On Teacher Appreciation Week, union leaders say teachers are underpaid and under attack

Kellen and his classmates, including his champion friend, Nolan Robbins (left), larn astir the operation of the U.S. authorities with teacher Robyn Fox. Katrina Ward for NPR hide caption

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Katrina Ward for NPR

It's Teacher Appreciation Week — a clip erstwhile educators often person apples, mugs and acquisition cards from students and their families.

But national leaders accidental that, for galore teachers, the outpouring of gratitude has not made up for the fiscal hardships and pressures they look the remainder of the year.

For years, K-12 teachers person dealt with aggregate challenges astatine underfunded schools, specified arsenic debased salaries, ample people sizes and unreimbursed out-of-pocket costs for student supplies and snacks.

Now, intense scrutiny of their teaching methods arsenic good as proposed cuts by the Trump administration to national backing for schools and acquisition programs person near galore teachers feeling demoralized, national leaders say.

"That's a situation for our country. We request to person teachers," said National Education Association President Becky Pringle. "So, it is of large interest arsenic we extremity this twelvemonth that our teachers are feeling overwhelmed by the attacks, and successful excessively galore places discouraged by the deficiency of enactment successful each way."

Salaries aren't keeping up with teachers' skills, advocates accidental

The median wage for a nationalist K-12 schoolhouse teacher was astir $62,000 successful 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said with their accomplishment sets and the magnitude of clip they dedicate to their jobs, nationalist schoolhouse teachers could gain astir 24% much than their existent wage moving successful non-teaching jobs successful the backstage sector.

But teachers often enactment successful the assemblage "because they're making a quality successful the lives of kids," she said.

In 2021, astir 82% of American students were enrolled successful nationalist school, according to the Census Bureau. But Weingarten said determination are not capable teachers astatine nationalist schools to adequately service those millions of children.

More teachers would mean smaller people sizes, which springiness children a greater accidental to person their idiosyncratic needs met. It besides ensures students are receiving a well-rounded education, she said.

"If you don't person a physics teacher due to the fact that of the shortage, and kids privation to instrumentality physics oregon request physics, that's going to interaction kids," she said. "If you don't person a machine subject teacher, that's going to interaction kids."

Federal wealth is connected the chopping block

President Trump has precocious signed enforcement orders aimed astatine eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives successful K-12 schools and to eliminate the Department of Education. The Education Department provided astir 13.6% of full backing for nationalist K-12 schools successful fiscal twelvemonth 2022, according to Census data.

The section is besides liable for upholding the rights of students with disabilities.

Trump's requested national fund cuts to the Education Department for fiscal twelvemonth 2026 full astir $12 billion, oregon immoderate 15% of its existent funding. The biggest information of those cuts would beryllium a simplification successful K-12 backing by much than $4.5 billion.

The White House said the budget proposal "provides streamlined, flexible backing straight to States," and would relieve the national authorities of the costs of some administering the funds and enforcing compliance.

"When you spot the national government, this administration, threatening to propulsion backmost connected those funds, to not person them astatine all, threatening america arsenic educators who thatch the information astir our nation's past and the interaction it has to this time — it's a lot," Pringle said.

Teachers already consciousness stretched thin

Pringle estimated teachers walk astir $450 per twelvemonth of their ain wealth connected students, portion Weingarten said that fig is upward of $1,000.

Pringle, who taught 8th people subject for 31 years, said she remembers taking trips to the market store to bargain vinegar and baking soda for her students' subject projects. ZIP codes besides power the wealth that is funneled to schoolhouse districts, truthful teachers successful little income areas extremity up providing much financially for their students, she added.

"They're taking wealth retired of their ain pockets erstwhile they don't person capable already, and retired of their family's budgets, and that's not OK," she said. "This state needs to unrecorded up to its committedness for its kids and supply the resources our teachers request to bash the jobs they love."

Pringle encourages students and their families to instrumentality the enactment to teachers by penning letters and emails to their representatives and senators, posting connected societal media and personalizing the gifts they springiness during Teacher Appreciation Week.

"Put a handwritten enactment successful that mug and say, 'You cognize what? We spot you, and we attraction astir you,' " she said.

Weingarten added, "You're seeing this implicit and implicit and implicit again that radical successful communities cognize the value of teachers and the value of nationalist schools. That's wherefore teachers are 1 of the astir trusted professions successful the country. But they request to beryllium supported 365 days a year, not conscionable 1 time a year."