Teaching Profession

Dive into data and perspectives on teacher salaries, benefits, unions, evaluations, workload, and morale

Exclusive Report

The State of Teaching, 2026 Edition
New national data on the teaching profession, vivid reporting from classrooms, and resources to help support this essential profession.

Featured Special Reports

Special Report Taking Care of Teachers
This report looks at the many ways stressors related to COVID-19 and racial inequities have affected the teacher workforce, strategies for self-care, and how school leaders and districts can help protect their teachers’ social and emotional well-being through the continued uncertainty.
July 22, 2020
Special Report Social-Emotional Learning 2017
This special collection explores methods for avoiding burnout, reducing stress, and teaching cultural responsiveness.
June 7, 2017
Danna Thomas, a kindergarten teacher at Windsor Hills Elementary School in Baltimore, and the founder of Happy Teacher Revolution, smiles and snaps her fingers while a fellow teacher shares a good moment from earlier in the day.
Danna Thomas, a kindergarten teacher at Windsor Hills Elementary School in Baltimore, and the founder of Happy Teacher Revolution, smiles and snaps her fingers while a fellow teacher shares a good moment from earlier in the day.
Erin Irwin/Education Week
Special Report Helping New Teachers Thrive
This special report explores the challenges new teachers face, and what schools of education, districts, and other organizations are doing to help them succeed.
October 5, 2016
Conceptual image of substitute teacher in classroom, colorized blue.
Drazen Zigic/iStock/Getty
  • The Latest

