Public Education Matters

Various student voices 0:08
Public education matters. Public education matters. Public education matters.

Jeff Wensing 0:14
This is Public Education Matters, brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.

Katie Olmsted 0:26
Welcome back to Public Education Matters. I'm your host, Katie Olmsted, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue lifting up the voices of Ohio's amazing public school educators as part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association. OEA members are teachers, education support professionals, higher ed faculty members and so many others who help the learners they serve reach their full potential academically and in life. But OEA members can be in really different places in their own lives, too. We know early career educators have challenges and needs that are specific to that point in their careers, and that's why the Ohio's New Educators or ONE program, was born. But it's also clear those ONE members aren't the only ones who need community support and resources that reflect where they are in their lives. So as part of the ONE program and OEA's year round organizing program, a pilot program for mid career educators was born in the last school year. It's really aimed at finding ways to retain and engage educators who are in their second decade in this profession, who have so much invaluable experience and knowledge to give to their students and their colleagues, but who are also dealing with increasing workloads, decreasing support, stagnating salaries and so many other challenges. Over the summer, I sat down with two mid-career educators who are helping to drive the growth and expanding reach of this new program, and I talk with them about why this work is so important.

Tonya Horn 2:14
Hi, my name is Tonya Horn, and I'm a para educator. And I've been a para educator, well, going on this year, 19 years, and I work at Green local schools, middle school, and I love it.

Jovita Wade 2:24
Hi, I'm Jovita Wade, and I am an intervention specialist at Fairborn City Schools. I've been an educator for 11 years, so I'm going on my 12th year actually. Started in third grade, which was great for two years, and then I moved into high school, which was where I am now.

Katie Olmsted 2:47
So going into your your 12th year and your 19th year of educators, as educators, you are not new to the education profession. You are what we call mid career educators, right?

Jovita Wade 3:00
Right. Right. Within the time that I've been an educator, I did not realize that there are so many facets to education. Then having a voice in education is something that I thought was just done, you know, right with my members there at school in my association. But come to find out, there's another part, and the part that I am truly in love with is the Ohio New Educators. And so as a member there in Ohio New Educators, which is connected to Ohio Education Association, uh, found out that there's so many levels and so many things I can do as an educator that I was hoping that I was would be able to do there in my building, but I didn't know it existed. And so I started, I'm, I'm considered a late bloomer in my family, so I started my education career later. Prior to that, I was a secretary in education, so that I stayed in for a while, and I watched how things worked on that side of the fence, and then I I saw other things that were going on in the in the teaching realm. And I thought, okay, there's a middle space for me as an intervention specialist, I would like to help students who don't know how to read well and just have just, you know, like me, a late bloomer. So in the meantime, found out about Ohio New Educators. And so now that I've been in, this will make my third year, fourth, oh, fifth year, oh my gosh, in, in the organization. And there was time for me to go.

Katie Olmsted 4:54
Yeah, and those new educators, is for educators in the first 10 years of their career and like, that's, that's a wonderful program that OEA has because it offers that support. It offers specific development opportunities for people who are learning the ropes but you're not learning the ropes anymore. You, you know the ropes as mid career educators, and then where this mid career educators cadre sort of was born.

Tonya Horn 5:21
Yes, this is Tonya horn, and for me, I did not know what I didn't know. And I got introduced to Ohio New Educators through Ohio Education Association as well, and that was formed through my LRC. And the first year I began was the first year that ESPs, Education Support Professionals were brought into Ohio New Educators. So I was one of the first who started off in Ohio New Educators. And it's now taken a whole different turn for Mid-Careers, which I am excited and which is awesome, that I can continue to do the work under Mid-Career. So we formed this Mid-Career cadre to see what it is Mid-Careers were feeling that they needed, that they were not getting because they were not new educators. So sort of like the seasoned, you know, educators. So we have been diving into the surveys and the work to find out what it is we can help Mid-Careers with and how we can continue the advocacy for education and give a voice to those who don't think they have one because they're not part of the one through 10. So we are extremely excited about it, and have been doing research and looking into ways that we can be there to help our Mid-Career educators.

Katie Olmsted 6:50
And a lot of research. We're talking 700 surveys, 75 plus interviews, three weekend retreats, all to hear what Mid-Career educators are saying about where they are, emotionally, professionally and what they need and what what have you heard from them?

Tonya Horn 7:08
This is Tonya, and through our research, we found out the challenges and the needs that our mid-careers are saying that they would like and they feel that they would be able to benefit from targeted professional development and having, like a mentorship program that they could help the new educators with. They were also talking about the workload and how the workload is for them in the Mid-Career realm of things and the financial aspect as well as we know, unfortunately as educators, we are not paid what we should be paid, especially for the education support professionals, and that has been a huge thing for us through Ohio Education Association, speaking to what the Mid-Careers need, as well as the education support professionals who are not making a living wage at this point. You know, a lot of people do not know how the pay is for education support professionals. A majority of them have a second job. So trying to, you know, have those one on one conversations, see what it is that we can do as Ohio Education Association, what we can do to help the Mid-Careers feel seen and having and have a voice.

