Four out of five D.C. teachers are unhappy with their jobs and nearly half plan to leave their roles in the next few years, according to a survey the Washington Teachers’ Union conducted in September.

The survey does not bode well for a school system that already had higher teacher attrition than the national average before the pandemic drove educators across the country out of the workforce. The results echo recent data by the State Board, which reported last year that about 43.4 percent of teachers considered quitting due to the stresses of the pandemic.

D.C. councilmembers held a hearing on teacher turnover on Tuesday, with dozens of educators offering testimony. Scott Goldstein, a former DCPS teacher who is now executive director of education advocacy group EmpowerEd, urged councilmembers to advance solutions he and other teachers have long advocated for.

Those solutions include more flexible scheduling, higher salaries, and changes to the controversial local evaluation system, known as IMPACT.

“The time for waiting, nudging, pushing, and prodding is over,” Goldstein said. “We need the council to act.”

The vast majority of the 629 respondents to the union’s survey called retention a “very serious” or “fairly serious” problem. A majority of teachers are also unsatisfied with turnover and increased workload, and about 62 percent of teachers say they are “not satisfied” when it comes to having the time to meet all professional responsibilities.

A DCPS spokesperson says that as of this week, there are 149 teacher vacancies across the system. There are 403 new teachers, bringing the current teacher total to 4,543.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which publishes annual teacher retention data, has not yet published data for the ongoing school year. Last year it took until May to release the data. At Tuesday’s council hearing, a bill that would require more prompt reporting from the office was also on the agenda.

The union has also not had a contract with DCPS since 2019, putting raises on hold and driving more teachers out. Meanwhile, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a four-year labor contract with the union for school principals in September.

The teachers’ union plans to march at the Anacostia Metro Station on Oct. 27 at 7 a.m. It has also circulated a petition demanding a fair contract saying the system suffers a “debilitating” teacher shortage.

“In too many schools across our community, students are struggling because their teachers can’t get the time, tools, or respect they need from their district and the city to do their jobs well,” the union said in the petition.

The petition also describes the mayor as showing “little interest in coming to the table and working with teachers on solutions.” The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement to DCist/WAMU, DCPS said it “greatly values the contributions of all our teachers.”

“We continue to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement. We are proud of the offer we have made to the Washington Teachers Union that includes robust compensation increases for educators,” DCPS said. “We will continue to work diligently toward providing stability for our educators with a finalized contract.”

Frazier O’Leary, a teacher member of the State Board of Education representing Ward 4, says educators are leaving because they are not truly appreciated.

“DCPS teachers have been working without a contract for over three years while being praised for their fortitude, flexibility, and passion during the most trying time in our education history,” O’Leary said, adding that this “faint praise falls on deaf ears.”

This story has been updated to include information from DCPS and DCPS Teachers Speak, a survey by the Washington Teachers’ Union.