Have you ever wondered what teachers do in the summer? No need to wonder any longer because JLF’s Dr. Terry Stoops wrote all about it this week in his latest Carolina Journal piece. According to Dr. Stoops:
The majority of North Carolina teachers have a contract that furnishes a break from mid-June to mid-August, so they may lead tutoring programs for struggling students during the summer months or pursue a variety of nonteaching employment opportunities.
Dr. Stoops references a U.S. Department of Education report from October of last year:
Researchers found that 32 percent of teachers had a summer job during the summer before the 2015–16 school year, earning an average of $3,700 from summer employment. The figures were slightly lower for teachers in the South. The study found 30 percent of full-time public school teachers in the South had summer jobs, with average earnings of $3,400. Only around half of the teachers in the sample reported they earned their additional income by teaching summer school.
Outside of employment, teachers use their summer vacations to pursue professional development. Stoops writes:
A 2015 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation survey of 1,300 educators found about one-third participated in an intensive summer training, and more than half would like their school district to offer more training in the summer.
So, whether teachers are continuing to work, participating in professional development, or doing something else, there are many different ways teachers spend their summer break.
Read the full piece here. Learn more about North Carolina education here.
