Report Finds ‘Sweet Spot’ to Attract Teachers
By Linda LuttonReport Finds ‘Sweet Spot’ to Attract Teachers
By Linda Lutton
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A report [pdf] out this week looks at what it would take to get college-educated professionals to switch careers and become public school teachers.Four in 10 college-educated professionals have thought about it.
STREET VOICES: It’s a good job. I have actually considered being a public school teacher. Now that I have a child, it’d be nice to have that schedule.
Schools need quality teachers. And lately, there’s been a push to attract them from other fields.
So what would it take to get folks to trade their business suits for a piece of chalk? It turns out the “sweet spot” is $50,000.
That’s not the answer these Loop workers came up with.
STREET VOICES: I’m going to have to say 80 would be my sweet spot, with summers off. You can’t live in the city of Chicago on $60 grand.
Teachers starting at Chicago Public Schools earn $43,700.
Some bad news from the report: only 15 percent of potential teachers said they’d like to go into special education, where teacher shortages are greatest.
I’m Linda Lutton. Chicago Public Radio.