Eighty-five percent of teachers choose the profession because they want to “make a worthwhile difference in the lives of children,” according to survey results published in 2018.
Noble as it is, the profession is not as popular a career choice as it once was.
Utah is spared a sweeping, statewide teacher shortage, but there are still retention issues in areas like rural districts, special education classrooms, and STEM fields. Additionally, more than half the state's teachers left after an eight-year period, from 2008 to 2015, according to a 2017 report from the Utah Education Policy Center.