Katie Olmsted 8:26
It sounds like one of the biggest issues that was identified through this work was burnout. The report showed 75% of Mid-Career educators say burnout is a critical issue for them, and I'm sure burnout is an issue at all levels for all people in the education career, given the increasing workloads, given some of the policy changes that have been coming down. But why is it so important that we address these issues for Mid-Career educators right now? Jovita, you want to take this one?

Jovita Wade 8:55
So 75% of Mid-Career teachers feel burnout, and then, unfortunately, 66% are considering leaving their job. One of the things that burnout actually does is cause you to when you're when you're burnout you know you've overworked, you feel a little undervalued. That's really important to look at, I think that you feel what you want to say stuck in a space where you have to make some decisions, or whether, what other things you can do in the educational realm that you can, that you will be valued in, and you can bring value to your colleagues. And I think what happens, we start to develop things, which is the positive side, mentorship of our early career teachers and and then helping solving problems in other classrooms. Yeah, and. Then become more dedicated to the students that we have, which it takes a lot of time and physical, mental and psychological effort, and that is part of the burnout. So that's where Mid-Career stand when it comes to burnout. We do need that break, and we also need some options. So when we have those options, I think it may helps us to be refocused and revitalized in the educational field. So that's what we're looking at for Mid-Career.

Katie Olmsted 10:39
When we have Mid-Career educators in such large numbers thinking about leaving the profession our students are really the ones who are missing out on that experience, on their expertise. Are either of you in that 66% who are thinking, maybe this is too much for me now? Have you been there?

Tonya Horn 11:00
This is Tonya Horn. Yes, it has been times that I have thought about maybe this isn't for me. However, it comes back to my students. I love being able to be there with my special needs students. And whenever I think about, well, maybe it's time for me to look at something else. They'll say they'll do something, and it's like, no, I have to stay here for my students. However, I do know a lot of people, and I have lost lot of people that I have been very close to, who have been very instrumental in where I have found myself at who are no longer in the field, when you have, you know, education, purport, support professionals who feel like they can go to Costco, make more money, get benefits there. There's a problem there, because when people get burned out, don't feel respected, that's when they start to begin to look at other career paths and looking at the fact that I can do better somewhere else. So we were looking at and very intentional on retention. How do we keep Mid-Career professionals wanting to and filling the need and the respect to stay in education and through our research and our work, we found, you know, some of the things that they say that they feel they really do need professional development, like we said, and having things as targeted, just for the Mid-Careers, so they can be rejuvenated and get an extra breath throughout their career. So you know that's been very instrumental in the work we've been doing is just asking those hard questions and getting in there with the one on one conversations.

Katie Olmsted 13:04
I'm glad you brought up that professional development piece. I mean, that's one of the big recommendations out of the report that the Mid-Career educators cadre put together the findings of these surveys. Again, the ONE program is really amazing because of the professional development that it offers to those early career educators, but not necessarily a good fit for for where you are in your career, and the same thing, I'm sure, coming from your districts, what kind of professional development do Mid-Career educators need?

Jovita Wade 13:35
This is Jovita, and they say that they would like to see more interesting and useful professional developments. They want to go in and they want to be able to become mentors. Where is the program that they can move into to become mentors? Where's the program they can move into to maybe become lobbyist, where's the program that they can move into to understand their contracts better? And that's what as a as a new educator. Those are the things that we want our new educators from ONE to take into our locals, but the professional developments and creating workshops are based on the things that Mid-Career educators actually know. So throughout the summer, most Mid-Career are down at Sinclair or online, taking courses or building their treasure box, or whatever you want to call it. They're building their ammunition. They're things that they need to help move us forward in education, so that when we have students come into the classroom, they're, they will, they'll get everything that we know and that they're that they know, because what's been happening is educators feeling that, that they've been left behind when it comes to technology. So we've been going out and finding those courses and finding those people who are experts, because we're experts at that point in some of those things, and especially when we have our new educators moving into Mid-Career, they are the ones who are bringing in some of that new stuff, because at one point they've decided, okay, I don't want to do anything but learn all these new things, and they're bringing the new things to us, and so we use that as a resource. Also, there are some things, just like Tonya was saying in technology, we have lot of of our new educators. They develop their own programs right there at school that help all of us Mid-Career and new career, and all of our people who are seasoned, everybody learns, but those are things that we want, not what the district needs, not checking a box. We want, what we need to be better educators.

