Reading, writing, and paychecks. What’s a teacher worth?
On his first day back from winter break, Dawrin Mota leaves the Las Vegas charter school where he works as a literacy strategist and heads to his second job cleaning houses.
The side business he and his wife operate keeps cash flowing in to support discretionary spending. On this January evening, his wife cleans one house solo, they do two together, and they hire people to clean two more. It yields them about $350.
That kind of extra money was especially helpful during last month’s costly holiday season.
“If I didn’t have it, I don’t know that I’d be able to really get my kids anything, honestly,” Mr. Mota says.
For decades, teachers have lamented lackluster pay – giving way to promises and debates on the campaign trail, in state legislatures, and in the hallways of Congress. Pockets of success have emerged to worked with state legislatures to increase teacher salaries.
