Experienced Educators: Invaluable to Student Success
The National Education Association (NEA) honors the hard work and dedication that experienced educators provide to their schools and the students they serve. The NEA represents three million educators,new and experienced, across the nation, and values diversity not only in race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, but age as well. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) projects that by 2022, professionals 65 and older will make up 35.4 percent of the workforce, while seeing declining numbers of willing and able younger workers.[1] Of the workforce that is 65 and over, 92 percent reported that age discrimination is very or somewhat common in the workforce.[2] In light of declining proportions of younger workers,the projected educator shortages, and the value that experience educators offer to the system, it makes sense to value the highly effective, experienced educators in our schools.
Age discrimination remains one of the most frequent forms of prejudices in the U.S.[3] The NEA commends agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for protecting the rights of experienced teachers, and applauds the passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). ADEA protectsemployees over the age of 40 against institutions’ decisions to dismiss them on the bases of age.[4] We believe that such prejudices should never be accepted, and employers should instead focus on the qualifications and skills educators provide to their schools and communities.
The purpose of this statement is to (1) recognize the importance of experienced educators in the field, (2) document instances of harassment and dismissal of experienced educators based on their age, (3) condemn these discriminatory practices, and (4) advocate for the support and retention of experienced education employees.
Importance of Experienced Educators
Experienced educators are aninvaluable resource to students and schools across the country. Steeped in the school and community’s culture and history, these individuals truly understand the parents and students they support. Within the classroom, veteran teachers and paraeducators have built up the skills, resources, and knowledge needed to provide quality lessons and assistance to their students. Outside of the classroom, experienced education support professionals (ESP), such as school nurses, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, security officers, and food service workers contribute to students’ safety, health, and well-being, while enriching the learning environment of the school.
Experienced educators also take on many other responsibilities outside of their primary responsibilities.[5] Our educators coach sports, help with organizational factors at the school, and are considered a key factor in inducting new educators and ensuring their retention. For example, as mentors, experienced teachers play a significant role in developing highly effective novice teachers, increasing student achievement scores, and decreasing student dropoutrates.[6][7]Mentors assist novice teachers to better understand their school system, its norms, values, and resources, as well as provide valuable emotional support, guidance on planning for and delivering instruction, and managing the classroom.[8] With teacher turnover costing the nation $7 billion annually, schools should rethink how they view experienced teachers, shifting that view from being perceived as burdens on schools budgets to invaluable resources.[9]
Furthermore, veteran and experienced ESP also serve as invaluable resources to new or early career support professionals as well as to students and their families. Nearly 75% of ESP live in the community in which they work. They are an integral part of their community often shopping, worshipping, and voting at the same place as students and their families. They have a keen understanding of the community and often have special relationships with students. ESP are in classrooms, hallways, lunchrooms, and playgrounds and are often the first to know when a student is struggling or in need of support. Mentoring provided to early career ESP by theirveteran and experienced colleaguesenhancestheir professional practice and results in the retention ofhigh quality employees.It alsoensuresgreater job satisfaction and results in less employee turnover. ESP mentoring ensuresthe ESP communitya greatervoice in the workplace, an opportunity to build their own professional pathways, and the success of students and schools.
Age Discrimination in the News
While prevalent in the U.S. workforce, age discrimination is difficult to prove, and can go unreported. [10] NEA supports members who feel they have been harassed by their school or school district for their age, anddocuments their experiences to enhance NEA’s advocacy efforts. Numerous accounts of age discrimination have been published by local and national news, and include stories of unfair hiring practices, discriminatory statements by school administrations, as well as obstructed promotions. Many of these stories involve excellent and hard-working educators who are overlooked for their talents at their schools and higher education institutionsin favor of younger educators who might not necessarily match the same levels of quality.
For example, in 2012,NEA Today featured an article entitled “Fighting Age Discrimination Against Educators”,which introducedseveral cases that ended in the recrimination of schools and school systems for harassing educators so that they would retire early. Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 in Tucson, Arizona,applied an early retirement incentive plan, which promised better economic benefits to younger educators based on their age.[11]This was construed as an attack on experienced educators who served the school for multiple years. Such actions by the school were met with push back from experienced educators, and a lawsuit by the EEOC alleged that the school district’s plan was unlawful due to its discriminatory nature of benefitting a targeted age group—younger educators.
