About: Teacher.org Editorial Staff

Teacher.org has covered teacher certification, education degrees and teaching careers in all 50 states since 2001. Certification requirements are checked against each state's department of education, and exam requirements against ETS's published Praxis information, rather than secondary summaries. Salary figures come directly from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and school data from the National Center for Education Statistics. States revise certification rules often, so where a rule is changing we say so and link to the state agency. Read our editorial standards.

Recent Posts by Teacher.org Editorial Staff

Best States for Teacher Pay vs. Cost of Living

yellow Victorian-style house with wraparound porch behind a white picket fence with climbing roses
Among the best states for teacher pay vs. cost of living, West Virginia offers the smallest gap between home prices and salary: a typical home there costs $182,704, compared with a $56,610 median high school teacher salary. Hawaii has the widest gap, at $762,431. Nationally, that gap is about $299,734, so where you teach can…
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How to End the School Year Strong: Bedside Manners and Battle Cries

Man holding up a sign that says "Make it Happen"
Ending the school year strong comes down to how you treat people in the final weeks, not how much you accomplish. Stay patient and connect on a human level even when you're exhausted, and give your staff and students a shared rallying point to aim for. Research on the peak-end rule suggests endings can carry…
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What the CARES Act Actually Did for K-12 Schools

teacher wearing headphones holding up a "Lesson 1" sign during an online class
The CARES Act, signed in March 2020, sent about $13.2 billion directly to K-12 schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, plus $3 billion in governor-directed relief. It also waived several ESSA testing and Title I requirements. Congress followed with two more rounds of school funding before pandemic relief wound down in…
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How to Make Curriculum More Engaging: 8 Teacher Strategies

Two elementary teachers in pirate costumes beside a cardboard ship's wheel during a classroom transformation
Making curriculum more engaging rarely means replacing it. You can't always change the scope and sequence you're handed, but you can change how it lands: room transformations, genius hour, movement, self-assessment, celebrations of learning, music and drama, games and quests, and structured discussion all work inside a mandated curriculum. [xyz_feat_school] Part 4 of 5 ……
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10 Things Teachers Should Not Do Over Summer Break

canoes resting on a rocky lakeshore with mountains and pine trees in the background
Real summer recovery means stepping back from anything school-related, not just leaving the building. That's the real list of things teachers should not do over summer break: work email, professional development, and education social media, plus school calls and school talk with family- all need real boundaries. The break only works if you actually take…
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