Crisis in America's classrooms

Teachers are guest-editing the Guardian to highlight underfunded schools, falling pay and a new wave of activism

'My classroom has asbestos and bats': a message for Betsy DeVos
Guardian US - US News
On the eve of World Teachers’ Day, the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief David Smith visited the Department of Education to deliver messages from hundreds of teachers who wrote to the Guardian during
I'm proud of being a teacher, but I might never be able to afford a home
Guardian US - US News
On World Teachers’ Day, the Guardian and Refinery29 are collaborating to share stories of teachers’ struggles This interview was originally published by Refinery29. In honor of World Teachers’ Day on 5,
The disturbing truth about teaching in America – video
Guardian US - Lily Ames, George Shelbourn, Jane Spencer, Pascal Wyse, Tom Silverstone and Laurence Topham
Billionaires v teachers: the Koch brothers' plan to starve public education
Guardian US - Steven Greenhouse in Phoenix
A small group of women have succeeded in putting a state law promoted by Betsy DeVos and billionaire donors which they see as an attack on public education on the ballot in November Arizona has become
The teacher revolt reshaping US politics
Guardian US - Chris McGreal in Ada, Oklahoma
After teacher strikes in the beginning of the year failed to have the desired impact, educators are taking on the Republican party The Oklahoma school principal only signed up with the party a few years
The US spends more on education than other countries. Why is it falling behind?
Guardian US - Dominic Rushe
Spending per student exceeds the OECD average but the likes of Finland and South Korea get better results. What are they doing right and what can the US learn from them? America’s schools are in trouble
The fight continues: which states will teachers strike in next?
Guardian US - Mike Elk
As a new school year begins, teachers in California, Colorado and Illinois, among other states, are determined to continue the fight for better pay and school funding Last spring, a wave of teachers strikes
The comeback kids: how a struggling public school made the grade
Guardian US - Amanda Holpuch in Pike county, Alabama
An Alabama school district is trying to break the cycle of poverty by enrolling students in programs that allow them to eventually graduate with college credits or degrees Soaring 1,000 feet above rural
Teacher shortages worsening in majority of US states, study reveals
Guardian US - Sarah Betancourt
Exclusive: Guardian survey shows schools turning to underqualified graduates to put more teachers in the classroom Teacher shortages are worsening across the US for the majority of states, according to
The teacher pay gap: how a promising career for women lost its shine
Guardian US - Mona Chalabi US data editor
Average teacher income has fallen since 2000, lagging well behind other college graduates’ pay – but unions make a difference. The sorry state of teacher pay in three charts Teachers’ salaries aren’t stagnating,
The day maggots fell from the ceiling: why I quit teaching
Guardian US - Anonymous as told to Kaitlin Menza
I’d read all the books, seen all the documentaries, but I still wasn’t ready for the horrors of America’s schools Teaching is in my blood. My mother is a teacher, and my grandfather was a principal in
The working-class kid who became a writer: how a Kansas teacher helped change my life
Guardian US - Sarah Smarsh
I grew up on a farm – but was able to trade my family’s backbreaking labor for a life of writing. My teacher, Mr Cheatham, is partly to thank for this Fourth grade should’ve been the hardest year of my
Voices from the classroom: teachers share their stories – as it happened
Guardian US - Erum Salam, Francisco Navas and Rachel Obordo
Teachers tell their stories of chronic underfunding in schools – and how it affects their job and their students’ futures That’s all for today, folks. But our coverage lasts through the week. Stay tuned.
How weak schools serve Trump's agenda
The Guardian - Arne Duncan
Of course the president says he loves the ‘poorly educated’: authoritarian regimes benefit when citizens lack education In late July, at a speech for veterans in Kansas City, Missouri, President Trump
Teacher pay drops 5% in last decade – despite better qualified staff
Guardian US - Erin Durkin
New report shows teacher pay is declining, even as more educators have master’s degrees and doctorates American teachers are getting paid less – even though they are better qualified than ever, new research
The Guardian US teacher takeover: about this project
Guardian US - Guardian US editors
A team of American public school teachers will serve as guest editors of the Guardian’s US edition from 5-7 September A teacher from Massachusetts told us his students fear snow days – because when school
The job Americans won't take: Arizona looks to Philippines to fill teacher shortage
Guardian US - Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block
College-educated Americans are increasingly uninterested in teaching jobs – so Arizona has begun to recruit from abroad On a recent sweltering morning in a public high school in a dusty town in the central
What we want: teachers on what they need to solve the crisis in our classrooms
Guardian US - US News
A manifesto for change: as guest editors of Guardian US, here’s what America’s teachers need to help the next generation thrive Falling teacher pay. Decrepit school buildings. Textbooks older than we It’s
How I survive: American teachers and their second jobs – a photo essay
Guardian US - Erum Salam
One in five American teachers now works a second job on top of full-time teaching. Photographer Peter Rad captures what happens when they leave the classroom
What's your experience of teaching in America? Teachers, share your stories
The Guardian - Guardian readers
The Guardian US is launching a new project about teachers. Tell us your stories about teaching in America The Guardian’s teacher takeover is putting a spotlight on the wave of teacher activism sweeping