Ask any teacher and they will tell you that they did not go into education for the money. For those who make education their lifelong career, they certainly do not stay in education for the paycheck. But what happens when your teacher salary no longer pays all the bills?
Teachers are underpaid based on their credentials
According to an analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, “Teachers in the U.S. earn about 76.5 cents on the dollar compared to similar professionals who have bachelor’s degrees.” This is especially concerning when met with the highest inflation rate this country has seen in recent years. In certain regions of the U.S., school districts are struggling to outpace the rampant inflation.
For example, states such as Mississippi pay their certified staff, on average, less than $10,000 above the poverty threshold needed to qualify for Medicaid. This is a disheartening fact given that positions in certain fields, such as, special education, science, and math often require additional certifications and elusive qualifications. Nationwide, we are seeing a mass exodus of STEM and special needs instructors in pursuit of non-education careers and higher pay.
The rise of second jobs for teachers
When teachers do stay in the field, they are often financially forced to seek a second paycheck. According to a 2019 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, one-in-six U.S. teachers work a second job. On average, this leads to an 84 hour work week, with the typical educator working 54 hours a week, and a part-time job adding 30 hours to an already overfilled plate.
According to a 2019 survey conducted by Pew Research Center, one-in-six U.S. teachers work a second job. On average, this leads to an 84 hour work week.
Even when teachers pick up these supplementary jobs, such as tutoring and online teaching, oftentimes they are paid an hourly minimum wage. Some websites are aiming to pay educators what they are worth, like the website AllCourse, where users are able to keep 85% of the teaching fees they earn on the site.
Will recent legislation help?
To help combat the rising costs of living, the mass teacher shortages, and the lack of new teachers entering into the profession, The American Teacher Act was introduced by the U.S. House of Representatives in December. The bill would increase teacher salaries to a minimum of $60,000. Similar state legislation has followed with Mississippi increasing the minimum salary to 43K, New Mexico increasing the minimum salary by 10K (their minimum salary is currently $50,000), Virginia increasing salaries by 4.5%, and Tennessee increasing the minimum salary from $41,000 to $50,000 over the next four years.
The pay increase would attract more college graduates to enter into the education field and thus alleviate a percentage of the teacher shortage. The issue that the country still faces is teacher retention and that problem will not be solved for most by offering a few thousand dollars annually.
A multi-faceted problem
The teacher shortage is a multifaceted problem with many teachers leaving the profession due to burnout, career advancement, poor school funding, student behavioral issues, and countless other concerns. The mental health of school staff and students has been extremely concerning since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The American School Counselor Association recommends a 250-to-1 ratio of students to school counselors, while the national average is actually 408-to-1. Counselors, who along with assisting students with their mental health, are also in charge of scheduling, course advisement, absenteeism, and more. The lack of support for student’s mental health leads to increasingly higher discipline rates and school shootings. In 2023 alone, there have already been more than 31 school shootings.
With all this on teachers’ plates, it’s possible that increases in salary would not be enough to keep some teachers.
Would higher pay be enough to keep teachers?
An increase in salary would ease financial stress and, in some cases, allow teachers the flexibility to walk away from their second job. Raising educator’s pay is a step in the right direction, but is it enough?
Teachers have argued that salary increases should be managed by the local school board, rather than government mandated to appropriately accommodate for the community’s standard of living costs, and to offer more lucrative pay for hard-to-fill positions. Private schools who have adopted this pay structure often pay their Caucasian male secondary teachers the most. Others have argued that pay increases will not address their main concerns in their career or not accurately accommodate their cost of living.
As an educator, what are your thoughts? Do you agree that a teacher pay increase is the correct next step for this country? Or do you think money will not solve your biggest problems in the education field right now? As for me: I will move onto a career outside the classroom, not just for the higher pay, but for the better working conditions.