    Teachers work with A.I. on their laptops during the Charleston County School District Charleston Educator Symposium on July 22, 2026, in North Charleston, S.C. Districts still provide most of the teacher training in A.I., but a national teachers' college group wants to create more comprehensive training.
    Teachers work with artificial intelligence on their laptops during the Charleston County School District Charleston Educator Symposium on July 22, 2026, in North Charleston, S.C. Districts still provide most of the teacher training for AI use in the classroom, but a national teachers' college group says preservice programs need to think through their approach to the subject, too.
    Mic Smith/AP
    Teaching Profession How Should AI Shape Teacher Education?
    The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education outlines a framework for the future.
    Sarah D. Sparks, August 26, 2026
    3 min read
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    Delegates listen during the 2026 American Federation of Teachers Convention at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington on July 17, 2026. The union gathered to set policy and strategy for the next two years.
    Eric Lee for Education Week
    Teaching Profession The American Federation of Teachers Has Outlined its Latest Priorities. See the List
    The second-largest teachers' union has made membership inroads among charter and independent schools.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 20, 2026
    4 min read
    A collage-style illustration made of multicolored pieces of watercolor-textured paper. The vignettes in the collage include a rabbit poking its head out of a backpack, a chick cracking out of an egg, a fly pictured on a tombstone, a stapler with a curly phone cord attached to the end of it, a pickle jar with dirt and sand in it, a storm cloud with a strike of lightning and a pair of pants flying away.
    Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
    Teaching Profession What Were the Funniest Stories of the School Year? We Asked Educators
    In what other job do you hear about lost boogers and polio shirts, and hold a memorial for Gerald the fly?
    Arianna Prothero, July 17, 2026
    2 min read
    Oscar-winning actor and women's health activist Halle Berry joins Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., second from left, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, right, and other women of the Senate as they introduce new legislation to boost federal research on menopause, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The bipartisan Senate bill, the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women's Health Act, would create public health efforts to improve women's mid-life health. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
    Actress Halle Berry joins federal lawmakers who introduced new legislation to boost federal research on menopause, at the Capitol in Washington, on May 2, 2024. School officials and advocates are paying more attention to the financial cost the health condition brings to schools and individual teachers.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Teaching Profession Talking About Menopause Is No Longer Taboo. Here's Why That's Good for Teachers
    One estimate says that schools experience nearly $800 million in lost productivity annually because of the health issue.
    Elizabeth Heubeck, July 16, 2026
    4 min read
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    Ric Calhoun, the National Education Association's Education Support Professional of the year, is calling for a "ESP Bill of Rights." He addresses the union's Representative Assembly at the NEA Convention in Denver, on July 6, 2026.
    Mark Makela for Education Week
    Teaching Profession The Push for a Paraprofessional 'Bill of Rights' Is On in 18 States
    A drive is on in those states to improve pay and working conditions for paraprofessionals and other staff.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 10, 2026
    3 min read
    Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting the New K-12 Workforce: What Teachers Need to Stay at School
     Join this free virtual event to discover what teachers say they need to feel supported to stay in classrooms for the long haul.
    July 9, 2026
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    Newly elected NEA President Princess Moss, photographed during the union's convention in Denver on July 6, 2026. Moss said she wants the union to improve its organizing capabilities.
    Mark Makela for Education Week
    Teaching Profession Q&A 'Organize, Organize, Organize': New NEA President Sees the Value in Everyday Engagement
    The incoming leader of the nation's largest teachers' union focuses on engagement.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 7, 2026
    4 min read
    NEAConvention 7.6.2026 MarkMakela1
    NEA staff and members are pictured on on stage during the union's Representative Assembly in Denver on July 6, 2026. Delegates have approved several new items related to AI and immigration.
    Mark Makela for Education Week
    Teaching Profession Teachers' Union Approves New Fund to Help Immigrant Teachers
    It's aimed at teachers who came to the country before 2007 under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 6, 2026
    4 min read
    NEAConvention 7.5.2026 MarkMakela18
    NEA President Becky Pringle is photographed backstage during the NEA Representative Assembly in Denver on July 5, 2026. 5,800 delegates from all over the country are participating in the four-day-long union convention.
    Mark Makela for Education Week<br/>
    Teaching Profession Q&A NEA's Outgoing President Reflects on a Turbulent Tenure—And the Need for 'Continuous Organizing'
    The outgoing head of nation's largest teachers' union discusses how she's helped reposition it to respond to new challenges.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 5, 2026
    5 min read
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    Princess Moss reacts after being announced as the new NEA President during the NEA Representative Assembly in Denver on July 5, 2026. The union's current vice president and a former elementary school music teacher, Moss will take the reins beginning in August. <br/>
    Mark Makela for Education Week
    Teaching Profession Music Teacher Princess Moss Will Lead the Nation's Largest Teachers' Union
    Moss will steer the powerful National Education Association. She won just over 50 percent share of the vote.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 5, 2026
    2 min read
    A look at the 2025 NEA Annual Meeting & Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore.
    Thousands of educators turn out each year for the National Education Association's Representative Assembly; last year's, shown here in this July 3, 2025 photo, took place in Portland, Ore.
    Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
    Teaching Profession Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union Will Elect New Leader at Annual Confab
    A primer to this year's nearly 7,000-delegate National Education Association Representative Assembly.
    Sarah D. Sparks, July 1, 2026
    5 min read
    A group of thank you notes a teacher has received over the years.
    Photo collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty; photo courtesy of Bess Keller<br/>
    Teaching Profession Opinion This Simple Ritual Grounded Me During a Tumultuous School Year
    This teacher isn't sentimental, but she's glad she kept her students' thank-you notes.
    Liz MacLauchlan, July 1, 2026
    4 min read
    New Teacher Support Coaches engross in a discussion during New Teacher Support Coaches Professional Learning session on November 7, 2025 at Center for Professional Development in Fresno. California.
    Participants in a New Teacher Support Coaches session discuss common classroom challenges, and strategies in a session held in Fresno. Calif., on Nov. 7.
    Andri Tambunan for Education Week
    Teaching Profession From Our Research Center How Has Teacher Morale Changed Over Time?
    The EdWeek Research Center's Teacher Morale Index, offers a year-over-year gauge of educator job satisfaction.
    Sterling C. Lloyd, June 24, 2026
    1 min read
    As districts nationwide experiment with strategic staffing—an attempt to use teachers’ time in different ways to free up collaboration and reduce class size. Strategic staffing—in which schools give schedule flexibility and sometimes differentiated pay for teams of classroom educators—has gained ground in many states as a way to provide more professional development for young teachers and retain educators longer. PICTURED, Students at Whittier Elementary School work in groups and independently, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Mesa, Ariz.
    Strategic staffing—in which schools give schedule flexibility and sometimes differentiated pay for teams of classroom educators—has gained ground in many states as a way to provide more professional development for young teachers and retain educators longer. Students and teachers at Whittier Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., work in groups and independently, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022.
    Matt York/AP
    Teaching Profession How These Schools Use Teams to Cut Teacher Workloads
    California teachers in the co-teaching pilot are reporting higher morale.
    Sarah D. Sparks, June 17, 2026
    4 min read
    Teachers follow each other in a circle during a workshop helping teachers find a balance in their curriculum while coping with stress and burnout in the classroom, on Aug. 2, 2022, in Concord, N.H. School districts around the country are starting to invest in programs aimed at address the mental health of teachers. Faced with a shortage of educators and widespread discontentment with the job, districts are hiring more therapist, holding trainings on self-care and setting up system to better respond to a teacher encountering anxiety and stress.
    Teachers follow each other in a circle during a workshop helping teachers cope with stress and burnout in the classroom, on Aug. 2, 2022, in Concord, N.H. New data show that teachers continue to face high levels of stress, but many plan to stay in the profession long term.
    Charles Krupa/AP
    Teaching Profession More Teachers Name Classroom Management as a Job Stress Than Low Pay
    A national survey highlights ongoing work and home pressures on educators.
    Sarah D. Sparks, June 10, 2026
    3 min read