Teaching Profession News in Brief

To Protesters Go the Spoils

By Madeline Will — May 07, 2019 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Teachers walked out of their classrooms last school year in protest of low wages—and in some cases, won sizable pay raises. A new analysis by the National Education Association shows the likely extent of their victories.

The national average public school teacher salary for 2017-18 was $60,477—a 1.6 percent increase from the previous year. NEA estimates that the national average for the 2018-19 school year is $61,730—a 2.1 percent increase.

In states that saw teacher activism last spring, like Arizona, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, the average teacher salary is estimated to have increased, sometimes significantly. For example, Oklahoma teachers saw an estimated 13 percent increase from last year to this school year, after the state legislature passed a historic $6,100 pay raise in response to teachers staging a walkout. West Virginia teachers, who kicked off the wave of activism with a nine-day strike in February and March 2018, saw an estimated 4.5 percent increase from 2017-18 to 2018-19.

In Washington state, districts received an extra $2 billion in state funding for teacher salaries because of a state supreme court ruling. That resulted in an estimated 31 percent increase in the average teacher salary, according to NEA’s report. (Fourteen related teacher strikes occurred in the state last fall.)

The NEA’s annual report collects salary information from state education departments. The 2018-19 numbers are estimates.

Despite the estimated gains in some states, the analysis shows that teacher pay overall has not kept pace with inflation. While this year’s average salary is up nearly $6,400 from a decade ago, when the effects of inflation are considered, the average salary has actually decreased by 4.5 percent over the past 10 years, the report says.

“When you look at the cold, hard numbers here, you can see the pay gap, you can see the gender gap, you can see the respect gap,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. “You can see that our teacher pay over the last decade has continued to erode.”

A recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, which counts the NEA as one of its funders, found that teachers make less than similarly educated professionals. The weekly wage penalty for being a teacher had reached a record 21.4 percent last year.

More demonstrations were scheduled for this spring in North Carolina, Oregon, and South Carolina. And more than 20 governors this year have recommended that their states boost teachers’ pay, according to an Education Week analysis.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 08, 2019 edition of Education Week as To Protesters Go the Spoils

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Substitute Teacher Staffing Simplified: 5 Strategies for Success
Struggling to find quality substitute teachers? Join our webinar to learn key strategies to keep your classrooms covered and students learning.
Content provided by Kelly Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI in Education: Empowering Educators to Tap into the Promise and Steer Clear of Peril
Explore the transformative potential of AI in education and learn how to harness its power to improve student outcomes.
Content provided by Panorama Education
English Learners Webinar Family and Community Engagement: Best Practices for English Learners
Strengthening the bond between schools and families is key to the success of English learners. Learn how to enhance family engagement and support student achievement.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession New Findings on Teacher Morale Highlight Ways to Make It Better
A new College Board survey on teacher morale echoes some previous findings. But it also highlights opportunities for schools to improve it.
4 min read
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Teaching Profession Opinion Teacher Contracts Need to Change. And It’s Not Just About Money
If we want to retain effective teaches, we should increase teacher compensation—but we need to do it strategically.
Karen Hawley Miles & David Rosenberg
4 min read
Final Piece Of The Puzzle. Two people about to shake hands over trading a jigsaw puzzle piece needed for the solution.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Teachers Say the Public Views Them Negatively
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
2 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession Download Play Teacher TV Bingo and Spot All the Teacher Tropes
It's trope bingo; spot the common (and often annoying) mischaracterizations.
Image of bingo cards, a remote control, and a television.
via Canva