A recent article about the US state of Georgia’s program to retain special education administrators illustrates a major problem with the US education system as a whole.
The teacher is the lowest paid certificated professional on the campus.
There is no incentive to remain a teacher. In Los Angeles, there is no place on the teaching salary table where teachers even approach the income necessary to be “middle class.” In order to do that, one must become an administrator. Even with the stipend that I receive for having a doctorate degree, and the bonus recently offered to SpEd teachers for retention, I am earning less than half the wage that the economic development department considers middle class in LA county. At my place in the salary table, I am “very low income,” and qualify for food assistance, subsidized electricity, and subsidized phone service.
This “professional management class” has steadily grown over the last few decades in the response to all the mandated activities that need managing. Nevertheless, the fact remains, the teachers are the lowest paid certificated staff on any campus. If a state is interested in attracting and retaining teachers, it needs to fix that.
The problems with teaching in the US
The problems with teaching in the US
The problems with teaching in the US
A recent article about the US state of Georgia’s program to retain special education administrators illustrates a major problem with the US education system as a whole.
The teacher is the lowest paid certificated professional on the campus.
There is no incentive to remain a teacher. In Los Angeles, there is no place on the teaching salary table where teachers even approach the income necessary to be “middle class.” In order to do that, one must become an administrator. Even with the stipend that I receive for having a doctorate degree, and the bonus recently offered to SpEd teachers for retention, I am earning less than half the wage that the economic development department considers middle class in LA county. At my place in the salary table, I am “very low income,” and qualify for food assistance, subsidized electricity, and subsidized phone service.
This “professional management class” has steadily grown over the last few decades in the response to all the mandated activities that need managing. Nevertheless, the fact remains, the teachers are the lowest paid certificated staff on any campus. If a state is interested in attracting and retaining teachers, it needs to fix that.