Education reform fails without well-paid teachers
Published October 21, 2015
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, October 19, 2015.
Shortly after the school year began in August, Cumberland County schools had nearly 90 teaching vacancies. Robeson County, a much smaller school system, had nearly as many.
All across the state, we had a lot of company. Earlier this month, a story in Education Week looked at North Carolina's struggle to keep teachers in the classrooms, noting that it's not so much a problem of recruitment as of teachers who are fed up and leaving the state. The turnover rate is averaging about 15 percent. Five years ago, it was around 11 percent.
WalletHub, a website that analyzes all sorts of statistics to produce a torrent of best-and-worst lists, ranked North Carolina last week as 50th in the nation for teachers. Only West Virginia is worse. The state surprisingly came in at 43rd in teacher safety - defined by the number of teachers who say they've been threatened by a student - 46th in per-pupil spending and 49th in teacher salary increases over the past 10 years.
"It's clear that their salaries really aren't keeping up with inflation," a WalletHub analyst said. "I think teachers can say that all over the country, but the rates at which North Carolina really hasn't been increasing over the past 10 years is so much worse than all these other states that we're seeing."
Add to that the legislative dismantling of the state's teacher-assistant program, lawmakers' assault on the association that is a weak version of a teachers union, and an attempt to end teachers' also-flimsy tenure rights, and it's easy to see why they're wearing out the exit door.
A pay raise for new teachers, hiking their starting salary to $35,000, may help attract talent to North Carolina schools, but it won't keep them here for long, because more experienced teachers have made little or no salary headway.
That 10-year trend should be a reminder, too, that the decline in teacher salaries - from around the national median to something approaching the bottom of the barrel - is a bipartisan exercise. It started while Democrats controlled the legislative and executive branches, then was pushed along by the Republicans when they took over.
Our lawmakers can pursue all the educational reform in the world, but it won't work until we can attract and keep good teachers. We'll do that when we boost salaries back to the national median.
Let's be clear: Without a great K-12 education system, most of our other goals are out of reach. And without good, well-paid teachers in our classrooms, our education initiatives will fail.
October 21, 2015 at 10:50 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Funny how this is not an issue outside of traditional government school systems.
Funny how the rating system used salary increases and not just salary... or better yet total compensation.
Funny how nobody is saying that they will get rid of the current teachers and bring in new better ones so that would imply that the current teachers will do better if paid more.
October 22, 2015 at 4:38 pm
Curt Budd says:
Funny how if you were paying your tech workers next to last in the country, they would flock to other states. Or your bankers, or your law practice, or your doctors, or etc. etc. So NO, its not just public school systems.
Funny how the study DOES use total compensation, not just increases, IF you read the whole study.
Funny how current really good teachers HAVE been leaving due to the total lack of respect shown by people such as yourself towards the profession, not just because of salaries.
Funny how you do NOTHING to actively to be a solution, just come on blogs and complain. Then claim that teachers complain all the time. Get over your ideological self. STILL HAVEN'T ACTUALLY BEEN TO A SCHOOL HAVE YOU?
October 23, 2015 at 10:36 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Still hate parents don't you?
People are paid for performance... alternative school system teachers being paid for their performance with their students.
The study may show a comparison of total compensation but that is not mentioned in the editorial... salary change is to justify their flawed position. Funny how you did not include the numbers for full compensation... and not just among government teachers.
Good teachers should be leaving traditional government schools and going to school systems where education is the priority not social engineering and ever increasing funding.
I don't have to go to a school to see that Parents want their children to go to a school that will actually educate them. I don't have to go to a school to see that you hate those parents.
October 23, 2015 at 4:15 pm
Curt Budd says:
You genuinely believe I "hate" parents? Because you've stooped to this level of debate, I will not debate you anymore. I've addressed your across the line comments on another article. I have to turn away students and parents trying to get into my classes because of my proven track record, so one, you're just flat out wrong and two, it's a personal attack because I pride myself on the strong, trusting relationships I've built through my years of service.
Are vouchers helping a few students? Absolutely. Are they doing the job they are claiming to? Absolutely not. It is my experienced belief, through much thought, questioning, interviews, research, etc. that there are ways to target ideas and resources to ACTUALLY reach those disadvantaged families in a MUCH broader, long-lasting way, than what you claim vouchers can do. The fact is, especially in this state, its just NOT happening. They are going to middle-class families that want to be in a segregated school. It's not about their education, they just want their kids to be around "their kind". Whether thats Muslim, Southern-Baptist, all-white, all-brown, whatever. If that's what you want for your child, that's your choice, but it's morally wrong to use public money to support that.
My ONLY goal, is the betterment of my son's generation, and future generations. I personally don't gain or lose anything by their being such a thing as vouchers. So please stop making the argument that I just want to support the "govt industrial blah, blah, blah" That's just a flat out lie.
So again, since you can't seem to have a civil debate anymore. I will debate others with your position that at least are willing to do it respectfully.
October 24, 2015 at 10:57 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Individual Parent will decide what is best for their individual children... you are on the wrong side of that historical movement. The government education industrial complex is coming down.
