By DAVID BOYLE
There seem to be many teachers who are leaving the profession. The Anchorage Education Association (AEA) says that exodus is due to low salaries and high healthcare premiums. Dozens of teachers in purple AEA shirts recently testified at an ASD School Board meeting that unjust compensation is the greatest issue and may lead them to leave teaching. But what is the real reason so many teachers across the nation are leaving the profession?
According to a recent Rand study, teachers rated student behavior and unruly classrooms as the number one reason they had left the profession. Misbehaving students even outranked low salaries. Is it possible that classroom management and unruly students could be the leading cause? Maybe the use of restorative justice in disciplining unruly students is not working out as theoretically planned.
The previous discipline paradigm relied on detention, suspension, and expulsion. Unfortunately, those students that were suspended for several days had difficulty catching up to the class instruction. And the expelled students were pretty much on the streets.
But the education academicians came up with restorative justice as the new means of correcting a student’s misbehavior. It replaces punishing a misbehaving student with building relationships based on respect and responsibility for one’s actions.
The new restorative justice paradigm relies on talking circles, conflict resolution, and direct interaction between the offender and the victim. Theoretically, that would work for some students. But it does not work for all students, and maybe the most disruptive ones.
How did this thing called “restorative justice” originate?
Restorative justice was conceived because it was thought that minority students were being more harshly disciplined than other students. Black and Hispanic students showed more suspensions and expulsions compared to white students. But maybe the minority students were actually misbehaving.
The NEA believes the current discipline practices are unfair to Black and Brown students. This is from the NEA Handbook:
“The Association acknowledges the disparate and disproportionate consequences of such negative disciplinary practices for racially and ethnically diverse students, in particular Black and Latin(o/a/x) students, and believes that district and administrative policies should promote restorative justice practices and positive behavioral choices. The Association, in order to improve human relations, calls for—Schools and classrooms that implement trainings and strategies addressing implicit bias, equity, diversity, racial justice, and restorative justice.”
It seems as if the Anchorage School District uses NEA-National guidance instead of local guidance to implement its policies. Just like the district did when it implemented its Transgender Administrative Guidelines.
To determine if the Anchorage School District used restorative justice, I submitted an Open Records request on August 22 and asked the Anchorage School Superintendent if the district had implemented restorative justice. Here is that request:
In accordance with the State of Alaska’s Open Records request, please provide the following information: 1. District policy on restorative justice; 2. District administrative guidelines and any other rules/regulations/memos implementing restorative justice; and 3. Any district directives to school staff re restorative justice.
Here is the ASD Superintendent’s response, as usual taking the maximum number of 10 business days to respond:
From: Office Of The Superintendent <[email protected]>
Sent: Sep 8, 2025 3:09 PM
To: XXXX
Dear Mr. Boyle,
The District has no records responsive to your request dated August 22, 2025.
Thank you,
Office of the Superintendent
The district denied that it had restorative justice in effect in its schools.
Apparently, the district did not look deep enough into its files to find restorative justice. So, I took a deeper look to see if indeed the ASD had restorative justice documented. Here is restorative justice listed in its 2024 legislative priorities:
Here is another example of restorative justice found in the introduction to the FY26 budget and signed by the school board president, Andy Holleman:
By implementing restorative justice in its schools, is the ASD increasing the exodus of teachers? Has the district asked classroom teachers how it is working to help them manage the classroom? Only an independent survey of exiting teachers would indicate how unruly students and classroom management impact these teachers. That would be more telling than testimony by AEA purple shirted members demanding higher salaries during current contract negotiations.
It is well past time allowing a handful of unruly students to disrupt the learning process of most students. Students have a right to learn. And teachers have a right to a well-disciplined classroom. Maybe it is time to stop experimenting with our kids on theoretical ideas from the education cartel. Maybe it is time to return to the former student discipline paradigm.
With a well-managed classroom, students can effectively learn, and teachers can use their time to actually teach. And we need all the effective classroom teachers we can keep.
David Boyle is an education writer for Must Read Alaska.
Good luck getting any ounce of truth from ANYONE related to or employed in any way at ASD except for a small handful of the working class teachers in the classrooms who have to endure the abuse regularly dished out from irresponsible entitled youth.
