Student protestors in Raleigh call for education reform

Students from across the Triangle greeted the attendees of a legislative task force for education with two signs Monday — one depicting a sturdy ladder and another depicting a broken ladder.

The broken image represented what they believe is the state of teacher pay in the U.S. public education system — the other represented what they think it should be.

Students from UNC, Duke University and Wake Forest University came together for a Rally to Rebuild event in Raleigh at the North Carolina Educator Effectiveness and Compensation Task Force meeting .

Several chapters of the group Students for Education Reform organized the event as part of their Rebuilding the Ladder campaign to change the way North Carolina pays its teachers.

Rani Reddy , UNC’s chapter leader, said many teachers are leaving the state or leaving the profession altogether because wages are not sustainable.

North Carolina was ranked 46th in the nation for teacher pay for the 2011-12 school year, according to the National Education Association .

“We wanted to send a message to the General Assembly that we need to create a better career ladder for teachers, because the way the current climate is and the way that we’ve been compensating teachers the last few years has not shown teachers that we value or respect them,” Reddy said.

Reddy said participants were also fighting for raises within the first five years for teachers, because that is the period in which teachers develop the most as professionals. She added that the group would like to see additional raises during the teacher’s career as incentives.

“So their only means of getting a raise is not to become an administrator or go into the other side of education because then our best and brightest teachers leave the classroom,” she said.

It was also a call for the General Assembly to change its policies to better recruit and retain teachers in the state, said Reddy.

Katie Draper , the director of service and outreach at SFER’s Wake Forest chapter, said around 30 members attended the event, mostly from UNC and Duke.

“We want (legislators) to know that we are serious about making fundamental changes in the pay schedule and will continue to push until substantial changes are made.”

Judy Robbins , co-director of awareness at UNC’s chapter, said it is important for residents to communicate directly with their representatives, but putting a face to the organization is just as important.

The goals of the rally were to emphasize the underpayment of teachers and encourage changes in the career ladder so that teachers are paid more at every step, said Diane Thompson , communications director for UNC’s chapter.

Thompson said students should be involved because many owe teachers for getting them to college.

“I think it’s so important to recognize that most college students are there because of an educator or teacher or someone involved in the school system who believed in them,” she said.

Robbins said the rally was an important first step in the campaign, but they are not going to end there.

“This is only the beginning. We’re going to keep pushing things. We’re going to keep pushing for new legislation,” she said.

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