Passionate about teaching, not salaries

At 24 years old, Deirdre Duffy likes to hang out with her roommates, go to concerts, shop downtown and travel. With long, highlighted curls, flip-flops and a chunky turquoise bracelet with a pendant to match, Duffy appears more like a stylish student than a high-school English teacher.

"I've been mistaken for a student more than once," she said.

But Duffy has recently entered a grown-up job market where jobs are scarce, hiring freezes run rampant, and salaries seem to lag behind inflation. She graduated last March from the College of Education with a Master's in Education.

Facing a market laden with education budget cuts and teacher discontent, Duffy became an anomaly when she secured a position at Bothell High School teaching English to sophomore and senior classes.

"I started interviewing in April and it (Bothell High School) was the second school I interviewed with and I got the job. I think I was the first person in my program to get a job ... it was a nice feeling," she said.

Since graduating, Duffy has watched many of her peers go through interviews in hope of acquiring a classroom before fall, but many are still looking for work.

"The hiring time was pushed back to May, June or July," said Duffy. "It's a hard time to get a teaching job. Districts are having budget problems."

Professor Gene Edgar of the College of Education, a former instructor to Duffy, said recent budget legislation has made it difficult for schools to determine if they can hire new teachers.

Recently, Peninsula School District teachers and faculty discussed possibly striking in June, but the deliberations concluded without teachers stepping outside the classroom. Duffy, now a part of the Northshore School District, said she would be willing to strike if the faculty and the people she looked to for support wanted to.

"Teachers are dedicated enough to do this job for not a lot of money," said Duffy. However, she said, "if the government and legislation is not going to take demands seriously, teachers have to do something about it."

Hiring freezes caused by budget constraints have many new teachers waiting for jobs until after the school year begins. Many school districts wait until school begins to see how many students are enrolled, and then decide whether to hire more teachers, said both Duffy and Edgar.

"I bumped into a student last Sept. 1, and she had just accepted a job the day before," said Edgar. "That's a really unfortunate thing."

The challenges faced by new teachers don't stop at the schoolhouse gate.

Once placed in classrooms, Washington teachers receive a salary that is much lower than most western states. Washington's average classroom-teacher salary has dropped from fifth highest in the nation to 19th from 1981 to 2002, according to a recent study by the National Education Association.

Duffy reluctantly admits that she had previously considered relocating to California where the average teacher salary is $10,396 more than Washington's $43,474. In the end, being near friends and family kept Duffy in the Seattl area, but she remains positive about future legislation about teacher's salaries.

"I'm optimistic about the future. One of these days, people are going to realize that you have to pay teachers more money," she said.

Duffy is quick to point out that the people in her master's program are passionate about education, not salaries. It is common to see people in the program pursue teaching as a second career, leaving behind professions that offer more competitive salaries.

With many teachers leaving the profession after the first three to five years, according to professor Ken Sirotnik of the College of Education, it clear that it is takes a certain type of person to take on teaching.

"It takes really dedicated folks willing to put up with low pay and lack of respect," said Sirotnik. "I'm always struck by the talents coming through."