Sincerely, Teachers
In a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.org), published in 2018, it’s estimated that a total of 272,200 teachers between 2016 and 2026 are expected to leave education. This report is an estimation based on the question every teacher who has left is asked: Why? Countless articles from listicles to data analytics give rhyme to reason. Yet more and more teachers are leaving the profession. Instead of asking why or analyzing data, the question needs to be reframed and directed elsewhere. Teachers have been calling out for help for decades and the calls fall on deaf ears. Asking teachers why they leave is a fool’s errand. Journalists and other reporters need to begin asking principals, superintendents, and even city and county leaders the following questions: What are you doing to retain teachers? How are you lessening the financial strain on teachers? Why are your teachers and other educators working with students in your school, district, city, and county leaving?
This shift will demonstrate and prove to teachers that you are comprehending the reasons they are leaving as well as placing the responsibility on those who are behind decisions that impact teachers’ abilities to succeed as professionals. For educators who are staying or have left, the challenges are systemic. Between their salaries to the politics surrounding schools and curriculum. The issues that impact teachers the most can be broken down into three categories: finances, supplemental activities, and social media. Every state has their own salary range and when a large city is in the mix, the breakdown of that salary rarely ends well. Teachers supplement their income as well as their mental health through self-care routines. Finally, social media can provide a means to cultivate community but can also be a cesspool of misinformation. While the reasons teachers leave are multifaceted and the challenges they face are just as complex. The issues that are broken down within this piece are more complex and nuanced than what can be covered. However, the systemic problems need to be brought to light.
Breaking Down Salaries and Costs of Living
We Are Teachers compiled a list of teacher’s salaries across all fifty states plus Washington D.C. From the data they report, these averages do not account for things like stipends or average cost of living in that state as per a report from the National Education Association, or NEA. Based on this report, the following Exhibits includes: the national teacher salary average, the average salary in the top five most populated metro areas in California, and the cost of living in one of those metro areas. the five highest and lowest salary averages.
Exhibit A: Average Teacher Salaries
National: $68,469
Highest: Massachusetts: $92,307
Lowest: Mississippi: $48,530
According to this data, Mississippi teachers average salary is $19,939 less than the national average. Comparatively, the average teachers salary in Massachusetts is $23,838 more than the national average. Finally, the range between Massachusetts and Mississippi is $43,777!
Exhibit B: Average Salary in the Top Five Most Populated Metro Areas in California
California is the focus to introduce a salary breakdown simply because they boast the highest number of public schools. According to Research, California has a whopping 10,430 public schools. California boasts some of the most populated metro areas in the US. In Exhibit B below, these metro areas, their average salaries, and the cost of living compared to a first year teacher’s salary. The data for the average salaries and their ranges are found on Salary.
City: Average Salary: Range (Low to High)
San Jose: $72,431: $60,562-$88,311
San Francisco: $72,142: $60,321-$87,959
Los Angeles: $64,795: $54,178-$79,002
San Diego: $62,283: $52,077-$75,938
Fresno: $57,829: $48,354-$70,508
Considering that San Jose pays their teachers the most on average, the focus of a teacher’s salary breakdown will be based on data from the largest school district in the city. Exhibit C breaks down a first year teacher’s salary, the stipends available, and their annual raise. Data is recorded from the San Jose Unified School District’s website.
Exhibit C: SJUSD Salary Breakdown
First Year Salary $69,535
Stipend $3,000
Annual Raise $3,000
Based on their salary breakdown, a first year teacher at SJUSD makes $1,066 more than the national average. In comparison, their highest paid teacher is on yearthirty five, making $125,535. The district offers only one stipend per teacher in addition to their annual salary. While teachers are fairly compensated for these stipends, teachers are allotted this based on one of the following: (a Masters or Doctorate), their language fluency ( eg, being bilingual), a certification (eg, the National Board Certification), or specialization (eg Special Education). Based on the SJUSD website, it’s unclear who chooses what a teacher is compensated for if they are awarded a stipend. Thus, a first year teacher who is awarded a stipend will make $72,535 instead of the $69,535.
Exhibit D: San Jose Cost of Living Broken Down
Based on the information in Exhibit C, San Jose is above the national average in salaries but the city itself is one of the most expensive cities in California and the United States. Exhibit D below breaks down the median costs of living in San Jose. Data was found on Pay Scale.
