Are public schools at risk of a death spiral?

Last month, my local school district decided — suddenly, on short notice, and over the objections of many parents — to lengthen Thanksgiving break from a few days to a full week. Families were given just a handful of days to make childcare arrangements for the unexpected extra vacation.
School officials acknowledged the pain, but inisisted extra time off was needed for educators suffering from high rates of burnout: A number of teachers had quit after the school year had begun, leaving administrators scrambling to cover their classes. "The attempt is to try to prevent more teachers from leaving the profession and trying to prevent that breaking point," said the district's superintendent.
But teachers aren't the only ones dealing with burnout, and this kind of thing is happening all over. If it keeps up, it might end up wrecking America's public school system.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The New York Times reports that schools across the country are reducing in-person classroom time. Detroit's schools are closed on Fridays, with only remote instruction offered. The same thing is happening in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. And schools in Seattle and Florida also extended their Thanksgiving breaks. As in my district, many of these reductions in classroom time are a reaction to pandemic-fueled teacher attrition. "What you hear from teachers is that it's been too much," said Randi Weingerten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers. "And they're trying the best that they can."
Even schools that stay open are running into trouble. Last month, parents in a Minnesota school district protested after discovering their kids were being forced to eat lunch outside in cold temperatures as a COVID mitigation method. On Wednesday, New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg tweeted that children in her daughter's school were largely being forced to do the same — and that the vaxxed kids allowed to eat inside weren't allowed to talk to each other.
The potential for backlash here is obvious. Glenn Youngkin's recent win in Virginia's gubernatorial race, a largely unanticipated victory for Republicans, was partly driven by parental anger over COVID-driven school closures. The real risk isn't that Democrats will lose elections, however, but that families will look for alternatives to public schools, sending some districts into a death spiral. There are signs that has already started: Private schools — which tended to remain open during the first year of the pandemic — have seen their enrollments rise.
Families with fewer resources may soon get to join the rush: Supreme Court justices indicated Wednesday they're prepared to rule that states which already make some funds available for kids who go to nonsectarian private schools must do the same for families who choose religious schools. That prospect makes progressives angry, but it suggests many parents will soon have expanded educational options.
Options can be good, but public schools have deservedly been called "America's greatest success story." Right now they're struggling. The danger is that those struggles will send families fleeing and that success will be no more.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
5 slow on the draw cartoons about Democrats' response to Trump
Cartoons Artists take on taking a stand, staying still as a statue, and more
By The Week US Published
-
A road trip through Zimbabwe
The Week Recommends The country is 'friendly and relaxed', with plenty to see for those who wish to explore
By The Week UK Published
-
The assassination of Malcolm X
The Explainer The civil rights leader gave furious clarity to black anger in the 1960s, but like several of his contemporaries met with a violent end
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump lead to more or fewer nuclear weapons in the world?
Talking Points He wants denuclearization. But critics worry about proliferation.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Why Trump and Musk are shutting down the CFPB
Talking Points And what it means for American consumers
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Are we now in a constitutional crisis?
Talking Points Trump and Musk defy Congress and the courts
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What can Democrats do to oppose Trump?
Talking Points The minority party gets off to a 'slow start' in opposition
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'The world is watching this deal closely'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
North Carolina Supreme Court risks undermining its legitimacy
Under the radar A contentious legal battle over whether to seat one of its own members threatens not only the future of the court's ideological balance, but its role in the public sphere
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published