COVID-19 pandemic pushing some Central Florida teachers out of classroom for good

Lake Mary, Fla. - More Central Florida teachers are retiring or resigning this year compared to last and some teachers say the COVID-19 pandemic pushed them out of the classroom.

Former DeLand Middle School teacher Sandra Chestnutt retired last September. She wasn't planning on ending her 36-year teaching career just yet but says she didn't feel comfortable working during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I just started thinking, is it really worth it? What if I detect COVID," said Chestnutt. 

She was back in the classroom during the pandemic but says she didn't think teaching digital and face-to-face students at the same time was working. 

"I just thought it was Ludacris just sitting there and watching everything and thinking what are we doing? Nobody knew what they were doing at the time," said Chestnutt. 

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Former Orange County Public Schools teacher Arnold Corneal decided to call it quits and resign in December. His wife's health is compromised and he didn't feel his job outweighed the risks. He taught reading at the district for three years. 

"Leave with my health intact. And the health of my family intact," said Corneal. "It's not easy decision to choose unemployment, loss of benefits, comprising you family's wellbeing, it's a very difficult choice to do that."

Chestnutt believes more teachers could choose to leave if they don't feel safe. 

"A lot of people with years of experience got out and I think many would be teaching to this day if things were different," said Chestnutt. 

Across Central Florida, numbers show that more teachers are retiring and resigning this year. 

Volusia County: 

• From July 2020-Jan. 2021: 201 teachers retired or resigned. 
• From July 2019- Jan. 2020: 144 teachers retired or resigned. 

Seminole County: 

• From July 2020-Jan. 2021: 193 teachers retired or resigned. 
• From July 2019- Jan. 2020: 161 teachers retired or resigned. 

Osceola County: 

• From July 2020-Jan. 2021: 203 teachers retired or resigned. 
• From July 2019- Jan. 2020: 164 teachers retired or resigned. 

In Orange County, from August 2020 until last week, 551 teachers retired or resigned compared to 441 during the same period last year. 

Scott Howat the Chief Communications Officer with OCPS says a difference of 110 is not sounding off the alarm when there are nearly 15,000 teachers in the district. 

Volusia County Schools says they don't ask people why they're retiring but says it's fair to assume that some did because of the pandemic. Volusia County Schools says they've worked to keep their teachers and students safe by enforcing masks, social distancing, and deep cleaning schools. 

A recently released CDC report found that there is strong evidence that in-person classes can be done safely in grades K-12. The agency emphasizes hand-washing, disinfecting, and contact tracing. 

OCPS has a health and safety manual that was put in place at the start or the school year and is now on version 13. 
 
"We have a health and safety manual that we review regularly and update to make sure we have the protocols in place to make a safe and safer environment for our staff and students," said Howat. 

Howat says the manual changes as CDC guidance is updated and teachers bring up safety concerns. 

"We're constantly addressing those issues, and working to ensure that we're making them as safe as possible, and communicating those through our health and safety manual back to our principals, back to our teachers, and parents," Howat. 

At OCPS, 57 percent of students are learning face-to-face which means more teachers have to return to the classroom. 
 
"Because under the executive order, if parents wanted to come back, they were entitled to do so and we needed the staff to be able to teach them and supervise them face-to-face," said Howat. 

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