Teachers are an important part of how all of us grow and learn, but many of them are struggling.

A state report suggests that the majority of districts in Minnesota are significantly or very impacted by the teacher shortage and believe the availability of teachers has decreased compared to five years ago. And, nearly a third of new teachers leave teaching within the first five years in the profession.

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with a current teacher and a former educator and burnout coach about how to better support teachers.

Guests 

• Jasman Myers is a special education teacher of third and fourth grade students at Carver Elementary School in Maplewood, Minn. She previously taught five years of secondary instruction at Tartan High in Oakdale, Minn., and four years with St. Paul Public Schools.

• Marnie Pauly is a burnout coach based in Waconia, Minn. She’s a former teacher and principal in Watertown, Minn.

• Andrew Skirka is in his ninth year as an elementary school teacher, starting this fall as a second grade teacher at Oxbow Elementary in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. He’s also a mentor in Education Minnesota’s BRAVE program, which works to reduce the number of early career teachers who leave the profession.  

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