Indianas Red for Ed: A year later, COVID-19 has largely erased the sense of momentum – IndyStar

Thousands attend the Red for Ed rally at the Indiana State House Indianapolis Star

A year ago Thursday, Indiana saw one of the largest Statehouse rallies in recent memory.

That morning, the buses arrived early and often, depositing throngs of red-clad educators and supportersto the lawn of the states capitol building. By 9 a.m., the block around the building had turned into a crimson sea.

Teachers had shown up and shown out for the closest thing to a walkout Indiana had seen since the Red for Ed movement picked up steam elsewhere around the country in the preceding years. Half of the states roughly one million schoolchildren were out of class for the day as more than 130 school districts closed some in solidarity and some because they didnt have enough teachers left to cover classrooms.

Thousands of teachers gathered outside the Indiana Statehouse for Red for Ed Action Day on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

It attracted national figures and national attention.

And it was largely successful.

Two of the three biggest requests teachers had that day were granted later in the legislative session. The third an investment in teacher pay has been a taller order and, at the time, lawmakers said it would have to wait until the state crafted its next biennial budget during the 2021 legislative session.

Three months later, the world changed when the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe. And now the ongoing public health crisis has largely erased the sense of momentum built during last years historic march and any gains earned then may not be enough to keep teachers in the classroom now.

There was buzz around the event for days leading up to it as schools began to close as more teachers requested the day off. By 9 a.m. that morning, nearly the entire south lawn of the Statehouse was packed and a sea of red started wrapping around the building. Human tunnels greeted lawmakers at every entrance. A marching band took up residence on the south steps and whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, received a rock star's welcome as teachers lined up to take selfies with her. When she took the stage later in the day, the crowd erupted in chants of "Randi, Randi, Randi."

Taylor Malayer, a Crawfordsville High School teacher dressed as "Clifford the Big Red Dog," rallies amongst thousands on the south lawn of the Indiana Statehouse on Red for Ed Action Day in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

More than 15,000 people registered to attend the event, although no official crowd estimate was available. The Indiana State Police said 5,000 people made it into the capitol building for the days events, but there were thousands more outside all decked out in red coats, hats and, in at least one case, a "Clifford the Big Red Dog" costume.

Inside that costume was Taylor Malayer, an English teacher at Crawfordsville High School.

It was this huge build up, Malayer said. Locally, we did pass some major changes for teacher salaries. But then COVID changed the communitys view on teachers again.

Malayer said she felt a lot of support in the wake of the Red for Ed Action Day last November. Her school district raised salaries for most teachers, though she didnt have enough years with the district to be one of them.

Shell get the salary bump in two more years. But thats if she stays, and thats looking a lot less certain than it used to.

Do I look for jobs more often jobs than I should?" she said."Probably."

Malayer said it would take a serious salary increase to keep her in the profession. When she started teaching seven years ago, she made $40,000 a year. Now, the 30-year-old says she makes just $42,000 and the 30-year-old said she needs a boost to help pay off her student loans.

And the challenges of teaching during the pandemic are compounding all of the issues that existed before, she said. Teaching both online and in-person is exhausting, she said, as is trying to find some way to bring joy to a school year dominated by face masks, plexiglass and assigned seats at lunch.

Especially after COVID, I can see plenty of teachers retiring,"she said, "or young teachers wanting to leave."

The Indiana State Teachers Association put out a dire warning this week that the states existing teacher shortage could get much worse before it gets better if the state doesnt do something to address teacher pay and the increasing demands the pandemic has placed on educators.

A recent survey found current workloads and working conditions are leading to burnout.

Nearly all responding teachers 95% of 2,290 responses said theyve seen an increase in workloads due to COVID-19 and 71% said theyve considered retiring early or leaving the profession due to workload increases. Nearly 40,000 educators are members of ISTA.

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We simply dont have the personnel going into the field and weve got to turn that around, Gambill said. The number one way that is going to happen will be through pay.

Its the one thing that ISTA asked for last year and received little movement on from the General Assembly. Lawmakerssaid it would have to wait until the next budget writing year, which is 2021.

Gov. Eric Holcomb put together a commission to study the issue and recommendations are due to the legislature next month. But the pandemic has wreaked havoc on state finances and its unclear how much, if any, extra the state will have to give teachers.

House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said Tuesday that an upcomingrevenue forecast would give budget writers a better idea of the state's financial position heading into the upcoming session.

Lawmakers say they have increased the states investment in education in the two years and they did. But in most cases, those increases barely kept up with inflation and they were distributed unevenly across districts. The state has also done little to ensure any extra dollars actually make it into teachers pockets.

Most districts did give teachers a raise last year, but again they were awarded unevenly and still didnt get the state close to competitive with neighboring states like Michigan, Illinois and Ohio, which has long been the goal.

ISTA has argued it will take a bigger down payment on teacher pay to boost salaries to where they need to be starting pay of $40,000 and an average salary of $60,000.

We knew that a year ago, Gambill said, before we were in this time. It is the leading indicator as to why folks are leaving the profession.

Its one reason why Jack Graves is leaving the profession.

He grabbed attention during the Red for Ed rally last year with a sign that said, I make more at YATS. During his decade in education working as an autism therapist, he also held down a second job at YATS, a popular local restaurant.

Jack Graves has been a teacher for 10 years and also works at Yats restaurant for seven of those years. Yats is what pays his car payment and gives him spending money, he said.(Photo: MJ Slaby/IndyStar)

This is his last week with Indianapolis Public Schools. Graves said he was promised a raise but never saw one at least not from the district. Graves said YATS gave him one after the school district didnt.

Hes leaving school-based work to continue his work for an in-home service provider. His girlfriend, also a teacher, is leaving the profession at the end of the semester.

I fear theres going to be a mass exodus soon, he said. I know of a lot of people walking out of the classroom.

Graves said teachers need to be shown more respect if theyre going to stick around. During last years Red for Ed event, he said it seemed like a chance to gain a little bit of that back. For him, though, it didnt come to fruition.

I dont feel like anything came of it, he said. I had a great piece of pizza that day. That was about it.

There was no mass gathering at this years Organization Day, held earlier in the week. But ISTA is still outlining a series of legislative priorities for lawmakers to tackle when they begin the session in January.

Top of the list again this year: teacher pay.

Education reporter MJ Slaby contributed to this report.

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.

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Indianas Red for Ed: A year later, COVID-19 has largely erased the sense of momentum - IndyStar