It should come as no surprise that teacher pay continues to make it or break it for educators who are on the brink of leaving their jobs. However, recent Congressional efforts seek to change that.
According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, high school teachers earn a median salary of around $61,000 a year. While it may seem like a sufficient number, some states’ averages are well below national levels. As a result, teachers are experiencing high stress, one of the greatest contributors to the lingering nationwide teacher shortage.
Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed the Pay Teachers Act with hopes of using federal funds to set a national minimum salary for all public school teachers at $60,000, according to CNBC. A similar bill was also introduced last year called the American Teacher Act which would use grant money from the Department of Education.
Unfortunately, there is no indication that either of these bills has a chance to pass through Congress, CNBC reports. Yet, the differences in pay across states speak for themselves. For example, a new teacher in New York with a master’s degree and no prior teaching experience will earn over $65,000 a year. That is $33,000 more than a first-year teacher in Hawaii, according to CNBC.
According to WalletHub’s “Best and Worst States for Teachers” report, these are the five states in which teachers would benefit most from a national salary standard, starting with the lowest-paying:
- Hawaii
- Maine
- South Dakota
- Florida
- District of Columbia
And these are five states where teachers earn the highest salaries:
- New York
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
For administrators, this harsh reality inevitably makes recruitment and retention difficult. While district leaders have little to no control over their state’s legislative priorities surrounding teacher pay and well-being, they ought to be intentional with their outreach strategies, according to one expert featured in the WalletHub report.
“School superintendents and building principals should take a special interest in supporting and meeting regularly with new teachers to determine what difficulties they may be encountering and what kinds of assistance the district might provide for them,” said William Price, a former superintendent and now a professor of educational leadership at Eastern Michigan University. “Finally, new teachers need to be valued by the communities they serve. School/parent groups and school leaders need to understand that they have a major responsibility in new teacher success and retention.”
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