The Superintendent is the worst offender when it comes to telling lies.
His refusal to allow Dr. Ben Carson to speak at ASD students on school property speaks louder volumes than anyone can imagine.
I know some teachers dealing with what you said It is 100% true People use school for a cheap daycare were discipline is not aloud
just curious, stir-fry, did ewe goe too skoul in aLaska?
It starts with the principle.
I did publicly object to the Superintendent’s unjustified refusal to allow Dr. Ben Carson to visit and speak at ASD schools.
Obviously speaking for myself and not the ASD or School Board.
Classrooms are no more than an example of life in the real world for the students. Therefore, the classrooms need to have a standard for all concerning management and discipline. To come up with any other standard than a non-disciplined classroom is just setting up the students for failure in real life. There are consequences in real life and should also be in the training grounds of the classroom. Anything less is a loss to the students for the future.
you make a spot on point! real world consequences are missing for most youth. Is this the Terry I worked with?
As usual, a lengthy diatribe kludged from misdirection, nonsense, faulty logic, and shallow rhetoric, all in an attempt to deny the few facts available.
Ex
“As usual” is spot on. I continue to hope that the new management of MRAK will produce relevant and easy to read and understand articles. And I continue to be disappointed.
It is such a shame that the new publisher could not have reached a deal with Downing that kept her doing her thing.
I’ll take “Word Salad” for 100, Ken!
Out of idle curiosity, Marc can you actually articulate the “few facts available” and why you think this is all hooey?
Oh Marc, ye of little knowledge or refusal of knowledge regarding the lack of discipline in schools. The classrooms are in turmoil because the ASD chooses to let them be that way. It is time to get back to allowing GOOD teachers control of their classroom so they can actually teach!
Marc, kindly share the facts with us. Beyond of course the blindly obvious fact that Public Education is a total failure.
Race and culture must never be a reason to excuse bad behavior, there can be no “I din do nuffin. “All students must be held to higher standards of obedience, and reasonable courtesy or instruction cannot take place. The attention seekers and misbehavors rule the classroom if not corrected.
Low IQ = Low Impulse Control.
Lower the standards to deny the ugly obvious.
Trump won – we can speak the truth again.
We need to look into encouraging the big man to pardon Senator Menendez of New Jersey, totally wrongfully and witch hunt chased down stomp stomp, Biden did it
and the crazies continue to run the nut house.
I truly miss Suzanne Downing!!! I rarely read MRA since she has left. I’m happy to see that other’s miss her too.
Black,Brown or White…….. a paddle with holes in it straightened us out and kept our shenanigans at a minimum. Deserved every spank and I got. A paddle known’s no skin color.
We’ve got three generations that are raising the next generation that doesn’t know what a crack on the butt means. Who would’ve thunkded.
“Restorative justice” – add that to the list of 45 words and phrases used by liberal boneheads to make themselves feel good.
Black and brown behavior is most often unfair to White students.
Restorative justice” is neither
I don’t know if “restorative justice” will drive teachers away but I am certain that a culture of mendacity, as practiced by the superintendent, will most definitely cause that result.
Bring back the paddle ! How far backwards do we plan to go.
100%.
If I were a minority who had been identified as the reason Restorative Justice was implemented in schools or on the streets I’d be insulted. It insinuates certain minorities are unable or less able to conduct themselves civilly in society and need special rules to allow for that. That is a hallmark and reasoning used to justify all kinds of racism & discrimination in the past.
Restorative justice will always fail because the kiddies need DISCIPLINE. Without it, there is little incentive to behave. Child psychology 001.
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But in 2025 there is very little discipline. And a big reason why is because the teachers and school principals had little discipline as well.
Student discipline is a HUGE PROBLEM nationwide as well as in ASD schools. Worse problem, teachers are always blamed and don’t have any support from administrators and in some cases parents. Social Emotional Learning has been in ASD schools for the last 15-20 years and has not proved to be effective. Time to get back to discipline that works. CONSEQUENCES for students’ actions.
