NEA: 2007 Take A Look at Today's Teachers

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Public School Teacher Facts	U.S. Total	Urban or High-Poverty Schools

How many public school teachers are there?	3,048,549	929,400
What percentage of public school teachers are men?	25%
What percentage of public school teachers are minorities?	15%
What is the average public school teacher salary?	$44,400	$45,400
How many new teachers have certification for what they are teaching?	77%	66%
How many public school teaching positions open annually?	232,000
How many teachers retire each each year?	2%	3%
How many teachers leave teaching each year other than to retire?	6%
How many new teachers are hired each year?	195,036
How many teachers transfer to other teaching jobs in a year?	8%
What percentage of teachers leave the profession within the first five years?	34%	50%
How many positions are lost in a year?	16%	22%
What percentage of schools experience vacancies during the school year?	83%	84%
How many schools use substitutes to cover vacancies?	31%	47%
What is the average length of a teaching career?	31 years
How much does teacher attrition (turnover) cost the U.S. each year?	$7 billion
How much does a teacher spend "out of pocket" to cover class/student needs?	$443
Numbers have been rounded. Contact NEA Research for source data.