Washoe County teachers face mental health challenges amid shifting educational landscape

Teachers, the backbone of communities and shapers of future generations, are increasingly facing mental health challenges due to a changing educational environment. A study by Education Week reveals that 8% of teachers leave the profession annually, with early-career educators being particularly affected.

Melissa Rose, a former Washoe County School District teacher and administrator, said, “It kind of shifted and changed over time. I feel like kind of it about the time that I did feel really confident in the classroom. We had COVID and then there was sort of this cultural shift.”

The RAND Corporation published a study indicating that teachers’ well-being at the start of 2024 was worse than that of similar working adults, a trend consistent since 2021.

Rose cited a lack of support as a significant factor affecting teachers. “They’re asked to maybe teach from multiple, multiple different periods or multiple different courses. And that means that they have pretty limited time to prepare for the classes that they do have,” she said.

Calen Evans, president of the Washoe County Education Association, highlighted student behavior as a major post-COVID issue impacting educators’ mental health. “The impacts that student behaviors are having on the mental health of the educators… it’s something that has really needs to be addressed because it’s having a profound impact,” Evans said.

Evans also noted a shift from engaging lessons to a focus on standardized testing and data. “If students aren’t enjoying coming to school for whatever reason, then their ability to retain some of this knowledge and be able to hit these growth targets is just like they’re just like adults,” he said.

Brian Crane, executive clinical director at Northern Nevada Mental Health and Substance Abuse, pointed out that many teachers feel overwhelmed by large class sizes and financial burdens. “We see a teacher and it’s like, wow, I want to be a teacher. That would be an amazing job. I can help kids. It’ll be fun. The teachers and the TV, they have 20 kids in the classroom. And so these girls and these guys, they go to college and they spend tons of money to get those credentials and then they end up in a classroom with 40 kids and they’re completely overwhelmed and they’re spending their own money and they feel like they’ve been tricked,” Crane said.

Evans emphasized the importance of supporting educators. “When we don’t support our educators and we are supporting our public schools. We’re not supporting the one thing that keeps the entire community running,” he said.

The Washoe County School District is prioritizing teachers’ mental health by offering mental health services, including free therapy sessions through their employee assistance program.