How’s this for a sweet deal? Spend your career in the classroom and retire with seven figures in the bank.
“Retiring as an educator in Georgia is one of the easiest paths to becoming a millionaire because of our pension plan,” said Christy Todd, Georgia’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, who is working with “Teach in the Peach,” a new Georgia Department of Education program aimed at recruiting teaching talent. She noted that Georgia has one of the highest average salaries in the South for teachers.
“If Georgia is going to continue to remain the No. 1 state to do business … we must also become the No. 1 state for teachers to teach,” said Todd, who joined State Schools Superintendent Richard Woods and others to unveil the program in the south wing of the state Capitol on Tuesday.
“I’m grateful for the educators who serve our students, shape our communities and strengthen the future of our state,” Woods said, “and we are talking about the future of our state.”
“Teach in the Peach” features video testimonials, an interactive map and instructions on how to apply for Georgia teaching jobs. Its impetus was a 2022 report on teacher burnout commissioned by the education department. The analysis found that too much testing, not enough planning time and unrealistic expectations often cause teachers to wear out and, in some cases, leave the profession.
Teacher shortages in Georgia vary by district and the state doesn’t track that data. However, a recent survey of educators from the Professional Association of Georgia Educators revealed just 21% of respondents would recommend a career in teaching. More than half of the survey’s respondents said they would not recommend it.
Todd wants to change that. She is involved in the project because Georgia’s Teacher of the Year works for the state Department of Education for a year. She said the impact of recruiting and retaining good teachers reaches well beyond the walls of a school building.
She worked with a team of 250 people to build “Teach in the Peach” — from college students to adults changing careers, members of the military and retired educators. Part of the work, she said, was figuring out what barriers they faced trying to enter the profession. Todd said one hurdle people encountered was not knowing where to find information.
“I think just trying to navigate the resources that are out there is one big piece,” she said. “I think the second is just wanting to know more about the job itself. You really can’t talk about or convince somebody to go into teaching if they don’t truly understand what it is.”
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