Item/Month (With Explanation)
Median Cost
Rent: $3,315
Energy Bill: $219.96
Phone Bill: $236.63
Gas Per Gal/20 Gal of Gas (Refuel 1/week): $3.57/$71.40 (Per Week)/$285.60
Grocery (Eggs, Bread, Bananas, Milk, Burger): $20.69/Week $82.76/Month
Health Care/Visit
Medical: $147.64
Dental: $127.38
Optometry: $139.07
Prescription: $543.99
Total Median Cost of Living
$5,098.03/month
The information above is based on MEDIAN costs and therefore the totals do not account for the variety of nuances. In Exhibit E, a first year teacher’s salary is broken down by their salary after CA and federal income taxes, pay over 46 weeks, and pay over 11 months. It should be noted that
Exhibit E: Teacher Salary Breakdown Vs. San Jose COL
Focus: Cost
SJUSD 1st Year Teacher (No Stipend): $69,535
Income AFTER CA/Federal Taxes: $51,020
~46 Weeks: $1,109.18
~11 Months: $4,436.72
Monthly Income vs. SJ COL: $661.31
Based on the information in Exhibits D and E, a first year teacher at SJUSD has a leftover balance of $661.31. This means that in the case of a tire blowing, their car breaks down, or another emergency, both car and non-car related, occurs, they might be okay, but they definitely won’t be able to pay rent for at least one month. Additionally, what’s reported in Exhibits A-E does not include measures for information like marital status, supplemental income, union fees, mortgages, or the health insurance package SJUSD provides. It should also be noted that not every teacher in San Jose or the surrounding areas work at SJUSD. Furthermore, not every teacher lives and works in CA. Across fifty states and Washington D.C., the numbers above are moot simply because every teacher is paid a different salary, lives in a different city or town with its own cost of living, may or may not pay union fees, and as student loan repayments being due in October, the $660 leftover per month is definitely being spent.
Supplemental Income
Having a side-hustle isn’t new. Plenty of professionals work two or three jobs to put food on the table. But with inflation rising and income remaining relatively the same, professionals are being forced to think outside of the box. Teachers are naturally solution oriented. Much of their daily tasks is to solve problems as they arise. Due to their keen insight, they’re quite resourceful in supplementing different aspects of their job, specifically their income. In this listicle from Indeed, twenty-three jobs from nannying to being a personal shopper are described. Some teachers will open an Etsy shop or, if they can build an audience, become a content creator. Regardless of the avenue, most teachers are supplementing their income one way or another.
Self-Care Is (Not) The Answer
In the last decade, one industry has become so prominent it’s hard to escape. According to the Harvard Business Review, the self-care industry is worth $11 Billion. That’s BILLION with a ‘B’. Elon Musk spent $44 Billion to ruin Twitter, 4 times more than the self-care industry is worth. In addition to teacher’s working second and third jobs, their mental health is often on the backburner. The supplemental care comes in with a vengeance. Regardless of the day they are having, administration and colleagues will encourage teachers to spend time doing yoga, or to treat themselves to a specialty drink at a coffee shop, or taking a bath with really nice bath salts. Though the ultimate self-care trick is to go on a Target run, because retail therapy is the crux of the industry. Self-care is important but it heavily relies on the exploitation of professionals in desperate need of higher salaries, administrative staff that take their roles in support seriously, and people at the district and state level who are deeply intimate with the everyday happenings in the classroom.
The Power of Social Media
Whether or not social media communities have a positive or negative impact on us, like this article from Psychology Today postulates, they exist and affect us. Professionals use social media for different reasons but teachers might utilize social media the best in regards to building community. Teacher Twitter, for example, is full of professionals from around the country with various levels of experience and focuses. Educators have also flocked to TikTok to make videos showcasing their everyday glows and grows. Regardless of the platform, teachers from around the country are using social media to share ideas, supplemental curriculum, and more. Across all social platforms, teachers are, for the most part, supporting each other.
Curriculum Misinformation
Though not everything is collaborative between educators on social media. Plenty of teachers have reduced or even left social media due to people in other states trying to get them fired for a meaningless post on social media. Though this may not seem troublesome, it demonstrates how much of a teacher’s world is under a microscope. Over the past year or so, states like Florida and Texas have been zeroing in on the already restrictive rights of teachers in their states. In this report from NBC News, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Florida as Governor DeSantis has made it his personal mission to decimate education. His latest ruling prevents teachers from teaching about Black history on any level. Let’s emphasize that this is his latest in a long, long list of gutting what educators can and cannot teach. This is also Florida’s educational system and not Texas, or Idaho, or Arkansas or any other state that has claimed that “wokeness”, which they admittedly cannot define, is the problem with America. Laws that prevent history from being taught or the Supreme Court’s ruling on Affirmative Action not only perpetuate white supremacist narratives but will incite violence against Black, Muslim, Queer, and Disabled bodies.
Conclusion
Education is one of the few professions that is deeply intertwined with other professions. Decisions made about what teachers are paid and can teach ultimately impact each citizen, whether their politics or religion tell them so or not. If the Taliban banning girls and women from education outrages you but the war on education and teachers in the US doesn’t, take a long hard look at your values. Teachers are some of the most innovative, creative, and underpaid professionals in the US. Asking them why they are leaving is disrespectful and halts any real change from occurring in the profession and in society.