Opinion

Teachers pay for their own courses

Posted November 16, 2007 10:00 pm

Your article regarding teacher raises on Nov. 12 failed to mention a very important fact about teacher raises. In order for a teacher to move lanes based on graduate coursework, in almost all districts the tuition payments, which can cost up to $2,600 per course, are paid by the teacher! So, for an 8-credit lane change "raise," a teacher would've had to shell out potentially $8,000 when fees, books, and parking are added on to tuition costs. That to me, is not a raise! Teacher pay hikes are less than reported!

Please present your facts accurately because there are many teachers that are personally paying for tuition costs, myself included, and my "raise" will not outweigh my tuition and fees for the classes.

Lastly, thanks to NCLB, more teachers than ever are needing to foot the bill in order to stay highly qualified.

Heather M. Walsh

Arlington Heights

Special Education Teacher

Arlington Heights School District 25

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