Teachers and school support staff across Michigan are struggling with a rise in disruptive and sometimes dangerous student behaviors, which is threatening student success and is causing great educators to leave the profession, according to a new survey released by the Michigan Education Association.

According to the survey of 4,040 Michigan PreK-12 public school teachers and education support professionals:

• 82% have experienced verbal outbursts by students that have significantly disrupted learning.
• 66% have had items destroyed or damaged due to student behavior.
• 58% have experienced verbal aggression or threats made by a student.
• 40% have had to evacuate a classroom due to student behavior.
• 64% say that problems with student behavior have made them more likely to leave the education profession.

Meanwhile, educators report a lack of support while trying to manage student behavior: 84% said they’ve faced a lack of support from involved families, 62% report not having enough classroom staff support, and 62% say they’ve lacked support from school administrators.

“We as a state and in our local communities must do more to support the root causes of student behavior issues — only then can we ensure every school is the safe, nurturing place it should be for every student and educator,” said Erik Edoff, MEA’s senior executive director. “Teachers and school support staff are doing everything they can to help our kids learn while keeping students safe and healthy. To better address this issue, educators need more resources from policymakers, as well as more support from families and community-based services.”

Bridget Corie, a teacher in Saline Area Schools and president of the Saline Education Association, said: “As educators, we enter this profession because we care about children. We love what we do, we build connections, and we would move mountains to help students reach their goals. But sometimes there are roadblocks to getting there, and student behavior has become a major roadblock for educators across the state.”

“We have seen behaviors where desks are being flipped, chairs are being tossed and objects are being thrown across the room,” Corie explained. “We also have educators who are being verbally threatened and physically harmed. They’re being spit on, slapped, kicked, punched and even choked. Sometimes these behaviors have resulted in significant injuries — and in situations where there isn’t a physical mark, there is an emotional toll on everybody after these behaviors occur.”

“All of these situations impact the learning environment,” Corie said. “Every time you have an unexpected disruption or an unexpected behavior, the focus gets shifted from learning, and it gets put on managing the behavior and keeping children safe.”

MEA is committed to working on this issue in the months ahead, in both Lansing and locally.

“This is a complicated problem affecting schools and communities across Michigan,” Edoff said. “It’s going to take all of us working together to fix it — a partnership of educators, administrators, families, policymakers and community organizations to deliver what our students need to succeed. After all, we all have a stake in helping create a brighter future for our students, our communities and our state.”

The survey was conducted online Aug. 12-21 by Ann Arbor-based Emma White Research LLC. The margin of error is plus/minus 1.5%.

• View the research slides presented at the Nov. 12 press conference or the full research report on the student behavior survey.
• READ MORE: Erik Edoff in the Detroit News: “Supporting every student to ensure safe learning and working environments”