Teacher Bonuses: SMSD employees who worked throughout COVID-19 will be rewarded with a $700 bonus

SMSD has decided to give teachers who continued to teach through the COVID-19 pandemic a $700 bonus. Counselors, custodians, principals and other faculty also qualify for the bonus, costing the district $2.3 million in total.

According to edweek.org, around 8% of teachers nationally quit every year, but the number spiked during 2020 and 2021. Many teachers faced burnout and struggled with motivation and mental health. According to the Shawnee Mission Post, this motivated the district to reward the teachers who stayed through the school year, according to the Shawnee Mission Post.

“Teaching during COVID-19 was really difficult,” East business teacher, Amanda Doane, said. “It was really hard to make connections with students without them physically there and there was a lot of uncertainty. We also had to relearn how to teach and effective methods before COVID were not effective during COVID”.

A poll conducted by the National Education Association determined that out of 3,621 teachers, 55% said they were likely to retire or quit teaching due to the pandemic.

To qualify for the bonus, teachers and staff members must have been teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic or since the 2019-2020 school year and must still be teaching when the bonus is sent out. SMSD employees will receive their bonus by Sept. 6, 2023.