Salaries & Benefits

Education news, analysis, and opinion about pay and benefits for school and district employees

Explainer

Teacher Pay: How Salaries, Pensions, and Benefits Work in Schools
An Education Week primer on teacher salaries, raises, performance pay, pensions, Social Security benefits, and health-care premiums.
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School & District Management More School Workers Qualify for Overtime Under New Rule. Teachers Remain Exempt
Nurses, paraprofessionals, and librarians could get paid more under the federal rule, but the change won't apply to teachers.
Evie Blad, April 23, 2024
3 min read
Teacher at a chalkboard.
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Teaching Profession From Our Research Center Here's What Teachers Think Their Salaries Should Be
Superintendents and principals also gave the salaries they think they deserve.
Madeline Will, April 19, 2024
2 min read
Budget & Finance Whitepaper Costs, Concerns, & Calls for Clarity in K-12 Finance
The results of Allovue’s second annual Education Finance Survey suggest that educators are growing more concerned about their districts’ ...
April 10, 2024
The injectable drug Ozempic is shown on July 1, 2023, in Houston.
The injectable drug Ozempic is shown in July in Houston.
David J. Phillip/AP
Budget & Finance Ozempic and Other Pricey Drugs Cause Headaches for Schools
Districts are struggling to find cheap and accessible alternatives to expensive medications for staff as insurance and drug costs rise.
Mark Lieberman, March 29, 2024
5 min read
Illustration of woman and steps made of cash.
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Teaching Profession What the Research Says Do Teachers Really Earn More After Leaving the Classroom? Not Necessarily
Nearly a decade after leaving a big urban district, many teachers have yet to recoup income, a study finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 12, 2024
4 min read
Students in Sofia Alvarez-Briglie's class test the design of their experiments during class on Nov. 13, 2023.
Students in Sofia Alvarez-Briglie's class at Alcott Middle School in Norman, Okla., test the design of their science experiments on Nov. 13, 2023. Oklahoma has experienced a dramatic decline in teacher-prep enrollments, and teachers there say pay and politics have affected the profession's desirability.
Brett Deering for Education Week
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching What One Record-Setting Teacher Shortage Can Tell Us About the Profession
Oklahoma struggles mightily with the widespread perception that teaching is a low-wage, high-stress, low-respect profession.
Madeline Will, March 6, 2024
13 min read
Illustration of a person sitting on a stack of large coins and filing their taxes on a laptop with a calculator and other tax papers around them.
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Teaching Profession It’s Tax Season, Teachers. See How to Save More Money
Experts share multiple ways that educators may be able to incur savings at tax time.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 7, 2024
3 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Letter to the Editor Teacher Housing Is a Critical Need in Native Communities
We can't forget about Indian lands school districts when talking about teacher housing, says this letter to the editor.
January 30, 2024
1 min read
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Teaching Profession Opinion What Should Schools Do to Boost Teacher Pay?
Hiking teacher pay is one issue that both progressives and conservatives can get behind.
Rick Hess, January 16, 2024
8 min read
Illustration of a diverse woman on a teeter board with a clock in one hand and a compass in the other.
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Teaching Profession ‘Days Off Just Aren’t an Option’: Why Teachers Don’t Use Their Sick Days
Many say it’s more work to be absent, so it’s easier to show up sick.
Caitlynn Peetz, December 20, 2023
4 min read
Illustration of an empty classroom.
Medesulda/DigitalVision Vectors
Teaching Profession No, Teachers Don't Take More Time Off Than Other Professionals. Here's How They Compare
Concerns about teacher absences have been voiced for years. New research compares absences between teachers and similar occupations.
Caitlynn Peetz, December 8, 2023
5 min read
A conceptual image of a female being paid less than a male.
hyejin kang/iStock/Getty
School & District Management A New Study Details Gender and Racial Disparities in the Superintendent's Office
Women and people of color are less likely than their white male counterparts to be appointed superintendent directly from a principal post.
Caitlynn Peetz, December 5, 2023
6 min read
Lisa Raskin, who is a teacher at Jefferson Union High School District, talks about living on her own at the district's new housing complex in Daly City, Calif., on July 8, 2022. The school district in San Mateo County is among just a handful of places in the country with educator housing. But with a national teacher shortage and rapidly rising rents, the working class district could serve as a harbinger as schools across the U.S. seek to attract and retain educators.
Lisa Raskin, who is a teacher at the Jefferson Union high school district, talks about living on her own at the district's new housing complex in Daly City, Calif., on July 8, 2022. Only a handful of places in the country have educator housing, but teacher shortages and rapidly rising rents are making more districts take note.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
Recruitment & Retention 'Lesson Planning in the Laundry Room': What Housing for Teachers Looks Like
From converted schools and tiny houses, to shiny new complexes, districts have tackled new ideas to make sure their teachers can live nearby.
Madeline Will, December 4, 2023
7 min read