Educator talks about leaving his career after student dispute leads to injuries

(WRGB) – For years we've reported on the teacher shortage facing school districts across the country, and now a former educator is sharing her story just with us.

Erin Leavey has been out of the classroom for a few years, but she says she will always be a teacher. In November 2019, she was an instructional coach at a middle school in the City School District of Albany until one day a fight broke out between two students:

“It wasn't the fights I got into, it was the flood of students trying to instigate and videotape it, you know? And I was thrown backwards and ended up needing knee surgery,” Leavey said.

While she was on the road to recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak and with it, remote learning, disrupting students, teachers and parents. “When the pandemic started, I was in rehab. And then I just never went back… I hate to do that to the district because there are some great teachers who are doing fantastic things, Leavey tells CBS 6.

Erin is one of many who have left the teaching profession, and unfortunately she is not the only one affected by the now commonplace incidents in schools across the country.

DePaul University psychologist Susan Dvorak McMahon led a study that found rates of violence and aggression against educators during distance learning have declined in the wake of the pandemic. However, since schools have returned to normality, incidents have returned to the same levels and in many cases have become even worse.

80% of the thousands of teachers surveyed reported verbal or threatening aggression from students:

“If it becomes difficult to go to work and if you feel unsafe and if you have perhaps experienced some kind of threat or attack, of course that doesn't make you want to stay there, does it? It would be a very “It’s a normal reaction to want to leave,” McMahon said.

A student brawl resulted in a “stand-down” at Albany High on Friday. When we asked if Leavey was surprised by this, she replied, “No. I don't think anyone would do that. It's not just Albany. I wouldn’t be surprised if I hear this on television every day in some district.”

Despite the way she had to leave the profession, Erin still looks back fondly on her time in the classroom and still believes in the mission:

“I miss the opportunity to talk to children. To be that person for her,” Leavey tells CBS 6.

Crisis in the Classroom is a weekly segment in which CBS 6 examines issues facing educators, students and families. Send tips to our team by email or call (518) 288-6034.