The EPIC Project

THE EPIC PROJECT: Exploring Ways to Pay Teachers More

EPIC is leading the way in revolutionizing education reform. Our mission is to solve the recruitment and retention crisis in the teaching profession. No national, non-profit organization is currently making this issue a priority. EPIC, through The EPIC Project is.

The issues impacting the teaching profession are directly connected to America’s ability to compete in the future. The EPIC Project will provide expert support for K-12 school districts to develop and implement pilot projects focused on teacher recruitment and retention through higher pay.

If current trends continue, there will not be enough teachers to teach our children by 2012. This will negatively impact our nation’s future for generations to come.

Consider the following:

· 50% of new teachers leave after five years.
· Fewer young people are entering the profession.
· Baby boomers will be retiring soon; they constitute the largest age group in the profession.
· Districts around the nation are outsourcing because of teacher shortages.
· Oversize classrooms are becoming the norm because there are not enough teachers to teach.
· The National drop-out rate of 30% continues to rise.

In the United States, the average salary of a teacher is approximately $31,000.00, according to the National Education Association (NEA). In most states, a teacher’s income, cannot sustain a single person, let-alone a family or allow him or her to purchase a home. Many of them struggle to live day-to-day; over half, work second jobs to supplement their income.

Currently, several experiments studying the impact of higher salaries for teachers on recruitment, retention, productivity and effectiveness, are happening in small pockets around the nation. EPIC wants to expand these efforts.