Hannah Edelen pursued teaching because she wanted to make a difference in children’s lives.
Edelen is a former social studies and language arts teacher at Holmes Middle School in Covington, something she said she always found personally fulfilling. Edelen, who taught in the post-pandemic academic landscape, said the global health crisis exacerbated growing trends around teacher shortages in the commonwealth.
“When you’re having first-year teachers doing all of that, on top of getting very comfortable in the classroom, it can create for increased stress and definitely a larger workload than may be anticipated,” she said.
Currently, Kentucky is experiencing a statewide teacher shortage, one that threatens the future of the public education system. Edelen, who is now a member of the Covington Independent School Board, said teachers are experiencing rising burnout, increased stress, and heavier workloads. This environment can adversely affect both students and teachers.
“I think in general, not having curriculum coming into the classroom as a new teacher, and then not having funding available for ongoing classroom supplies and needs,” she said. “And of course, these types of situations–they create burnout for teachers when you’re not able to get a moment of reprieve, you know, to catch up or plan for future classes that may have additional or different need.”
Like other regions, districts in Northern Kentucky are struggling to find new teachers and retain teachers already on staff. These issues are exacerbated when considering geography, as the region’s river city school districts face a greater disadvantage due to financial instability, chronic absenteeism and higher rates of student poverty.Â
In 2024, EducateNKY, a Covington-based nonprofit organization focused on improving educational outcomes for students and parents in Northern Kentucky, published its Education Landscape Assessment, which found that districts across the region are facing an acute teacher shortage. Students in Northern Kentucky’s urban core are particularly affected by the shortage, as these school districts have a higher proportion of students from impoverished or at-risk backgrounds.
Six independent public school districts serve Northern Kentucky’s river cities: Ludlow, Covington, Newport, Southgate, Bellevue and Dayton. Each faces similar challenges regarding teacher retention.
According to the landscape assessment, the transient rate in Northern Kentucky’s river city districts is 20.3%, the homelessness rate is 13.5% and the kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate is 30.4%. In comparison, Northern Kentucky’s county school districts have a transient rate of 7.6%, a homelessness rate of 2.5% and a kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate of 17.2%
Teachers in these districts face challenging working conditions, including larger class sizes, limited resources and higher student needs, which lead to increased stress and job dissatisfaction. The organization’s executive director, Cheye Calvo, who authored the assessment, believes that the situation is reaching a boiling point, describing it as a “crisis.”Â
He further believes that Northern Kentucky lacks a cohesive regional response. Instead, individual districts are turning to methods that are proving to be increasingly ineffective.Â
“Districts instead are doubling down on existing efforts to recruit talent individually while working to retain their existing teaching force,” he writes.
Exodus across Kentucky
At the end of the 2023 school year, 10.9% of teachers across Kentucky left the profession, 16.7% did not return to teach in their districts and 20% did not return to their schools, according to a statewide staffing shortage report published by the Legislative Research Commission. Perhaps even more jarring, almost half of the principals and superintendents in Kentucky reported regularly using long-term substitute teachers to cover unfilled positions.
Some of the factors leading to the exodus include heavy workloads coupled with strained resources, resulting in higher rates of burnout among teachers; inadequate pay and benefits; a lack of respect and recognition; and administrative challenges.
Teacher shortages in Northern Kentucky, as well as across the state, are directly harming students by increasing class sizes, reducing access to qualified teachers and disrupting the continuity of learning. When schools can’t fill positions, they often rely on underqualified or long-term substitute teachers, especially in core subjects like math and reading. This can lead to inconsistent instruction, learning gaps and lower overall academic achievement.
Bellevue Superintendent Misty Middleton told LINK nky that in previous years, teacher shortages have affected the district’s ability to staff secondary math and science positions. Middleton said that Bellevue is fully staffed to begin the 2025-2026 school year.
“In past years, there have been shortages, especially in secondary math and science,” she said. “Due to the lack of fully certified teachers in areas, districts were forced to hire individuals to fill roles on an emergency or optional basis who did not have the complete teacher training. These were great people who worked hard and had a passion for student learning, but they tend to struggle with classroom management, curriculum standards, assessments, and other various aspects of the teaching profession. Due to this, student outcomes are impacted.”
Students are also losing access to key electives and advanced courses as districts cut offerings due to staffing constraints. At the same time, schools become less stable and more stressful environments, making it harder for both students and teachers to succeed. Struggling students, in particular, are less likely to receive timely academic or emotional support, which can increase their risk of dropping out and widen performance gaps.
One of the most significant challenges facing retention initiatives in Northern Kentucky is that the region’s school districts are at a competitive disadvantage in terms of teacher pay. Often, full-time teachers in Northern Kentucky take jobs in Southwest Ohio because of the higher salaries available there.
Cincinnati Public Schools offers the highest median salary in the metropolitan area at $87,065. In comparison, the median salary in Kenton County is $62,630, while Erlanger-Elsmere and Ludlow Independent Schools offer salaries of $61,100 and $60,250, respectively. The median salary for Covington Independent teachers is $58,926.Â
Teachers with less than one year of experience can expect to earn approximately $44,000 working in Covington schools, according to an April 2024 report by LINK nky.
