Every time I see the stat that the state's per capita income is around $63,000, I am amazed. I've lived here for 30 years, teaching nearly all that time. I have it all: years of experience (I retired with 44 years teaching high school and college), a Master's degree, National Board Certification, extra pay aligned with teaching special education, being a Highly Qualified Teacher, named Teacher of the Year in my district twice, and I never earned close to $63,000! I retired in 2021, and you've captured why Oklahoma has an education problem. Having almost 5,000 emergency certifications is reprehensible, as are all the other factors you enumerated. Wake up, everybody, to these problems and find some solutions. Pronto!
Every time I see the stat that the state's per capita income is around $63,000, I am amazed. I've lived here for 30 years, teaching nearly all that time. I have it all: years of experience (I retired with 44 years teaching high school and college), a Master's degree, National Board Certification, extra pay aligned with teaching special education, being a Highly Qualified Teacher, named Teacher of the Year in my district twice, and I never earned close to $63,000! I retired in 2021, and you've captured why Oklahoma has an education problem. Having almost 5,000 emergency certifications is reprehensible, as are all the other factors you enumerated. Wake up, everybody, to these problems and find some solutions. Pronto!