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Low pay may drive teachers out of Wisconsin
Other states offer signing bonuses, high start pay
Timothy Langton
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Campus News
Wisconsin ranks second to last in the nation in paying its first year teachers, according to a recent American Federation of Teachers survey of salary trends, sparking concerns that Wisconsin graduates may be leaving for teaching positions in other states.
"A number of teaching candidates are going outside Wisconsin looking for jobs," said Jill Prushiek, director of field experience in the education department at UW-Eau Claire.
The survey shows beginning teachers earn just above $25,000 in Wisconsin, well below the national average of just over $31,700 per year.
While the state ranks 26th in the country among wages for teachers after the first year, averaging over $43,000 a year, graduates could be discouraged from staying in Wisconsin immediately after college, Prushiek said.
Tiffany Hahn, a freshman elementary education major at UW-Eau Claire, said the low starting wages for teachers crossed her mind when deciding her major.
"I have thought about changing majors because of the low starting wage, but never seriously enough that I would actually go do it," Hahn said.
Prushiek said other states are luring graduates into teaching jobs with higher starting wages and signing bonuses, such as $4,000 in Texas for simply taking a teaching job.
"Wisconsin has a surplus of teachers in a lot of areas," she explained. Other states lack applicants in many positions in education, Prushiek said, and are willing to pay more and give supplemental wages to graduates.
Additionally, some graduates would rather get higher paying research positions in their field of study than enter the teaching field with such a low beginning wage, Prushiek said. She listed math, physics and chemistry as high need areas of education in Wisconsin.
"Some graduates want to teach, but they are not choosing to teach because of money," she said.
Prushiek said one way Wisconsin could retain its teachers is to offer incentives to graduates to work in rural and urban areas where teachers are paid lower than average wages. Pay scales should also reflect experience or expertise, she said, rewarding graduates with more education or degrees in high need areas.
She also said she believes the benefits packages first year teachers receive should be emphasized more, the worth of which can total more than $40,000 when added to the salary.
Ultimately, Prushiek said she believes the results of this survey will not dissuade students from pursuing degrees in education.
"I believe people will always want to go into teaching," she said.
Hahn echoed those sentiments.
"I knew when I first decided to become a teacher that they didn't get paid well and it didn't stop me," she said.
"A number of teaching candidates are going outside Wisconsin looking for jobs," said Jill Prushiek, director of field experience in the education department at UW-Eau Claire.
The survey shows beginning teachers earn just above $25,000 in Wisconsin, well below the national average of just over $31,700 per year.
While the state ranks 26th in the country among wages for teachers after the first year, averaging over $43,000 a year, graduates could be discouraged from staying in Wisconsin immediately after college, Prushiek said.
Tiffany Hahn, a freshman elementary education major at UW-Eau Claire, said the low starting wages for teachers crossed her mind when deciding her major.
"I have thought about changing majors because of the low starting wage, but never seriously enough that I would actually go do it," Hahn said.
Prushiek said other states are luring graduates into teaching jobs with higher starting wages and signing bonuses, such as $4,000 in Texas for simply taking a teaching job.
"Wisconsin has a surplus of teachers in a lot of areas," she explained. Other states lack applicants in many positions in education, Prushiek said, and are willing to pay more and give supplemental wages to graduates.
Additionally, some graduates would rather get higher paying research positions in their field of study than enter the teaching field with such a low beginning wage, Prushiek said. She listed math, physics and chemistry as high need areas of education in Wisconsin.
"Some graduates want to teach, but they are not choosing to teach because of money," she said.
Prushiek said one way Wisconsin could retain its teachers is to offer incentives to graduates to work in rural and urban areas where teachers are paid lower than average wages. Pay scales should also reflect experience or expertise, she said, rewarding graduates with more education or degrees in high need areas.
She also said she believes the benefits packages first year teachers receive should be emphasized more, the worth of which can total more than $40,000 when added to the salary.
Ultimately, Prushiek said she believes the results of this survey will not dissuade students from pursuing degrees in education.
"I believe people will always want to go into teaching," she said.
Hahn echoed those sentiments.
"I knew when I first decided to become a teacher that they didn't get paid well and it didn't stop me," she said.
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