Sooo far behind

Does anyone else feel that they are so far behind in their curriculum map that you feel like giving up? I do! The students I have just seem to take so much longer to "get" things. I have tried different strategies and I have tried different reward strategies, but nothing seems to motivate these students to learn or retain information. Has anyone else noticed this total lack of motivation? I have some students who panic about their grades and I have some that have a zero for their interim report grade. I have no contact numbers that work for parents and I am not the only teacher at my school to encounter these problems. This seems to be an epidemic at my school and no one seems to know how to fix it. It does make me feel better that I am not experiencing these problems because I am the new teacher, but it also discourages me.