A new poll out from Morning Consult finds that teacher morale is rock-bottom, teachers’ optimism about K-12 education has hit its lowest point in four years, and the majority of teachers support most forms of school choice, including Education Savings Accounts, public charter schools, and open enrollment among districts.

In New Jersey specifically, John Abeigon, the teacher union president in Newark, told NJ Spotlight that teaching morale is so low “it is in the basement.” (Abeigon hopes a new contract that will raise teacher salaries to the highest in the state and “leave decisions about learning to teachers” will raise morale.)

Generally, teachers report the highest satisfaction in relationships with family members. They are least satisfied with their physical and mental health. Two-thirds of teachers feel a “sense of purpose” and “hopeful” when thinking about the future. Nearly 1 in 3 say they feel “overwhelmed.

Here are other insights from the poll:

• Teachers’ optimism for K-12 education has hit the lowest point in 4 years. Positive feelings about the direction of K-12 education have continued to fall sharply at the national, state, and local levels.

• This spring, teachers across school types express high levels of pessimism about the teaching profession. The proportion of teachers who would recommend the teaching profession has continued to fall to substantially lower levels.

• In the past year, 40% of teachers say they have had to change their teaching curriculum due to new state laws. Over 25% say their library removed books as a result. Almost half of teachers (49%) have decided on their own to limit discussions on political and social issues in than one-third say they have seen their fellow teachers do the same.

• Teachers report more frequent absences among their students than they did in the fall. District school teachers continue to report more absences than private teachers.

• Almost half of teachers say that student misbehaviors are more frequent this year than last year. District school teachers saw an increase in these misbehaviors, while private school teachers experienced a decrease since the fall.

• Nearly 3 in 4 teachers say their classes are interrupted by student discipline issues at least somewhat frequently. More than half say technology malfunctions interrupt classes at a similar frequency.

• Less than 1 in 5 teachers believe students are progressing very well academically, emotionally, and socially. Private school teachers report much better student progress than district school teachers.

• About half of teachers are allowed to establish and enforce their own cell phone policies. Almost two-thirds of teachers work in schools where students are allowed to have cell phones with them at school. Teachers are much less supportive of cell phones in school and in the classroom than school parents.

• Two-thirds of teachers think their students are on social media at least “very often.” High school teachers are more likely to report their students on social media. Teachers feel much more negatively than teenagers about the effects of social media. Almost 9 in 10 teachers think kids should be at least 13 in order to access social media.

• About half of teachers would prefer to teach one or more days per week outside of a school building.

• When given a policy description, teacher support increases for charter schools. That is especially the case for those with the fewest years of teaching experience.

• Teachers’ support is high for inter-district open enrollment. When a policy description is provided, support increases the most among private school teachers.

Aside from school vouchers, at least half of teachers show support for a range of school choice policies. This support has fallen slightly since the fall:

Education savings accounts (ESAs) – 69%

Open enrollment – 63%

Charter schools – 50%

School vouchers – 41%