Looking across the most-read pieces on the Teacher Beat blog this year, a theme emerges right away: money.
A write-up about the states that pay teachers the most鈥攁s well as those that pay the least鈥攇arnered more attention than any other blog post in 2017. As it turns out, teachers are best-paid in Alaska at about $78,000 a year, and worst-paid in Mississippi, where they earn $42,000 on average.
Teacher readers also wanted to know about how the tax bill would affect the $250 deduction they鈥檝e been able to take for classroom supplies. For a while, it , but the final Republican bill, which the president signed Dec. 22, maintained the above-the-line deduction.
A post on a movement in California to require that , who typically earn more than $100,000 a year, also drew plenty of eyes.
And there was interest in determining the best places for teachers to live. The top posts include ones on , , and how to .
See the list below for the complete list of the top 10 Teacher Beat posts for 2017.
1)
Teachers make nearly double on average in Alaska what they make in Mississippi, according to a study from GoBankingRates.
2)
Scripted lessons, an oppressive testing culture, and a punitive evaluation system are the main reasons teachers are heading for the exits, according to analyses of their resignation letters.
3)
School schedules leave teachers little room for collaboration and reflection, according to a report.
4)
The tax bill proposed by House Republican leaders would have scrapped a benefit that many teachers have come to rely on: the $250 鈥渆ducator expense deduction,鈥� which can be used to recoup the cost of classroom materials. (The final bill kept it in place.)
5)
In the midst of a housing crunch, Eagle County School District in Colorado considers tiny home construction as a strategy to recruit and retain teachers.
6)
The Teacher Fair Pay Act would require that teachers are paid no less than lawmakers in California.
7)
There was concern that the state鈥檚 effort to reduce class sizes might leave thousands of art, music, foreign language, and physical education teachers without a job.
8)
New York City, San Francisco, and Washington are the least affordable places for new teachers, the analysis shows.
9)
President Donald Trump signed a bill overturning a controversial education regulation put in place during the Obama administration that would have required states to rate teacher-preparation programs annually.
10)
Since 2016, 11 states eased their regulations around teacher-license reciprocity, according to a new analysis of regulations from all 50 states.
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