Teachers deserve a raise.
"If [legislators] don't raise the entire ocean of money, then all the boats are going to sink." - Randy Studt, West Lafayette high school teacher
Teachers in the U.S. aren’t getting paid what they deserve, and it’s actively harming American students. - Amber & Katie
Source: The Teacher Pay Gap Is Wider Than Ever | Economic Policy Institute
The average starting salary for an American public school teacher is $39,249 a year, just 78% of the national average starting salary for others with a bachelor’s degree ($50,359). On this pittance, new teachers are also expected to purchase classroom supplies and teaching materials, repay their student loans, work extra hours lesson planning and grading, and pay for increasingly expensive benefits--on average $460.16 each month.
These abysmal numbers actually get worse over time, ensuring experienced teachers’ salary increases do not keep pace with inflation. Over the last decade, teacher salaries have actually decreased by 4.5%.
It should be little surprise that we’re facing a teacher shortage. High teacher attrition and turnover are significant problems (especially for high poverty schools), and the pipeline for certified teachers has also shrunk. Alternative certifications and programs like Teach for America--which gives college grads five weeks of training before putting them in front of classrooms--are growing. Multiple studies have found this turnover--and the lack of experienced, highly qualified teachers--to be “the main driver of declining student achievement” in high-poverty schools.
The benefits of paying teachers for their qualifications, experience, and hard work extend beyond a teacher’s personal financial health. Higher teacher pay has been repeatedly linked to better teacher quality and greater student achievement.
In 2018, West Virginia teachers launched the Red for Ed movement when they showed up at their state capitol and went on strike for higher pay for nine straight days. The result: a 5% teacher pay raise. Protests have followed in Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina, California and Oregon. These protests have often sought goals beyond simply teacher pay raises: a living wage for everyone who works in schools and education, better funding for public education period, smaller class sizes, on-site health and mental health care providers, arts and STEM programming, improving charter school accountability, and reducing teacher attrition.
Red for Ed has been notable not only for their success--even in red states--but for the way educators have, in typical fashion, gone on strike to improve not only their own lives, but the lives of their students and the communities they serve.
Sign up to get National Education Association mobile alerts and wear Red for Ed on Wednesdays.
Follow the NEA on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for updates.
Battles over teacher pay and school funding are fought at the state and local level. Learn more about the teacher pay gap in your state, and research how you can better support teachers and schools in your community.
Help teachers purchase classroom supplies and teaching materials by donating at Donors Choose.
Read and listen to this 2016 NPR series on school funding, School Money: The Cost of Opportunity.
Watch Kandice Sumner’s Ted Talk about inequity in public education funding.
Thank the teachers in your life for their dedication and sacrifice.
Forward this bulletin to a friend.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Let us know how you’ve taken action using #LinkedAndLoud.
References
Red For Ed | Nea Today
How Generous Are Teacher Benefits And Do They Make Up For Lower Pay? | Usa Today
Crushing Student Loan Debt, Stagnant Pay Can Put Teachers In Financial Bind | Usa Today
Teacher Compensation: Fact Vs. Fiction | National Education Association
Average Teacher Salary Down 4.5% Over Last Decade | Nea Today
U.S. Schools Struggle To Hire And Retain Teachers | Economic Policy Institute
Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters And What We Can Do About It | Learning Policy Institute
Teach For America Raising Concerns In Teaching Profession | The Daily Illini
This Is What Happens When You Criticize Teach For America | The Nation
I Quit Teach For America | The Atlantic
Public School Strikes Revive Clash With Teach For America | Us News & World Report
Teachers Are Paid Almost 19 Percent Less Than Similar Workers | Economic Policy Institute
International Study Links Teacher Pay And Teacher Quality | Nea Today
Does It Pay To Pay Teachers More? Evidence From Texas | Journal Of Public Economics
Teacher Pay And School Productivity: Exploiting Wage Regulation | Journal Of Public Economics
Why Teacher Pay Matters: Recruitment And Retention Can Improve Results | The 74 Million
The Effects Of School Spending On Educational And Economic Outcomes: Evidence From School Finance Reforms | The Quarterly Journal Of Economics
Examining The Link Between Teacher Wages And Student Outcomes: The Importance Of Alternative Labor Market Opportunities And Non-pecuniary Variation | Susanna Loeb & Marianne E. Page
Talent Transfer Initiative: Attracting And Retaining High-performing Teachers In Low-performing Schools | Mathematica
Linked & Loud illuminates complex problems and connects readers with the individuals and organizations working to solve them. Each week, we go beyond horrifying headlines to empower readers to take progressive action.