As Illinois schools began sharing COVID-19 plans, teacher retirements surged
At the beginning of 2020, the number of Illinois teachers opting for retirement was down from previous years, but after schools shut down in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers climbed.
Typically, the “retirement season” for teachers is between January and June, according to Dave Urbanek, director of communications for the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois. In 2020, though, there was a spike of out-of-season retirements in July, August and September after many districts started announcing their return to learn plans for the fall.
August 2020 saw a 67% increase in teacher retirements from the two Augusts prior, with 217 teachers retiring across the state. In August 2019, 174 teachers retired, and in August 2018, 140 did. July 2020 showed a 38% increase in retirements from the two years prior, and September 2020 had a 34% increase.
TRS does not ask members why they are retiring, according to an Oct. 8 report. Anecdotally, though, TRS said many members retiring in July and August said their decision was related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Locally, the anecdotal evidence suggests the same.
The regional superintendents for both Madison and St. Clair Counties both said that while they didn’t have hard data on the number of teachers retiring because of coronavirus, they know it was a contributing factor.
“We’re all looking at our lives differently because of (COVID-19),” Madison County Regional Superintendent Robert Werden said. “If you’re in an at-risk age bracket, and you have a chance to retire, you’ll probably at least explore that option.”
The age group at the greatest risk of serious illness from COVID-19 are those 85 years and older, according to the CDC. The risk increases with age: someone in their 60s is at a higher risk than someone in their 50s, even though people of all ages could still become critically ill.
Certain medical conditions also increase the risk, including cancer, kidney disease, sickle cell disease and obesity, the CDC warns.
St. Clair County Regional Superintendent Mark Eichenlaub said that teachers change positions or districts every year, but that there was “no doubt” that COVID-19 impacted peoples’ thought processes.
“My concern with all of this is that we’re facing a teacher shortage in the state of Illinois, and have for years” Eichenlaub said.
Even a slight increase in the number of teachers retiring later in the year can be hard on districts. Werden said the teacher shortage in Illinois, and nationwide, is so severe that some districts have requirements that employees let them know years in advance when they plan to retire so administration can plan ahead.
Werden said it was too early to tell if the pandemic was discouraging new teachers from joining the field. Many of the positions for first-year teachers were filled earlier in the year, before COVID-19 was documented in the United States.
“Any time that you have something dropped in your lap you weren’t anticipating, your challenge to fill that spot is going to be more difficult,” he said. “You want time on your side whenever you’re planning to fill teaching positions.”
Some educators, including Joshua Oaks, have quit their jobs because of their districts’ return to learn plans. Oaks was about to start his first year as a full-time teacher at Dupo High School when he quit after the school board chose to return with a hybrid plan that included in-person teaching, rather than go fully remote like most of the rest of St. Clair County. Some of Oaks’ family members are at a higher risk for COVID-19, and he didn’t want to risk their health.
While more teachers have retired in 2020 than in 2019 or 2018, the year-to-year difference is not as stark, in part because of fewer retirements in the first months of the year. In 2020, 4,059 Illinois teachers retired, compared to 3,699 in 2019 and 3,869 in 2018. Compared to the 2018–2019 average, total retirements have risen 7% in 2020.