Extra pay could lure experienced teachers to poorer schools, so why won’t California do it?

HALFWAY THROUGH A chilly school day in February, Theresa Griffin’s sixth grade classroom at Stege Elementary is more chaotic than usual. On the white board, Griffin writes the names of talkative students who will be staying behind after the lunch bell rings. A knock on the door interrupts reading instruction.

Six younger students need a classroom to work in while their teachers are attending a conference. Griffin spends 10 minutes rearranging tables to make space for them. Griffin is willing to do anything she can to help her colleagues — if she can offer a little support, maybe they’ll stick around at the school where many teachers leave after a few years. At the start of the current school year, Griffin was the only teacher at Stege with more than five years of experience — she’s been teaching at the school 23 years.