As a Tier 3 teacher in Alaska I can definitely say the main 2 reasons I consider leaving the profession are 1.) Inadequate pay & retirement options 2.) inadequate staffing. This article feels like another attempt to pull a race card to distract everyone from the reality of what’s happening in the school system. The best thing by far in my job is the kids, and that’s why I’m doing it. “Restorative Justice” isn’t some new idea. This guy named Jesus was practicing it way back when he gave people the benefit of the doubt when they messed up. Rather than resorting to immediate exile, he taught people how to do better. His method: compassion and forgiveness. We need these things to have a functional society.
To sum up: teachers aren’t leaving the profession because of restorative justice or any other trendy classroom management strategy (which seem to change every couple years anyway). We are leaving because we are carrying the workload of 2 or more people for half the amount of pay we need to support our families.
Tara, thank you for teaching our future leaders. Do you know what the budgeted cost for an ASD teacher is? It is $110,000, including pay and benefits. I do agree that the most effective teachers should be paid more. But that is not what the teachers union wants in its contract. That union wants everyone to be paid the same based on extra education credits and longevity. My question: what do you think about the superintendent denying that Restorative Justice is being used in the ASD?
Wow! Using the name of Jesus to legitimize your woke policies is really showing your lack of biblical knowledge. Jesus was pretty harsh with the “elite” of those times. Read the book before you make silly comparisons please. And maybe teach the kids something so their national scores aren’t the lowest in the nation? Please?
Get a job for the three months off you have every summer.
Average Anchorage ASD teacher makes $58k to $75k.
Average salary in Alaska is $66k.
Please stop acting like you are being abused.
Don’t make us responsible for your poor life choices.
So,how much MORE of the public’s PFD do youexpect?? Is there an amount you can define as sufficient??
As a victim of felony violent crime, I share concerns about the fairness to victims with the use of “restorative justice.” As a State Senator and Representative, I sponsored many of the current State laws protecting the rights of victims of crime. I have continued to advocate for ASD students and staff who are victims of violence. In public meetings, I have repeatedly questioned the use of “restorative justice” by ASD and advocated respecting victims’ rights. I specifically asserted that our State Constitutional protections for crime victims should be relevant to violence within the district, including violence against teachers. I obtained some assurances that victims were not being forced into these types of programs. My efforts to increase mandatory expulsion periods to distinguish between bringing an air gun to schools versus a loaded firearm were rejected. That rejection was not common sense. I am running for Anchorage Assembly in Midtown Anchorage to restore common sense for Anchorage.
Speaking only for myself and not the ASD or Anchorage School Board.
Lack of discipline in schools are a direct result of poor parenting and the nobody is a loser mentality of today’s youth. When you have a two parent household and discipline at home you have children that are motivated to learn and thrive in a demanding society. Anything else and you have what is now happening.
“..it was thought that minority students were being more harshly disciplined than other students.”
Ha ha ha. The little princess and princesses never met the Roman Catholic nuns who taught us (black, white, brown, red, didn’t matter, they were colorblind) and disciplined/spanked/beat/paddled, or a switch across the back of the hands for each and every childhood deed of misconduct. Real or perceived. Then the call home to mom and another beating in reserved. Bring back corporal punishment and watch the change in behavior. Enough coddling. It isn’t working. And low pay? Give me a break.
Corporal punishment should be added to the school’s toolbox, as a back-up measure, if other methods of correction do not work. I went to Nordale Elementary School in Fairbanks in 1961, and I remember that corporal punishment was a tool that they had.
There were some really good, innocent, kids who were truly traumatized by the corporal punishment practiced at Fox Elementary in the 70’s and early 80’s. Your mileage might vary.
When corporal punishment returns to schools so will good student behavior.
The individual teachers who are best at implementing practices that look a bit like “restorative justice” have the best behaved classrooms. The thing about a primarily punitive approach to classroom discipline is that it really was never that effective (in recent decades at least, I don’t know about the 1950s) at correcting behavior. Classroom behavior would improve by segregating troublemakers out of the classroom, but unless you expel them – alienated students are bad influences on a classroom.
Approaches that look a bit like restorative justice are common in churches, family environments and sports teams. They are common because they work and because WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER. They also work in classrooms, and if you talk to the teachers you know who are best at their jobs and who love teaching, they will explain to you that it works, even though many of them won’t call it by that name and won’t give much/any credit to the administration for their shambolic attempts to implement it.
Good teachers might use detention and punishment as one of their disciplinary tools, but it’s not their first or favorite tool.