I understand that the apprciate it because they do work hard. However, at SLPS the starting teacher salary is approximately $40K, well above the state’s average household income of $33K. In addition, the pay is for the school year only (approximately 10.5 months of work). This includes state holidays, week off for christmas break, and a week off for spring break. Teachers do have the option of working during the summer to receive additional pay. I think the raise is crazy.

Sam– $40,000? I’m going to start working in the SLPS this August, and I thought the starting salary was a couple thousand under that. I would be happily surprised if you are correct.

Everybody is talking about how teachers have it so great with all of the breaks and a summer vacation. It’s just not that simple, believe me. I student taught this semester, and good teachers do more work than anyone would every think is reasonable. After a good teacher is done with their day, they spend at least an hour or two longer at school, doing planning, prepping a lab, calling parents, tutoring, and the list goes on. Then, when you go home, you grade a mountain of papers and probably still do a little planning for the next day. I usually got to sleep around 11 or so, and then woke up at 5AM to do it all over again. It’s exhausting, especially for a new teacher that doesn’t have all of the go-to lesson plans and ideas that a veteran teacher has.

I’m not wanting a pity party– after all, I chose my profession and worked for six years to get my degree (and trust me, becoming certified to teach is a whole other disgusting, hoop-laden monster). However, I would really appreciate it if all of the people that think it is so easy to teach could either lay off, or call a (good) teacher and ask to walk a day in his/her shoes. You might feel differently afterwards.

Teaching, and specifically teaching in the city, is something I feel passionately about, but it’s easy to become jaded when there is so little support from so many angles. And to think, I’m not even on salary yet!

Sam…I can’t even begin to fathom how absolutely pitiful one’s life must be to criticize teachers getting a raise that barely covers the increased cost of living and in many cases will actually result in a net LOSS when factors such as the increased health care costs are included. This district has spent the last decade trading superintendents more often that the Cardinals trade third basemen. They have changed Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies texts (wasting MILLIONS of dollars) more in 10 years than some districts do in 30. Of course, every single time they choose the new “hot button” textbook series, they must pay millions more for professional training. This district has hired outside “restructuring” firms TWICE to the tune of millions of wasted dollars. Please don’t forget the fact that every superintendent that has been “let go” early received their entire paycheck, leading to many years of paying 2 people for the same job. My point is if you are SO concerned about wasted money, the last place to start looking for it is in the salary of the teachers. Decorum prevents me from venting my anger in a more personal manner, and it would only make things worse. I’m just asking that you (and others who think like you) try JUST ONCE to see things from the view of an embattled, poorly treated and often disrespected teacher who gives their all to a community that increasingly shows how very little it gives a damn.

A starting teacher with a BA makes about 27K a year in the City. With the new pressure to advance your education working summers is not an option. Instead a teacher better be in school working to improve. Work is well over 8 hours a day with class preparation and working conditions in many (not all) of the City’s schools can be extream. Sam should try it for a while.

Sam,
Thank you for providing an opportunity for people who take the time to gather a few facts to respond in a public forum. To you $27K and $40K may be about the same but to the rest of us it is a big difference. I have been teaching thirty years (6 with the SLPS)with a Bachelor’s degree and I make $42K. I am also interested to find out about the opportunities for summer employment to which you alluded. I could, I suppose, work at a summer camp for minimum wage, be an usher at Busch Stadium, or walk behind the elephants at the Zoo with a big shovel. The past three summers, however, I have been attending professional development opportunities at my own expense to stay current with the latest curriculum, technology, and educational laws. I am not complaining about my job. I love teaching. I just wish the public would understand that summer is different for teachers than it is for students.