A new national report highlights Alabama as the only state offering enough additional pay to recruit teachers both into hard-to-staff subjects and into hard-to-staff schools.
The National Council on Teacher Quality pointed to Alabama’s TEAMS program, which pays qualifying middle- and high-school math and science teachers on a higher salary schedule. TEAMS teachers who work in schools the state identifies as hard to staff can receive another $5,000 a year.
Attracting, retaining great teachers
NCTQ President Heather Peske said the TEAMS program is an example of how states can use teacher pay to do more than simply raise salaries across the board.
“One of the best ways” to make sure students have effective teachers, Peske said, “is to use compensation as a means of attracting and retaining great teachers.”
With budgets tighter, she said, states should be looking closely at whether the money they already spend on teacher compensation is helping them keep teachers and improve student outcomes.
In Alabama, State Superintendent Eric Mackey said TEAMS has made a significant difference in the supply of math and science teachers.
“It absolutely proves the principle of market economics,” Mackey said. “You can use money to move the market when you decide what your priorities are.”
New trend?
Alabama still has schools that struggle to find enough math and science teachers, Mackey said. But for the first time this year, he said some superintendents are calling to say they have more qualified math and science teachers seeking TEAMS contracts than they need for existing classes.
“We’ve completely changed the shortage of math and science teachers,” Mackey said.
Some districts are now looking to add engineering and computer science courses through TEAMS because they have enough teachers to cover their regular math and science classes, he said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Trisha Powell Crain and originally published by the Alabama Daily News.
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