Great resignation: Black teachers are fleeing Philly schools

Tracey, a high school teacher in the Philadelphia School District, remembers the hurtful comments she heard from parents when she started her career over a decade ago as a young Black teacher in what was then a predominantly white area of southwest Philly. “And I’m like, what does my race and the fact that I don’t have children have to do with me educating your child?” Tracey’s frustrations mirror those of other Black teachers in Philadelphia. “Black public school educators in Philadelphia have grown weary, for good reason,” wrote education scholar and author Camika Royal in her 2022 book “Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia.” Our interviews suggest a key reason for this weariness has to do with experiences of racism within the larger school district that affect Black teachers across the system, but manifest differently depending on their schools’ locations. But the person behind me who was white, they’ll say something to them before even say, ‘Good morning.’” Racial microaggressions toward Black teachers is certainly not a new phenomenon. A recent nationwide survey also found that racial microaggressions are a major reason Black teachers across the U.S. are leaving teaching at high rates.