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It鈥檚 been a long, hard few years for teachers, but things might be looking up: Teachers report feeling more satisfied at work than they did last year, when job satisfaction levels appeared to hit an all-time low.

The promising results come from the second annual Merrimack College Teacher Survey, a nationally representative poll of nearly 1,200 teachers conducted by the EdWeek Research Center and commissioned by the Winston School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College. The survey, which was fielded in January, was designed to replace the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, which ran for more than 25 years and ended in 2012.

The results this year describe a battered workforce that鈥檚 regaining some momentum. Two-thirds of teachers say they鈥檙e satisfied with their jobs, up from 56 percent last year. Twenty percent say they鈥檙e 鈥渧ery satisfied,鈥� up from 12 percent last year. Fewer teachers than last year say they鈥檙e planning to quit teaching in the next two years, and teachers also feel more respected as professionals than they did last year.

鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to see those numbers going up because teaching is an incredible job, and we depend upon teachers to be happy in their work and satisfied in their work,鈥� said Doris Santoro, a professor at Bowdoin College who studies teacher morale. 鈥淭o me, this is an indication that teachers want to be teaching, and what we need to do is give them the conditions in which they can thrive.鈥�

Still, more than half of teachers say they likely wouldn鈥檛 advise their younger selves to pursue a career in teaching. About half still don鈥檛 feel respected by the general public. And while many of these indicators have improved from last year, they are significantly lower than a decade ago.

In some ways, teaching has been easier this year than in the past two pandemic school years, teachers said in interviews. COVID-19 cases are down, so there is less disruption to the school calendar, teachers are less isolated, and students are readjusting to classroom routines and expectations, they said.

鈥淭he three things that we as teachers thrive on are structure, consistency, and community, and looking at [the last couple of years], we really didn鈥檛 have any of those things,鈥� said Amber Nichols, 45, a kindergarten teacher at Eastwood Elementary School in Morgantown, W.Va.

Having a more normal school year 鈥渞enewed my sense of just loving my classroom,鈥� she added.

But in other ways, teachers are very much still grappling with the fallout of the pandemic, including gaps in students鈥� academic knowledge, an uptick in mental health challenges for both themselves and their students, and worsening student misbehavior.

鈥淪ocially and emotionally, children have changed,鈥� said Nichols, who is her state鈥檚 2023 teacher of the year. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e dealing with very large gaps in development. I had to 鈥� teach children how to play, problem-solve, persevere, use grit鈥攊t鈥檚 scary to me.鈥�

The pervasiveness of technology has also shortened students鈥� attention spans and distracted them from instruction, she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exhausting for teachers to reinvent the wheel when the wheel is not a circle anymore, it鈥檚 a square,鈥� Nichols said.

Teachers say they feel pressure to meet increased expectations and more student needs. And they鈥檙e frustrated that they鈥檙e now in the center of divisive political and cultural debates. A rash of state laws now restrict how teachers can talk about race and LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom, and it has fallen to teachers to interpret those laws and try to avoid running afoul of them.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e out of the woods,鈥� Santoro said of the new teacher satisfaction ratings. 鈥淚 think it would be shortsighted to look at these numbers divorced of the political posturing we鈥檙e going to see happen as we ramp up the presidential election [campaigns].鈥�

Most teachers feel respected, but concerns linger

About 8 in 10 teachers say they鈥檙e respected as professionals within their school, and three-quarters say they鈥檙e respected by students鈥� parents, on par with last year鈥檚 survey.

鈥淚 personally have never felt like anything but a rock star with my children鈥檚 families,鈥� Nichols said.

Yet some teachers say they feel like they鈥檙e not treated as the educated professionals they are.

鈥淢y frustration is there鈥檚 a lot of talk about how we respect teachers,鈥� said Katye Russell, 54, a middle school English teacher in Nashville, Tenn. 鈥淚n the reality of it, no. We鈥檙e still getting more tasks put on our plates, more meetings鈥攂ut there鈥檚 not ever a moment that [administrators say], 鈥楲isten, we know you have the education, the skills, so go do it the best way that you know how.鈥欌��

For the past two years, Russell鈥檚 school district has implemented a more prescriptive English/language arts curriculum for middle and high schoolers, which means she can鈥檛 decide for herself what texts to teach and how to teach them.

鈥淚t makes me feel like my sense of professionalism, who I am as a professional, and what my skills are are not being taken seriously,鈥� she said. And it鈥檚 stripped away much of the joy of teaching, Russell added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 so boring.鈥�

Forty percent of teachers say they don鈥檛 have much control or influence over the curriculum they teach, and 17 percent say they don鈥檛 have much say over their own teaching or pedagogy, findings that are similar to last year鈥檚.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no individualism,鈥� said Karleen Michael, 59, an elementary teacher in Idaho, who is in her 35th year of teaching. She doesn鈥檛 think her administrators give veteran teachers the freedom to teach how they think is best: 鈥淓ach teacher brings their own special sauce in the room, and you can鈥檛 do that [anymore].鈥�

The respect teachers say they generally receive from parents and from within their schools doesn鈥檛 translate outside of their school communities. Just 55 percent of teachers say they鈥檙e respected and seen as professionals by the general public, up 9 percentage points from last year but down more than 20 percentage points from 2011.

If teachers were respected, 鈥渨e鈥檇 be paid more, we鈥檇 be taken care of more,鈥� said Amanda Galbincea, 43, an AP Physics teacher in Katy, Texas.

