LOUISIANA, USA — As summer heats up in Southeast Louisiana, teachers across the area are settling into their summer jobs.
For Ashley Guan, 24, an eighth-grade English teacher in Jefferson Parish, it's an opportunity to catch up on classes and side hustles.
“I’m currently, babysitting and taking classes for grad school at Holy Cross. I also own a non-profit fighting against human trafficking … and I’m a wedding photographer,” Guan said. ”I do a lot over the summer.”
But working an extra job is not only a seasonal condition, it’s a year-round necessity for many teachers.
Some like Shadea Alabsa, 36, a middle school math and science teacher in Jefferson Parish, said she had to, at times, work 75 hours a week to supplement her teacher salary.
“I was doing 40 hours at Winn-Dixie plus 35 with teaching,” Alabsa said. “It was chaotic, and I had a brand-new baby, and I go to school.”
Eventually, Alabsa found work with Sylvan Learning, a tutoring service, to help her pay bills. However, even with teaching and tutoring, she still puts in hours driving for Uber and Lyft and selling homemade cakes out of her house.
Chris Dier a high school history teacher in St. Bernard Parish, was working 60 hours a week when he first started teaching, supplementing his income with extra jobs. But Dier still had to move back in with his parents to afford the cost of living.
“When I first started teaching in my twenties, I was making in the 40,000s, and I realized I needed other streams of income,” Dier said. “I was coaching club soccer after school and then I would work nights at Cafe Roma, delivering pizzas, and then I would go home and write lesson plans.”
And on top of all the extra work outside of school, many teachers have been doing double duty for their school districts. Serving not only as educators but also as replacements for whatever roles their school or district may be lacking.
“We just wear a lot of hats,” Guan said. “Whether we turn into a counselor one day, because kids are our priority and they’re venting to us, or if the next day, we’re a substitute - because of a shortage.”
“One misconception with teachers is that we start when the first bell rings and finish when the last bell rings,” Chris Dier, 35, a high school history teacher in St. Bernard Parish, said. “It’s so much more than that – We plan our lessons all throughout the week, we go home and then have to grade papers and then plan lessons again.”
A recent graduate from the University of New Orleans, Michelle Bellotti, 21, is starting her first full time as a teacher for a school in Saint Charles Parish.
“I don’t think teachers are leaving because they don’t get paid enough, I’m sure it’s part of it, but they knew going into it you’re not going to be a millionaire.” Michelle Bellotti, 21, said. “In college, they don’t tell you that you have all this other stuff to do.”
This summer Bellotti is working at a store that sells loaded tea and protein shakes, she also dog-sits.
“I used to work at the mall, too, but that was a little too much while I was student teaching,” Bellotti said.
Jess Harrison, a theater teacher from Jefferson Parish, said having a partner is what has made continuing to teach financially possible for her.
“I was a single mom when I started teaching and it was very difficult,” Harrison, 40, said. “Until I got married, making ends meet was extremely difficult. So I would say, single-income household, one person as a teacher, it’s not gonna be enough.”
Harrison said having a double-income household has afforded her more time to focus on her relationships with her students. She spends her summers working with summer camps and programs on film and theater projects.
“I don’t have the emotional energy for a side hustle,” Harrison, 40. “I go so hard at my job.”
This summer, Chris Dier is continuing his work for a nonprofit that advocates for school-related policies. He has also been helping an online company, both of which are remote.
Although the 35-year-old history teacher said getting to this point in his career required investing extra time early on in his career.
“I was also taking night classes at UNO, so if I wasn’t working nights, I was taking classes at nights,” Dier said. “Because if you want to get side gigs where you can work online or digitally, you have to have advanced degrees. If I was going to keep teaching, I wanted to have other avenues where I could still have the liberty to travel.”
Louisiana ranks 43rd in the country for average teacher salaries. In May, state legislators proposed a permanent pay raise for teachers. Gov. John Bel Edwards had proposed as much as $3000 for teacher salaries.
Still those increases would still put Louisiana teachers well below the national average.
That proposal was rejected in favor of a one-time $2000 stipend. Many teachers have said this is not enough.
"Sometimes there are no words, because we know the value of teachers and education, communities know it, but politicians don't respect the profession." Dier said. "We're left grappling with a situation where teachers are incredibly valued to communities in the state of Louisiana, but the pay doesn't match what people think of teachers."
Jess Harrison, from Jefferson Parish, who students affectionately call, "Mama Jess," said she believes teaching is a selfless job.
“The most important thing about teaching is that you’re not going in it to get famous, to get recognition, or to be loved, although you will be loved,” Harrison said. “You’re going in it because you want to help.”
