Nationwide, there has been a mass flight of teachers from education. In December 2021, Forbes warned that migration from the teaching profession would be a major problem in 2022. Coined the Great Resignation, the article reported around one in three teachers is at least considering leaving the classroom, and school districts across the US are faced with more teachers resigning than those applying. As the school year comes to a close, many teachers at BSM have reevaluated their careers and chosen to change fields.

Theology and American Experience teacher Sam Vetch is leaving education after six years teaching total and four years at Benilde-St. Margaret’s. He doesn’t have any solidified plans and is keeping an open mind, but he is currently looking to work in mail delivery, the food and beverage industry, or insurance. He originally decided to become a teacher to form a meaningful connection with his students.

“There was an opportunity to learn, especially besides students, which is kind of why I wanted to get into the job as a kind of a lifelong learning opportunity. And getting a chance to know and build relationships with awesome people, and hopefully to give students an opportunity to kind of empower themselves and to think about things that maybe they hadn’t thought of before. That’s been something that I’ve been able to do as especially as a theology teacher in a much more secular world. That’s been a challenge, but [it has] also been a fun challenge to kind of work with,” Vetch said.

Despite enjoying his work as a teacher, Vetch felt as though the changes to online learning, new schedules, and other abrupt shifts have hindered his ability to reach his full capacity and have caused undue stress. “There seems to be a constant shift in terms of how school days are being organized [and] online learning platforms. Some of those things haven’t allowed me to master the content and to teach the content as I would like to. That’s led to a lot of stress, not feeling like I’ve been able to give everything that I would like to give as a teacher. … [The] constant shift over the last three years has [made it] tough to adjust and to find a space where I feel like I can really progress forward professionally the way that I would like to,” Vetch said.

French teacher Frédérique Toft is also leaving BSM next year to transition into a new phase of her life after teaching at BSM for eight years and working in education briefly beforehand. “I am not leaving for another job somewhere else so for me, it’s more kind of a transition time in my life where I’m going to be an empty nester with my husband next year, and it’s kind of a natural time to move to something else,” Toft said.

Toft has worked in a variety of fields that use her experience with and knowledge of other cultures and languages. She has worked as an interpreter for hospitals, in social services, and at a program called Women, Children, Infants (WIC) as well as working in international business before entering education. She has considered returning to her previous fields and continuing to work part-time as a substitute teacher. “For me [teaching] is more than a job. It’s sharing what my language and culture are about and hopefully passing some of that interest and curiosity to my students… [But] I don’t think I’ve ever been made to do the same thing for 40 years. That’s just not me,” Toft said.

English teacher Matt Dooley is also leaving BSM after two years to pursue further education in mental health studies and change careers after eight years of teaching to become a therapist. “I just feel like it’s time for a new direction for me. You know, I’ve been a high school teacher for eight years in different schools. I think for many people, teaching is kind of a lifelong mission for them, and for other people, it’s one step [in] their career. I’ve realized it’s one step for me, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” Dooley said.

Dooley hopes to pursue a career as a therapist for a similar reason he wanted to be a teacher: to help individuals learn how to build resilience and deal with challenges. “I became a teacher in the first place because I myself had really great teachers as a student… I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself that was preserving and passing on the importance of reading and writing deeply and thinking about who you are and who you want to be and how you can do that. English class, in particular, was really influential for me. [This] connects to why I want to be a therapist because it’s a very similar approach,” Dooley said.

History teacher and boys hockey coach Tom Klein has worked in various professions, such as on construction sites, and is once again ready to switch gears. Now, Klein plans to teach world religion part-time at St. Thomas because he has always wanted to work in a small college environment. After five years here at BSM, he knows he’ll cherish the relationships he’s found and the supportive community the most. “I know it’s time for me to do something different now, but I’ve totally enjoyed my career,” Klein said.

Engineering teacher Peter Kirwin has spent the past seven years teaching at BSM. He was originally planning to fill in only until they found someone to permanently take the position but decided to stay in the engineering program after seeing the different approach BSM takes in education. He appreciated how the school viewed all of its students uniquely and truly cared about each individual’s success. “When [students came] down here, they had a lot in common, and they found a lot of success. And that was just great to see,” Kirwin said.

However, Kirwin has decided BSM is no longer a place he wants to devote his attention to due to multiple policy changes that he does not support. Now, he plans to invest more of his time in his job as the director of innovation for a small renewable energy development company. “I think [the policies are] sending the school kind of backwards in time in terms of what good education looks like with a lot of standardization and a lot more emphasis on test scores,” Kirwin said.

Theology teacher Charles Keyes began his teaching mission by volunteering with an organization called Net Ministries. Keyes enjoyed the opportunity to travel around the country and work with sixth to twelfth graders in discussing his faith and being able to connect with them in that way. Keyes also worked in an immersion program teaching young men in Saudi Arabia. “When I graduated I was looking for jobs and eventually ended up here. I just have kind of this passion for being able to share faith and share the truth of the gospel with others, which is why I’ve been in Catholic education and teaching theology,” Keyes said.

Although Keyes has really loved his work at BSM, he thinks it is best for himself and his family to move forward with a different career path. Now, he will be dedicating his time to the North Memorial Hospital where he will be in the development field. His job will entail making connections between people in the hospital regarding donor relations. He will also be responsible for federal and foundation grants for the hospital. “I think I knew that when I was leaving education, I wanted to go do something that was meaningful because I find a lot of meaning in teaching. And so having the opportunity to be at least in the medical field and helping people eat healthy and save lives, that was really attractive to me that I would still be doing something that was making a real difference and helping people,” Keyes said.

BSM is truly in the midst of its own Great Resignation as a total of 17 faculty and staff members are departing this year. As the 2022-23 school year approaches, departments throughout the school will struggle to fill vacant positions and mitigate the harmful effects of this nation-wide phenomenon.