As America’s teacher pay gap widens, teachers organize

EDUCATION
– There has been an uprising among students and teachers recently. As students raise their voices on issues like gun control and alternative methods of dealing with sexual assault on campus, teachers are calling for salary increases. (Citylab, 4/11)

The average weekly pay for college-educated workers in the U.S. is $1,428; the average teacher makes only 77 percent of that, or 77 cents to every dollar. In West Virginia, salaries are slightly lower than average: Teachers are paid 75 cents to every dollar earned by other college graduates. Among the other states where unions are actively rallying, Arizona’s gap is widest, at 63 cents; Oklahoma’s trails close behind, at 67; and Kentucky’s is barely above the national average, at 79.

But even as teachers lobby their states for better wages—West Virginia for a 5 percent raise and hoping for more; Oklahoma for 10; Arizona for 20—it will be hard to make up so much lost income, says Allegretto… the gap is growing everywhere, up from a .1 percent discrepancy in 1994 to 11 percent in 2015. Accounting for inflation, that means teacher pay actually fell $30 per week over the last two decades, while professionals in other jobs make $124 more than they once did.

– Maryland has passed a bill that increases access to the state’s scholarship funding for its community college students. (WaPo, 4/11)

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | A homeless man wants to be DC’s next mayor. Will the city let him on the ballot? (WaPo, 4/11)

PHILANTHROPY
– FSG has released a study on how philanthropic organizations are adapting their internal practices to reflect the impact they want to have. (FSG, 4/11)

– This new report explores the impact of the 2016 election on the philanthropic sector, including how it informed new ways of working with funders and philanthropy-serving organizations. (TCC Group, 3/29)

HOUSING | Housing Discrimination Rife In D.C. Region 50 Years After Fair Housing Became Law (WAMU, 4/11)

HOMELESSNESS | People experiencing homelessness in the District, advocates and supporters recently marched to demand more funding to end chronic homelessness in the city. (Street Sense, 4/11)

Today is National Grilled Cheese Day!

– Kendra