Contact: Brian Washington   (202) 822-7823

June 19, 2007

Too Many Children Losing Good Teachers

NEA Student Leader: 'New Teachers Can't Afford To Repay Student Loans'   

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of thousands of college students go into debt in order to enter the teaching profession. However, when many enter the classroom, they cannot afford to make ends meet, especially when it comes to repaying their student loans. The chairperson of the NEA Student Program, Anthony Daniels, shared with those attending Take Back America 2007 today why a third of all new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

"They can't afford to repay their student loans on a teacher's salary," said Daniels, who participated in a panel discussion on college affordability at the conference. "Studies show the main reason cited by those who quit teaching is the difficulty in making ends meet. We are losing too many good teachers, and it's costing our children."

Take Back America 2007 represents the largest gathering of progressive activists in a decade. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event, which began Monday, June 18 at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Daniels used the conference to outline his proposal for making higher education more affordable. It includes:

• Increasing the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100;
• Making student loans more affordable by lowering interest rates, reinstating the refinancing of existing loans, and limiting the percentage of income students spend repaying loans;
• Expanding loan forgiveness programs for critical public service professions such as teaching;
• Eliminating waste in student loan programs. 

Daniels received his bachelor's degree in elementary education in 2005 from Alabama A&M University and owes more than $30,000 in student loans. By the time he completes his master's degree at Alabama A&M, Daniels will owe more than twice that amount. A starting teacher in Alabama earns $28,000. "Unfortunately, the joy that comes from teaching doesn't pay the bills," said Daniels.

According to the 2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the national average for public college and university graduates who would be facing unmanageable debt -- if they took a starting teacher's position -- is 23.2 percent. For those graduating from private institutions it is 38.1 percent. Daniels believes it's time to remove the financial barriers to teaching.

"School systems nationwide are trying innovative ways to attract new people to the profession," said Daniels. "But, as one expert put it, as long as teachers cannot afford to pay their debts, those efforts are like trying to fill a bucket that has a huge hole in the bottom."

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators
and students preparing to become teachers.