Tonya Horn 16:18
Another thing that the Mid-Careers educators are wanting to have a say in is getting the education that's needed in order to advocate for key policy changes, sort of like the standardized testing and the funding for mental health support. So they want to be in on trying to make a change on different levels, not just as new educators. However, in the Mid-Career, you start to begin to see how the mental health support needs to be addressed and dealt with the reducing of the standardized testing. So Mid-Career educators want to be a part of changing the policies for this, and we can use the mid career educators, because they do have that knowledge of the different things that are facing us as Mid-Careers, and they want to be able to be hands on and have a voice and help out with some of these policy things with the legislators and the workloads and the compensation. So they're looking at different ways too. They can be used even in the political realm, of having that hand and speaking to what the burnout, what it's causing people to deal with, as far as mental health. So that's another thing that we've heard. Is them wanting to, hey, get in there, make their voices heard, to the people who are making the changes that affect our careers, educators.

Jovita Wade 17:52
Alright, hey, this is Javita Wade and I like what you're saying, Tonya, because what you said is basically one of the things that we want offered to us that that mental health support also they need more planning time, like teachers need more planning time in our contract.

Katie Olmsted 18:12
Protective planning time.

Jovita Wade 18:14
Mm hmm, yes, and then create more balanced work schedules. So that's been a big deal, um, especially trying to get all the Well number one, the hours that the students need based on our past schedules. We are not getting number one, like you said, the planning time we're not getting our students don't have enough time to learn, and that was one of the things that I actually did a survey with the kids on purpose to find out what we could do to make it their lives a little bit easier when it comes to their learning. So just just brainstorming those things with our students and brainstorming with our colleagues is always something that's going to move us forward.

Katie Olmsted 19:04
Really. It sounds like Mid-Career educators is about bringing colleagues together, people who are facing similar challenges, people who have similar experiences, people who can brainstorm with each other about how we can sort of face these I know Mid-Career educators is in the second year of its pilot. Right now, that first year with that listening year that put the report together. Year. Where do we go from here?

Tonya Horn 19:29
This is Tonya Horn, so getting out there to different districts, different schools, and speaking to Mid-Career educators and getting that one on one conversation and letting them know, like, hey, you know, this is a pilot program that is looking at looking at getting something that's just for us, such as a social media page that is targeted for the Mid-Career educators, where we can have our own. Social Media page, and we can even maybe do a podcast or something like that, where we can sit and discuss, share our stories and benefit from different people's stories, and just to know that we're not in an art alone, and that we're all wanting to do better, and the way to do that is by sharing those stories, sharing what it is you're seeing that has helped you. So maybe one of the things you say can help someone else.

Katie Olmsted 20:32
Do you see the Mid-Career educators program growing into what ONE has become?

Jovita Wade 20:39
This is Jovita Wade. I, I believe that it has to, because there needs to be a space for our superheroes coming up, and then these are amazing educators, and they're the backbones of our schools. So we need to make sure that mid career is able and and functional in what it is that's coming up with that, we have decided, like, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have a retreat? Just for me, careers up in the mountains. We don't have mountains, but that's what I'm you know, something like that, that can move us away and be in a neutral space, so that we're able to actually say and do the things that we need to do to build that power. But also, we want to make sure that our administrators are on board with some of the things and the feelings that some of our Mid-Careers are having so that they understand why maybe they want to leave the profession, or why it they've decided to step back and let other people have it. At the end of the day, we're talking people to people. And people need people. We need each other. So in order for us to function as educators from across the board, there needs to be an understanding that as we get older, there are certain things we need in our career, and we need to have a voice and be able to feel very comfortable. And I'm going to say very comfortable, because you have to speak person to person, and a lot of people don't have that thing that they want to talk to other people. We're getting to a point where everybody's quiet in a room, nobody wants to speak, and so your voice is not heard, and then you end up in a turbulent kind of mode, and that radiates throughout your teaching. It radiates throughout your life. It affects your students, it affects the way you present yourself in education. And so we want to make sure that they understand, they have a voice, and that they are our heroes, and their experience does matter, and every teacher makes a difference.

Katie Olmsted 23:05
You both make such a difference. The Mid-Career educators cadre is making a difference, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Tonya Horn & Jovita Wade 23:13
Thank you, Katie. Thank you, Katie. Thank you, Tonya.

Katie Olmsted 23:19
The Mid-Career educators group is always looking for more people to get involved, to hear more voices, to bring more member organizers on. If you want to talk to Jovita or Tonya about how you can engage with the Mid-Career educators group, you can find their email addresses in the show notes for this episode, my email address is there too because I want to hear from you about what we should be talking about on this podcast. If you have a story to tell or an issue you want us to dive into, please email me at educationmatters@oea.org new episodes continue to drop every Thursday this season, so we'll see you back here next week. Because in Ohio, public education matters.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai