In St. Louis, Teachers May Leave in Droves

Charles Pineau, head of human resources for the St. Louis public schools, has a challenge that many private organizations will soon experience. The baby boomers are retiring.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, teachers will be leaving the district “en masse” within the next three years. There’s no mandatory retirement age, but some will be encouraged by a retirement incentive plan and others will simply be gaining in years.

When many teachers entered the field, it was the popular career choice for women and minorities. Now, the most talented women and minorities often enter the business world, according to Michael Allen, director for teacher quality at the Education Commission of the States in Denver.

Verle D. Cromer a ninth-grade counselor, says of the exodus, “We may never recover,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.