Help us raise teacher pay to $60,000.
It is Teacher Appreciation Week! This is the time when we recognize all the hard work, resilience, and dedication our teachers show all year long. But one week is not enough.
Beyond gift cards, donuts, and notes, what our teachers—and all educators—need is the professional pay that they deserve.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, please join us in urging Congress to support the Pay Teachers Act (S. 766) and the American Teacher Act (H.R. 882).
We all know how hard teachers work, and how little they are paid. In fact, nationally, teachers make 76 cents on the dollar compared to other professionals with the same experience.
According to the NEA 2021-2022 Teacher Salary Benchmark Report published in May 2023, Missouri beginning teachers rank 50th in the nation, with average starting pay of $34,052. Even with the Missouri Baseline Salary Grant the Missouri Legislature passed in 2022, which raised teacher pay to at least $38,000 for one year, it still leaves teachers behind the national average of $42,844 and under the national living wage of $46,944. Furthermore, not all eligible Missouri school districts applied for the grant, choosing not to raise teacher pay to the $38,000 minimum. Read more >
Both bills would increase teachers’ salaries to at least $60,000 a year.
Join us in making sure that all educators are fairly compensated for their work. Raising teacher pay will help solve educator shortages by keeping teachers in the jobs they love and attracting new people to the profession.
If we are serious about giving teachers the appreciation and respect they deserve, then we need to give them a raise. Please email Congress to pass the Pay Teachers Act and the American Teachers Act.
It is Teacher Appreciation Week! We are so grateful for educators and your unwavering commitment to students, especially during these challenging times—this year and every year.
Together, we will work to get our educators the pay and benefits they deserve.
In solidarity,
Becky Pringle
President
National Education Association
Phil Murray
President
Missouri National Education Association
Statistics provided by the NEA 2021-2022 Teacher Salary Benchmark Report and NEA Rankings of the States 2022 and Estimates of School Statistics 2023 published May and April of 2023. Learn more at www.mnea.org/research.
About Missouri NEA
The Missouri NEA represents more than 30,000 public school employees dedicated to Missouri’s students and is affiliated with the 3 million-member NEA. Find out more at www.mnea.org.
About the National Education Association
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org.