Vermilion Parish teachers saying bye-bye to the profession

How education has changed over the last five years when it comes to teacher retirements and resignations in Vermilion Parish.
Five years ago, at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, an average of 3 percent of teachers either retired or resigned in Vermilion Parish.
Then came a new way the state now evaluates teachers, coupled with the introduction of Common Core into the classrooms, and the number of teachers getting out of education has tripled. That 3 percent has now shot up to 9 percent, which is also the average around the state of Louisiana.
Last month a Lafayette TV station reported Vermilion Parish had the highest retirement/resignation rate in Acadiana at 18 percent.
Not true, said Vermilion Parish’s superintendent.
Superintendent Jerome Puyau informed the school board members the 18 percent reported by the TV station is wrong. He said Vermilion Parish is like every other parish in Acadiana by averaging 9 to 10 percent and not 18 percent like reported.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Hebert, who is in charge of personnel, provided the Meridional with the correct number of teachers who either retired or resigned in the last five years.
The highest is 2012-2013 at 11 percent and the lowest is the 2010-11 school year at 3 percent,
With the 2014-15 school year ending, a total of 77 teachers have either retired or resigned. There were 44 teachers who resigned and 33 who retired by the end of this school year.
In the 2013-14 school year, a record-number 51 teachers resigned while 28 retired for a record high 79 total.
The year before, a total of 64 teachers retired or resigned.
When things were good in education, the retirement and resignation numbers were low in Vermilion Parish.
Over the last three years, 123 teachers have resigned compared to 92 who have retired.
Hebert said the number that bothers him is the amount of teachers who have resigned over the last three years.
“It is higher than what I want to see, but I think it is comparable to other districts” said Hebert. “Our district is in line with the state.”
With so many people getting out of education and less going in, it is creating a shortage of certified teachers. Districts are having to hire people who have never trained in a classroom but have a college degree. Hebert said a handful of times the first day of school is the first time they have ever taught in a classroom.
“After a few weeks they realize teaching is not for them, so they quit,” he added. “We have to hire another person to takeover their classroom. A couple of times this year, we had one classroom go through two teachers in only a few months because they quit and we had to hire someone new.”
As far as the amount of teachers who are retiring, few are retiring with less than 30 years. Most have their 30 years, he said.