Group Memorandum on Guiding Students to Become Better Scientists

 Memorandum

To: Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City

From: Sydney Wilkes, Jamileth Chavez, Stacy Armijos, Lisangel Tineo, Michelle Addison;

Students at The City College of New York

Date: 09/06/2023

Subject: Competitive Wages for Science Teachers

    Opening Segment (Stacy): Competitive wages for science teachers are not just an

investment in educators but a commitment to fostering a strong foundation in STEM education,

driving innovation, and preparing the next generation of scientific leaders.

    Description/context(Sydney): In New York City property tax is used to fund our public

schools, often resulting in low wages for educators across the board. This contributes to a lack of

resources, specifically for science teachers, who do not have access to the tools they need to

demonstrate physical sciences properly. As a result, students in our city have fallen far behind

global standards of proficiency in the sciences. We must begin to prioritize the ability of our

science teachers to foster innovative mindsets in our youth, as there is no doubt science and

technology are some of the biggest contributing factors of growth in our community.

    Solution (Michelle) :By raising teachers wages, this can help attract and retain highly

qualified educators, improve morale, and enhance the overall quality of education. It can also

provide financial stability to teachers, allowing them to focus on their profession and provide

better support to students. In order to fund this increase in wages, we propose that in addition to

property taxes, a small percentage of income tax should be granted to the STEM departments in

our public schools. New York City has some of the highest earners per capita in the country. It

would be beneficial to take a portion of these taxes that citizens are already required to pay, and

feed it back into our educators, granting them the ability to shape the next generation of

scientists.

    Closing(Lisangel): Bringing light to this issue will in turn help our society advance and

reflect a more prosperous future for our teachers and students. Thank you for your attention, we

sincerely hope to hear back from you soon. If further discussion is needed please contact us at

brighterfuture@gmail.com.

(Jamileth)

Science Teacher Salary in New York, NY - Indeed,

https://www.indeed.com/career/science-teacher/salaries/New-York--NY