Some of the highest-rated independent school districts in Northern Kentucky offer lower teacher salaries than several river city districts. Beechwood Independent reports the lowest median salary in the group at $56,405. Teacher salaries were a heated point of contention for both parents and teachers when the contract of former Beechwood Superintendent Mike Stacy was under consideration for an extension.
Northern Kentucky’s river city teachers aren’t leaving just for Ohio, though. Calvo reported that from his perspective, teachers from these districts take jobs at other districts within Northern Kentucky that offer higher salaries, more resources and different classroom dynamics.
“When it comes to pay and benefits, the region is at a competitive disadvantage for talent with districts in Southwest Ohio,” Calvo writes. “Although the county and some of the independent districts have other advantages that they use effectively to manage the talent situation, independent districts in the urban core struggle to attract and retain teachers who are actively recruited by other districts in the region.”
Despite this, school districts have attempted to address the financial disparities by voting to raise salaries. Between 2014 and 2023, Kentucky school districts increased starting teacher salaries by 3% to 22%. In 2023, starting salaries ranged from a low of $34,004 to a high of $45,772, depending on the district, according to the Legislative Research Commission’s report.
From 2014 to 2023, Bellevue Independent raised salaries by approximately 13%, taking the rate from $37,035 to $41,830. Covington Independent also raised salaries by 13%, bringing the rate from $37,371 to $42,054.
Ludlow Superintendent Jason Steffen told LINK nky that higher salaries are a way to show appreciation to teachers currently on the payroll, while also serving as a retention incentive. Recently, Ludlow raised its starting salary for teachers with just an undergraduate degree and no experience to $48,000.
“We have very competitive compensation for all of our teachers, not just our starting teachers, but all of our teachers, to make sure they’re not leaving us for more salary,” he said.
Fighting teacher burnout
Perhaps even more important than salary in teacher retention is burnout. The National Education Association defines teacher burnout as a condition in which an educator has exhausted the personal and professional resources required to perform their job effectively.
From Steffen’s perspective, teacher burnout results from the combined effects of striving to achieve academic goals while juggling the responsibility of managing students’ behavior in the classroom.
“Burnout is caused by several things: the pressure from getting academic results, but also the pressure of dealing with behaviors in the classroom,” Steffen told LINK nky. “Those are probably two of the biggest things that are causing two of the biggest things that are causing teacher burnout.”
More broadly, teachers are asked to perform in a highly demanding and stressful environment while feeling that they lack adequate support, leading to feelings of uncertainty or being overwhelmed. Essentially, many teachers must do more with less. Around 93% of former teachers in Kentucky reported that teacher burnout had a substantial influence on their decision to leave the profession.
At Ludlow, Steffen explained that his district aims to tackle teacher burnout by increasing investments in mental health services, counseling, reducing administrative burdens, and providing more professional development opportunities.
“We’ve put a lot of money into teacher resources that are high quality, but we’re also making sure we’re funding our Special Ed department and our intervention department to make sure they’re getting academic supports with their students in their classroom, so they’re not an island trying to get the results by themselves,” he said.
In EducateNKY’s assessment, Calvo acknowledged that Ludlow’s strategy may be working. Steffen said that many of Ludlow’s teachers grew up in the city and attended the school district.
“Ludlow has used its strong sense of community to hire and keep its people, including a remarkable share of teachers who grew up locally and retain strong ties to the small town,” he said.
Less respect, fewer teachers
In the Ohio Education Association principal survey, school leaders identified a lack of respect for the teaching profession as a significant barrier to recruitment. Nearly half, or 45.7%, of principals cited a general lack of societal respect for teachers, while 38.1% pointed to disrespect from parents and 24.4% from the local community. This perceived undervaluation of the profession contributes to challenges in attracting and retaining qualified educators.
If teaching prospects believe their work may not be rewarded or respected, there is a greater chance they may either choose another profession or leave the profession after only a few years of teaching.
A lack of respect for teachers makes recruitment and retention more challenging by undermining the profession’s value and morale. When educators feel dismissed by society, parents or their community, it affects their motivation and job satisfaction. Fewer people enter the field and more leave, because respect is essential to making the work feel meaningful and sustainable.
“For starters, I believe society needs to restore the prestige of the teaching profession and respect our educators,” Middleton said. “It is a very difficult job due to the demands placed on educators, but also very rewarding. We need to invest in our teachers and staff, reduce the burdens they face, and build a pipeline of future educators with creative solutions designed by diverse stakeholders.”
Still, one of the most critical steps in curbing the rising number of teacher resignations is a coordinated regional effort, something Calvo says is still a work in progress. Northern Kentucky is home to over 10 public school districts, each varying in size, financial resources and academic reputations.Â
“Although money plays a role, teachers who feel supported and successful show greater job satisfaction and are much more likely to stay where they believe they are making a meaningful difference,” he wrote.
From Edelen’s perspective, the more innovative districts become, the more adept they will be at solving staffing issues.
“I know we have a lot of challenges related to staff shortages, but I believe if we’re innovative at the local and the state level, we can really create some opportunities for our staff and for our kids,” she said.
