APS staff report burnout, heavy workloads in union survey

A quarter of Albuquerque Public Schools employees who responded to a district-wide survey said they were dissatisfied with their jobs, according to a report from the Albuquerque Teachers Federation.

Unmanageable workload, strained work-life balance, poor student behavior, too much testing and administrative issues were among the chief complaints. Special education teachers also reported high caseloads and inadequate planning time.

The survey received about 2,000 responses from union and non-union teachers, counselors, speech therapists, nurses, social workers and other employees, a response rate of around 30%, according to ATF President Ellen Bernstein.

Elementary school employees reported slightly higher levels of dissatisfaction than other APS staff, while high school staff said they were slightly happier with their jobs.

The greatest levels of dissatisfaction in the report appear among special education employees, particularly at the middle school level. Nearly 37% reported fair or poor professional well-being, and almost 58% said they had a fair or poor work-life balance, the highest percentages of any educator group.

“The number of struggling educators is significant enough to make addressing these issues urgent if they're to be able to manage their careers,” Bernstein said at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting.

Educators often reported significant workloads, requiring them to complete administrative tasks outside of work hours. Some school staff said in the survey they worked anywhere from 10 to 12 hours weekly outside of their regular contract hours. One special education teacher said they worked 25 to 30 hours off the clock every week.

Special education teacher Desiree Spielman told the board Wednesday that she consistently works at least 10 hours outside of her obligated hours to complete paperwork, prepare lesson plans and update students’ individualized education programs, or IEPs.

“I am asking the leadership and board to eliminate superfluous, confusing mandates that have dubious effects on students' learning and educators' ability to meet student needs,” Spielman said.

Nearly 50% of APS respondents said their workload was unmanageable, levels which rose to 56% among elementary school teachers and 55% of teachers at K-8 schools. 

Almost 63% of elementary special education teachers and almost 68% of middle school special education teachers reported unmanageable workloads.

“I am exhausted, overstimulated, and questioning how long I can do this,” one anonymous teacher said. Another said their job had become impossible to do well without sacrificing weekends and family time.

Teachers reported needing more planning time and fewer interruptions to sort through a backlog of administrative tasks.

“Paperwork has drained me,” one teacher said. “Every time I feel caught up, something else is thrown on my plate.”

Almost 69% of survey respondents said work-related stress affects their personal well-being.

Last month, the New Mexico House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of House Memorial 47, which requests a study on teacher workloads. The study seeks to understand how teacher time is allocated throughout the instructional day, and how administrative requirements and available time and resources impact teacher workload.

APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey said in a statement the district supported the study and recognized how much more complex teaching had become in recent years

APS is committed to working with the union to strengthen behavioral support systems and to give teachers more “time to collaborate,” Blakey said.

“Our teachers are the backbone of our school district, and we’re incredibly grateful to each of them for the important work they’re doing to improve outcomes for our students,” Blakey said. “We are always striving for improvement and look forward to working collaboratively with the teachers’ union as we continue the important job of preparing our students to succeed in the world.”

Many school staff members spoke of worsening and often violent student behavior in the years since the pandemic. Some raised issues with cellphones, vapes and weapons on campus.

More than a third of survey respondents — almost 35% — reported experiencing physical harm from a student at school. More than two-thirds said they’d experienced verbal aggression.

“The worst was when I was intentionally set on fire by a student with a magnifying glass until flames were visible in my hair,” said one respondent.

Other teachers talked of having work-related nightmares in their survey responses and said they had to seek professional help to keep their jobs.

“It feels like I’m a prison guard that is also a teacher, counselor, parent and provider,” one respondent said.

Board President Ronalda Tome-Warito told school staff Wednesday she’d heard their concerns.

“Where there was need expressed, we are working with the administration on resolutions,” she said.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.