It feels like education has changed a great deal in the past few years. Yet I recently came across a 2018 article from NEA and was struck by what hasn’t changed: we’re still facing the same issues in education today.
Let’s take a look at the top challenges schools face today, both the long-standing ones and recent developments. Then we’ll explore 3 ways we can create change and improve outcomes.
The top issues in education today
Here are the top 5 issues in public education identified by NEA in 2018 and how these challenges impact education today, plus 2 critical problems in schools that have taken hold more recently.
Budget shortages
This is not news to anybody. But the shortage of funds for public schools (and the threat of more cuts to come) has become an emergency for many districts. Here’s why:
- Fiscal cliff following the end of ESSER funds. The pandemic and remote learning led to steep academic decline. Schools got ESSER funding and the flexibility to spend it according to what they needed most to improve student outcomes. Now those funds are gone, even though the problems are not gone, leaving schools scrambling to pay for programs.
- Rising expenses. Inflation has increased nearly 25% since 2018, and school funding has not increased proportionately.
- Funds for special services are being cut while both the needs and the costs are rising. Because schools are legally required to provide these services, some districts are cutting Gen. Ed. programs to pay for special education.
School safety
In 2018, there were 119 incidents of gun violence in U.S. schools. That number jumped to 331 in 2024. When they feel unsafe, students have trouble learning and teachers can’t teach effectively.
Shootings are not the only safety issue schools are dealing with: violent outbursts in the classroom are putting students and teachers at risk of physical and emotional harm.
Student mental health impacts
It’s no secret that student mental health has declined over the past decade or so, with steep rises in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation following the pandemic. Mental health struggles make it much harder for students to learn.
The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared adolescent mental health as “the defining public health crisis of our time.” According to the World Health Organization, one in seven adolescents and teens currently struggles with a mental health disorder, and suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people.
Classroom behavior
If you work in education, I don’t need to tell you about the explosion of student behavior problems driven by emotional dysregulation.
While this issue has been building for some time, ERI wasn’t even on the radar for most educators in 2018. Today it’s the hot-button issue that’s driving teachers away from the profession and preventing students from accessing their education.
Chronic absenteeism
Students can’t learn if they don’t come to school. The rise in school refusal and absenteeism began before the pandemic, but has ramped up since the period of remote learning. It’s a time consuming and complex problem, and many schools aren’t equipped to provide the support necessary to get students back on track.
In addition to these long-standing issues, since 2020 schools have had new challenges to manage.
Staff recruitment and retention
Teaching children has never been easy. But it’s becoming exponentially harder. Budget cuts mean teachers have bigger classes, more responsibilities, work longer hours, and have to do more with less. They are at ground zero for dealing with students’ behavioral and mental health issues, and they have little (if any) training on how to manage these problems.
In the past, school staff were rewarded with respect from peers, administrators, parents, and students. The lack of respect for educators today is one of the most damaging challenges we face, because it’s driving teachers away from the profession.
Post-pandemic academic decline
Schools are under tremendous pressure to make up for the lost learning resulting from the pandemic. I hear educators talking about going back to traditional tactics that have “always worked.”
The problem is, due to all of the issues mentioned here, things are fundamentally different now and the old ways are no longer effective. We need to think differently about solutions.
3 ways we can make real progress on issues in education
1. Prioritize funding for mental health support
Have you noticed that ALL of these critical issues in education are related to mental health?
- Out-of-district placement for students suffering from behavioral and mental health issues is eating up HUGE chunks of school budgets.
- Student mental health is a big factor affecting school safety, student behavior, absenteeism, academic achievement, and staff recruitment and retention.
Without spending a fortune, we CAN implement a variety of supports that help students succeed, improve school climate and culture, and better support school staff. Instead of spending on the latest curriculum fad, consider investing in your organization by addressing their foundational needs:
- PD and coaching to help teachers identify mental health issues and learn effective intervention strategies.
- ERI programs to boost emotional regulation in the classroom.
- On-site mental health clinicians who are better qualified than school counselors and can work with students, families, and staff to create lasting change.
Learn more: How to Protect Your School Budget
2. Provide more support for teachers
Teachers need these things to improve student outcomes (and stay motivated and invested in their jobs):
- More time. Instead of an hour-long meeting, send an email. Promote work-life balance by encouraging them to go home at dismissal time. Whenever possible, give teachers some time back for lesson planning and classroom management.
- Better boundaries. Teachers have the right to be treated with respect. Protect teachers from abusive behavior from parents and students. Advocate for them, back them up, and teach them how to set healthy boundaries for communication. Boundaries are a big part of creating a safe and healthy environment for everyone.
- Training and resources. Teachers need to handle complex student emotional and behavioral problems that many have no training in and no idea how to manage. Give them the information and resources they need to feel confident and make the right decisions.
3. Establish a growth mindset in your district
A growth mindset must be a key element of every school district’s climate and culture. “Growth mindset” is a term we see in many contexts, but how can it help us drive change in education?
Just because a student has not developed a particular skill does not mean they never will. They just haven’t done so YET. Establishing a growth mindset means deliberately adopting an optimistic attitude about where students are (academically, emotionally, and behaviorially) and what they can achieve.
Our attitude and expectations deeply affect what students believe they can achieve, their resilience, and ultimately their school success.
