavioral health and other needs so that teachers can focus on education and students can focus on learning.
Dr. Chen - BOE 