40% of the teachers in Florida are Baby Boomers.  That is a good news/bad news story.  The good news is that students have been benefiting from experienced teachers.  The bad news is that 40% of the teaching staff is going to retire all at once.  And that doesn’t include the ancillary staff; secretaries, administrators, custodians and more will be retiring as well. 

When the school year ends, Ellen West, a Florida high school principal, is heading home to begin the life for which she has always been too busy. She plans to show up for regular visits at her granddaughter’s elementary school, focus on her artwork and do all the exercising and reading she’s behind on. She may even return to work in an Educator Preparation Institute, which trains teachers. Spending more time with her husband is on the list, too. And so is spending more time with her five dogs.  “I’ll probably have to live to be 110 to get everything I want to do done,” West joked.
Gainesville.com

Baby Boomers seem to be in two camps; one group isn’t even thinking about retirement.  The careers they have are not ones they plan to leave as they have been lucky enough to find work they love and thrive in.  The other group has a whole other set of plans and this group is in the majority.  They want to retire to enjoy the finer and more exciting parts of life.

The gaps that these Baby Boomers will leave will be difficult to fill.  The job market will open up without a doubt, but the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will become available will be filled with younger and less experienced people.  It will be interesting to follow the trends and impact to society due to these changes.

Boomers Leaving Schools and a Void