NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When it comes to experience in the classroom, Tennessee is in last place.
According to the Tennessee Education Report, the state has the highest percentage of first or second year teachers at 19.2 percent.
"We don't have people going into the profession at the rate that we once did," said Beth Brown, president of the Tennessee Education Association.
Before taking her position, Brown taught English for 17 years at a high school in Grundy County. She believes there are as many inexperienced teachers as there are in Tennessee because educators cannot afford to stay in their jobs.
"The profession needs to be afforded what it deserves," said Brown.
According to the National Education Association, teacher salaries in Tennessee and all the states that border it trail the national median. The average salary is $50,099. The national average is $59,660.
"You have a lot of people who can't afford to stay in teaching, particularly in rural districts like mine, where you can drive 40 minutes and get a $10,000 raise, and so we're creating a real crisis where teachers are choosing to stay in the profession they love or make more money for their families."
There are 62,132 classroom teachers, according to Tennessee's Department of Education. The latest retention rate is 90 percent.
"When you think about that slow solid walkout, it's not flashy like in other states, but we see a significant amount of teachers leaving in the first five years, in the middle of their career or retirement, when they say they can't take it anymore," said Brown.
According to the Wall Street Journal, in the 12 months ended in October, one million workers quit public education positions. More than 10 million Americans work in the field.
Tennessee isn't losing teachers as fast as other states, but Brown said the state's education field is in crisis.
"We have an evaluation system that overly emphasizes testing...it has also lead to the demoralization of educators across Tennessee because one assessment labels them and their schools as failing. I think we owe it to take action now to make sure they have a great public school whenever they get there, whether it's 5, 10 or 20 years from now."