During the initial school shutdowns in 2020, teachers were hailed as heroes, she said. Now, she has parents intentionally sending their children to school sick without any regard for her own health, she said. And last year, voters in the community voted against a tax rate election that would have funded teacher salary increases.

鈥淎s a whole, all of us felt kicked in the head by our own community,鈥� Galbincea said.

The political climate doesn鈥檛 help. The claims that K-12 students are learning about critical race theory are frustrating to hear, said Michael, the Idaho teacher.

鈥淸The message is] we鈥檙e all bad teachers because we鈥檙e indoctrinating the kids鈥擨鈥檓 not,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 teaching them to read and write and do math and be kind.鈥�

More than a third of teachers still want to quit

This year, 35 percent of teachers say they鈥檙e likely to quit and find another job outside of teaching within the next two years. Last year, 44 percent said the same.

Connie Sanabria, 32, a high school French teacher in Maryland, is among those leaving the classroom at the end of this school year. There are several reasons: unwieldy class sizes that keep growing every year, the lack of air conditioning in her school building, and growing apathy and shrinking attention spans among students since the pandemic began.

鈥淢y patience has grown thinner since online teaching,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ast year, I was tired but, emotionally, I wasn鈥檛 [ready to leave] yet. This year, I鈥檓 emotionally there鈥擨鈥檓 ready for a new chapter. Honestly, I need a break. I鈥檓 feeling drained.鈥�

Sanabria doesn鈥檛 have a new job lined up yet. She鈥檚 hoping to have a baby soon鈥攁nother reason to leave the classroom, she said, as there are few accommodations made for pregnant teachers, including a lack of paid parental leave.

One day, she might return to teaching, especially if she can get a job with higher pay and better working conditions, Sanabria said. In the meantime, she鈥檚 ready to prioritize her own well-being: 鈥淚鈥檓 in the position for the first time where I can choose to take care of myself, and I want to do that.鈥�

Many teachers who say they want to quit will not actually do so, past research has found. Still, school district leaders continue to report vacancies in both perennial shortage areas, like special education and high school math, and even in historically popular fields, like elementary education. And the number of teachers enrolling in and completing preparation programs significantly declined over the past decade.

Nichols, the West Virginia teacher, said her elementary school would once post a job opening and get applications from 80 well-qualified candidates. Now, it might receive 10 certified candidates, with less of a guarantee of talent and experience.

鈥淲hat is very scary is the writing鈥檚 on the wall鈥攚hen we have this lack of personnel and lack of talent, our children will suffer in the long run,鈥� she said.

Several teachers who have considered quitting say it鈥檚 not because they don鈥檛 still love teaching鈥攊t鈥檚 because of all the pressure and lack of support.

鈥淚 just want the rest of the world to catch up and realize we鈥檙e not doing this for the money, we鈥檙e not doing this for the accolades鈥攚e鈥檙e doing this for the kids,鈥� said Galbincea, who said she loves sharing her passion for physics with a new generation. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 unsustainable when you pay so little and expect so much.鈥�

What can schools do to help teachers?

To keep teachers in the classroom鈥攁nd happy at work鈥攁 focus on their well-being is key, educators and experts say.

Forty-two percent of teachers said their teaching and professional growth had suffered this year because of the state of their mental health. And more than half of teachers said that the mental health and wellness of teachers in their school has declined over the course of the 2022-23 school year. Just 10 percent said it had improved.

Yet district mental health programming for teachers is sparse, the survey results indicate. Only 2 percent of teachers said their district offers extensive programming to support employee鈥檚 mental health and wellness鈥攁bout a quarter said their district offered no programming, 44 percent said programming was minimal, and 30 percent said their district made some effort to support staff mental health.

When asked how schools and districts can support teachers鈥� mental well-being, more than two-thirds of respondents cited a pay raise or bonus to reduce financial stress. Smaller class sizes, more or better support for student discipline, fewer administrative burdens such as meetings and paperwork, and more acknowledgment of good and hard work also topped the list.

Yet just 9 percent of teachers said their principal provides 鈥渁 lot鈥� of concrete support for teacher mental health and wellness. Nearly a third said their principal provides no support, another 35 percent said 鈥渁 little,鈥� and 24 percent said 鈥渟ome.鈥�

鈥淲e see a lot of gestures toward, 鈥楾eachers need to engage in self-care,鈥欌�� said Santoro, the Bowdoin professor. 鈥淪elf-care is really important, but that kind of injunction just puts more labor on teachers if it鈥檚 not actually integrated into structural functions of school.鈥�

For example, she said, school leaders could establish a system that allows teachers to take a break for a few minutes if they need to and have someone else cover their class (and then return the favor later on). Administrators could bring in therapists or social workers for employee use鈥攁nd take care to connect teachers of color to diverse mental health providers who are trained in culturally relevant practices, Santoro said.

Also, having a dedicated substitute teacher who works full-time in one school building can make it more feasible for teachers to take time off when they need, she said. And administrators should consider pausing new initiatives while teachers and students recover from the fallout of the pandemic, Santoro said.

After all, teachers can鈥檛 do their best work when they鈥檙e struggling, Nichols said.

鈥淚f our teachers are healthy, our students will be healthy as well,鈥� she said. And if that happens, she predicts, teacher satisfaction ratings 鈥渁re going to increase.鈥�

Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.