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Its called the Great Quit and refers to the mass exodus of American workers deciding that their long-standing jobs and careers just werent for them anymore. It has happened in every sector of the economy: manufacturing, construction, aviation, medicine, government, and now it seems, in a big way, teaching.

Teachers throughout our region, ones strongly tied to their calling, are leaving the profession. This isnt just the standard attrition rate or some demographic blip its a record-breaking departure of some of our best teachers.

Some teachers are retiring earlier than planned, while others have left mid-career to pursue new endeavors. And some young teachers are just opting out to take another path. Our local school systems cant hire new teachers at nearly the rate they need. Vacancies for full-time teachers and substitutes are going begging. The situation is desperate. There doesnt seem to be an end in sight.

Already the quality of teaching in our region is suffering. Substitutes and theyre not enough of them either are being hired full-time to cover classes that no longer have regular teachers. Alas, not all of these subs have the training necessary to teach full-time in the subject theyve been assigned.

At the same time, regular teachers are being asked to teach extra classes. Some, with no breaks in a days schedule, are being assigned up to seven classes. Thats an overwhelming workload. Theyre still being asked to carry out other teacher assignments, such as lunchroom duty, bus duty and whatever extracurricular activities they sponsor. This situation is already unsustainable. Indeed, if the workload and the stress continue unabated, its likely more teachers may reevaluate their careers.

So, just what do we do about it, and what are some of the underlying causes for the great quit among teachers? For years, the commitment on the part of educators was such that even when offered high-paying jobs elsewhere, they stayed. This was particularly true of math and technical instructors. That commitment has begun to fray, and local school systems dont seem to be doing enough about it.

One problem is the now highly politically charged environment of public education. While school board meetings have turned into right versus left debates over critical race theory or this or that book in the library, teachers are often the ones caught in the middle. They just want to teach not get involved in the nations mindless culture wars.

Then there is pay. Some say this doesnt matter that we pay the teachers enough as it is already, and besides, no one became a teacher to get rich but the fact remains, they are leaving and were not able to hire new ones. The counter to that is if you pay people enough, they will be more inclined to stay. Its basic economics.

Last months annualized inflation rate was 6.9%. If that keeps up it will erase most of the benefits of pay increases enacted during the past year. Like it or not, local boards of supervisors and school boards are probably going to have to raise pay to stem the exodus.

In the meantime, everything possible should be done to improve morale in the workforce. Lack of communication has been a frequent complaint. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it came to policy changes, schedule changes and just an open back-and-forth between school administrators and instructional staff, it seemed that sometimes the teachers were the last ones to get the word.

There is also the concern that no one is listening to teachers concerns about working conditions. Remote instruction was grueling and because many teachers must teach both in person and in-class at the same time, it still is. Another frequent complaint is lack of support from school administrators in dealing with discipline problems or difficult parents.

In the end its about morale, which comes down to paying attention to working conditions, pay, support and communication. Some of the teacher exodus is a function of a societal trend. However, a little more focus on retaining teachers could go a long way to at least mitigating what is already an educational crisis.

David Kerr is an adjunct professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked on Capitol Hill and for various federal agencies for many years.

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Kerr: How to solve the 'great quit' in education - Inside NoVA