With summer vacation upon us, teachers across America are scrambling to make ends meet. These are no longer the “off” months they were in years past. Now, teachers have to take side jobs to pay the bills.
The data on pay rates is quite alarming. Teachers now make 24 percent less than the average American worker. But more are speaking out. During the last few weeks alone, teachers in North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma have organized public protests in demand of better pay.
Following National Teacher Appreciation Week, the National Center for Education Statistics released a study showing that 94% of public school teachers use personal money on supplies without any reimbursement.
In May, Credit Sesame unveiled the names of states with the biggest teacher pay gaps, comparing public school teachers’ average annual salaries to those of all college graduates.
Credit Sesame found that teachers make 24 percent less than the average worker with at least a bachelor’s degree
The U.S. states with the biggest teacher pay gaps are Virginia (-40 percent), Colorado (-37.1 percent), Arizona (-34.7 percent), Texas (-34.5 percent), and Florida (-32.1 percent).
Even more discouraging for teachers is the fact that they earn more than the average worker in only two states: Vermont (5.8 percent) and Alaska (0.7 percent).
