Louisiana Teachers Leaving the Classroom in Droves

It's tough to keep teachers in Louisiana and the problem is expected to get worse before it gets better.

A new report shows as many as 1,700 public school teachers in Louisiana have left classrooms because of the state's tougher tenure law.

The Advocate outlines a report from Tulane University which shows many of the teachers saying goodbye to the classroom are older teachers nearing retirement age and educators who have chosen to work in failing schools.

The report says at least 3 percent of the state's teacher workforce has left since the new tenure law went into effect a couple of years ago.

The study was done by the Tulane-based Education Research Alliance for New Orleans. The group's board includes officials of the state's two teacher unions, charter school advocates and others.

Teachers say the new law makes it very difficult for new teachers to earn tenure and that is making it tough to keep them in the profession. The report is also critical of policies that tie job protections to annual ratings based mainly on student achievement.