In 2014, NEA Today also reported a significant number of cases where more experienced teachers had a harder time gaining seniority and tenure status, which acts as a barrier to arbitrary dismissals at the school. This was shown to be the case for over 300,000 K-12 teachers in California, as affected by the Vergara v. California ruling whichargued that seniority and teacher tenure undermined students’ right to a good education. While new laws might surface to degrade a teacher’s ability to gain seniority or tenure status, the NEA has worked with members to use other legal tools, such as collective bargaining and EEOC laws, to protect teachers who might be targeted for their age.[12]
In the case of Dr. Wendy Schachte, a 52-year-old, highly dedicated educator in Caesar Rodney School District in Delaware, becoming an assistant principal became a challenge. She reported it was her age that kept her from being promoted. After repeatedly applying for an assistant principal position, she felt she was being denied by the district in favor of younger candidates in their 20s and 30s who were recommended by the School Board. In one case, Dr. Schachte lost her second-round interview for assistant principal to a 28-year-old educator. While a Labor Department probe found no reasonable cause for discrimination, Schachte claims that her talents are being overlooked due to her age.[13]
In 2016, a 77- year-old paraeducatorin Florida reported age discrimination. After returning from cancer treatment, the paraeducator reported being harassed by a colleague, and while she felt her medical condition did not prevent her from working properly, the younger colleague allegedly told her she should retire. The paraeducator also felt targeted by the vice principal, giving her the choice to resign or be dismissed for a spurious incident of not having filled out her time card correctly, even though she claimed the process had not changed in years. No resolution came when she filed her claim with the EEOC, and instead she opted for a personal lawsuit against the school district.[14]
Rebecca Long, a food service worker at Willard school in Missouri, had her job terminated after serving 19 years with the district. She was told she should “find an easier job,” and lost her income, retirement benefits, and payments that come with earned sick and vacation time. Long filed a suit in 2015 to overturn her termination, fighting to return to her position within the school system.[15]
In 2013, Roberleigh Richester, a former chief security officer, sought to sue Centinela Valley Union High School District in California for age discrimination, stating that he was demoted twice after turning 60. He complained of harassment by his supervisor, who was about half his age. Even after winning “Security of the Year” in 2008, Richester complained that after turning 60, the school became a hostile work environment. The school dismissed injuries he sustained after being hit by a car while directing school traffic on two separate occasions. At one point, Richester was placed on administrative leave without a specific explanation other than an ambiguous statement regarding workplace violations. The district stated that Mr. Richester voluntarily retired and dismissed any wrongdoing or discrimination of age.[16]
In higher education, reports of age discrimination have been reported by all sectors of the education community. An Ohio State University worker sent an email in 2016 to another colleague stating that older teachers were “an extraordinarily change-averse population of people almost all of whom are over 50, contemplating retirement (or not), and it’s like herding hippos.” Instead of promoting more experienced staff, the university was accused of promoting younger, less experienced educators.[17] In the same year, The University of California, San Francisco, hiredyoung male workers from overseas vendors to replace 49 older workerson their campus; 48 of these workers had worked for the school for several years, and given they were older than 40, this became a case of age discrimination. The University responded by stating they faced fiscal challenges, and made the case that the choice was made for economic reasons, rather than out of prejudice.[18]
We Condemn Age Discrimination
The NEA condemns any and all discriminatory practice towards educators, and advocates fordedicated, experienced educatorswho feels they are being targeted for their age. These hard-working educators have mortgages, families, and their own health to take care of. It is shameful for any school to turn their back on individuals who deserve,at the very least,recognition for their commitment to the school or higher education institution.
Not onlyis the action ofage discrimination detrimental to the experienced educator, but to the entire system. New educators, who see talented, experienced, and dedicated educators treated unfairly due to their age,might look elsewhere for professions that promise more securityand for environments that respect their work force. With teacher shortages and trends in low teacher retention, it would be in the system’s best interest to look towards experienced educators as gems that can ensure a bright future for the education field. The failure to recognize experienced educators as an asset to the education community is a waste of resources and the opportunity to support early career educators.
We Advocate for our Effective, Experienced Educators
The NEA encourages its’ affiliates to collaborate with school districts and higher education institutions in order to establish strong policies, in line with federal law[19] that support employees approaching retirement age in their personal decisions about retirement or continued employment. The NEA also encourages affiliates to develop and maintain educational programs to help members recognize, understand, prevent, and combat age harassments, as well as publicize any grievance procedures that encourages the reporting of incidents of age discrimination. Weare dedicated to promptly resolving complaints, and protecting the rights of all parties involved. The National Education Association values the expertise, dedication, and guidance that experienced educators offernew educators entering the profession. It is our honor to support this valuable group of educators and fight to ensure their retention in the schools in which they proudly serve.
[1]AARP, A Business Case for Workers Age 50+: A Look at the Value of Experience 2 (2015), available at
[2]Id., at 30.
[3]
[4]The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967-
[5]Ackley & Gall, 1992; Wang & Odel, 2006
[6](Matthews, 2015; Glazerman et al., 2010; Bullough & Draper, 2004)
[7]Villar & Strong, 2007; Ingersoll & Smith, 2004
[8](Houston, 1990; Bullough Jr., 2012; Hall & Hord, 2006)
[9]
[10]Anti-Ageism Taskforce. 2006. Ageism in America. The International Longevity Center.
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