…and duties as assigned

Week one: The Starting Line

In 1986, fresh out of graduate school, I landed my first teaching position in an up-and-coming district in Colorado Springs. More than 100 other applicants competed for that same position. My starting salary, with master’s degree in teaching secondary science, was just over $24,000. It had been my dream to teach in public schools and I couldn’t wait to get started. My career in teaching was underway.

Of course, times change, and I was curious to see how this professional starting line has fared. Do today’s first year teachers navigate a similarly competitive job market? Have salary schedules kept up with the times to draw new talent into the profession?

To find out, I visited the Colorado Department of Education website where statewide data about staff hirings and shortages can easily be found. The most recent of these surveys from the 2021-2022 SY reveal the following disturbing truths:
“Of the 5,729 teaching positions to hire, 440 (8%) remained unfilled for the school year and 1,128 (20%) were filled through a shortage mechanism. Despite the three-year decrease in total positions to be hired, there has been an increase in the percentage of positions that remain unfilled (+6% since 2019-2020) and that are filled via a shortage mechanism (+7% since 2019-2020).”
(see: www.cde.state.co.us)

Next, I wondered about teacher pay. Using an online inflation calculator, I discovered that today’s dollar is 64% less valuable than in 1986. In other words, what could be purchased for $100 in 1986 today costs $274.49 (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index). Adjusting for inflation, then, you might expect my 1986 $24,000 starting salary to now be about $65,900. Instead, a first-year teacher with a master’s degree earns just shy of $47,000 (in a major school district in Colorado Springs). That starting salary is lagging inflation by 29%.

Thankfully, our schools welcome new teachers each year who invest gobs of time and talent in their work. You might know someone brand new to the profession. If so, buy them a coffee and say thanks. If they tell you that “they’re not in it for the money,” believe them.

Coming next week: Onboarding for Success
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