MAAC project is launching a campaign to reduce the existing and concerning teacher shortage by offering higher salaries than before.
The academic project is addressing one of the most worrying problems in the current academic field: the low rate of teaching employment throughout the country.
For many teachers, one of the biggest challenges to why it is difficult to hire teachers is the low teacher salaries across the country, including in out-of-district programs like the MAAC project.
However, MAAC has recently taken a big step toward a future where teachers can earn competitive salaries.
According to a study, the average salary for preschool teachers was up to $30,210 after the global pandemic a few years ago. Since then, schools have struggled to keep teachers on campus.
Arnulfo Manriquez is the president and executive director of the MAAC project, and he tells El Latino that teachers in the future can start with a highly competitive salary, which exceeds 20 percent of the average for these positions.
“We just increased the salaries of preschool teachers,” Arnulfo said. “If teachers are credentialed and apply to work with us, they can start with a salary of up to $65,000 per year, plus the benefits that come with the job.”
The executive director of the project tells El Latino that they have negotiated with the federal government to rebuild the project so that this recruitment campaign is on par with school districts in terms of salary expectations for potential teachers.
“People have already started applying for these positions, so we have seen people interested in being a preschool teacher here after seeing that we have improved our salaries,” Arnulfo said. “The more people realize how much we have improved our salaries, the more the word will spread and teachers will learn how much we value our workers and hopefully that will encourage them to leave other positions to join us.”
According to the project’s executive director, two monumental things happened after the COVID-19 pandemic. Number one, the pandemic increased people’s cost of living. And second, school districts began opening the TK (Transitional Kindergarten) program. As a result, many of their teachers left MAAC to obtain a position in district schools’ TK program.
However, with these new salary increases, MAAC project is now on par with district school salaries, making them optimistic about getting those teachers to come back to the faculty in the foreseeable future.
The CEO of the project encourages current education major students to have confidence in continuing with their profession, knowing that programs such as MAAC’s child development programs are taking a big step to offer a salary that will reflect their commitment as future professionals in the educational field.
“You have the opportunity to truly impact the lives of these children throughout San Diego,” Manríquez said. “We now have very competitive salaries for preschool teachers. Upon leaving college, graduates can start with a salary of $65,000 a year and have the opportunity to move up the ladder. Over time, you will be able to become a supervisor and center director and even manage school programs in San Diego after joining the MAAC project as a teacher.”
For more information about MAAC’s child development program, please visit the following website which displays all available jobs for this recruitment drive:https://maacproject.applytojob.com/apply