Nearly half of all California teachers are planning to quit their jobs sometime within the next 10 years, according to a survey by the EdWeek Research Center.
Why? Partly because morale is in the dumps.
“There’s a lot of evidence that indicates that teacher morale has been declining nationwide and is at, by some measures, the lowest point in recent memory,” Holly Kurtz, the director of the EdWeek Research Center, told EdSource.
On a scale from -100 to 100, California teachers rated morale at just 16 points, slightly higher than the U.S. average of 13.
If we invested in teacher morale with the same intensity as we do in chasing the next great curriculum or initiative, our schools and students would be far better off.
— (@DrBradJohnson) February 11, 2026
But despite their morale being slightly higher than average, almost 50 percent of them plan to leave in the next 10 years, versus just 35 percent of teachers nationwide.
However, California teachers tend to be older. Kurtz explained to Fox News that Cali teachers are usually around 45.5 years old, whereas the average teacher in America is usually about 42.9 years old.
“This means that age likely is a major reason why CA teachers are more likely to say they plan to retire in the next decade than teachers in other states,” Kurtz alleged to Fox News.
Maybe. Other surveys point to bad student behavior and “progressive” politics:
When salary was marked an ancillary issue, i.e. “I’m not getting paid enough to deal with ______,” 93% of teachers responded student behavior & progressive politics drove them from teaching. pic.twitter.com/izAqzg7oSp
— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) July 20, 2022
These findings come amid an uptick in teachers’ strikes in California. Teachers in the California town of Dublin went on strike just this past Monday to demand higher pay and better healthcare.
“The walkout followed a four-day teachers strike in San Francisco in February and a four-day strike in West Contra Costa in December, while coinciding with the third day of a strike in Twin Rivers Unified in Sacramento County,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Other districts are on the brink, including Sacramento County’s Natomas Unified, where teachers vow to start picketing Tuesday unless a deal is reached, while Los Angeles and Berkeley have authorized strikes even as negotiations continue,” the report continued.
The Chronicle further admitted that the number of ongoing strikes “appears to be unprecedented in the state,” though it does also seem to be tied to President Donald Trump’s presidency.
“The California Teachers Association, or CTA, which directs and supports local unions, launched a campaign in February 2025 to coordinate the contract negotiations of 32 school districts,” the Chronicle notes
Meaning the campaign started just as Trump assumed office.
Critics like Paul Vallas, a lifelong Democrat (the sane kind), have criticized the union for having all the wrong priorities — namely, more money and power.
Don’t be fooled, the CTU’s real goal is more money, more members, less accountability, less principal control over teachers, more job protections and elimination of even public school alternatives for poor families. It’s about protecting the CTU’s monopoly and expanding its…
— Paul Vallas (@PaulVallas) January 3, 2025
“Don’t be fooled, the CTU’s real goal is more money, more members, less accountability, less principal control over teachers, more job protections, and elimination of even public school alternatives for poor families,” Vallas wrote in the tweet above. “It’s about protecting the CTU’s monopoly and expanding its power.”
“CTU contract negotiations are at an impasse because the district just does not and never will have the money to pay for the new contract. Even schools chief Martinez counter offer will cost the district over $3 billion during the life of the contract, which the district does not have,” he added.
As to what might improve the ailing morale in California, the EdWeek Research Center’s survey found that “additional planning time” and “improved student behavior” would definitely help.
“More than half of the teachers who took the survey said improving student behavior would boost their morale,” according to EdSource. “They called for restrictions on students’ use of cellphones and other personal devices, tougher consequences for students who misbehave, limits on parents’ ability to undermine those consequences, and instruction for parents on teaching their children to behave in school.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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