Pay raises approved for Cherry Creek teachers

Will start at $57K

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In an e ort to attract and retain more teachers, the Cherry Creek School District announced it will raise teacher salaries.

Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, the salary for new teachers at Cherry Creek Schools will start at $57,000, according to a Feb. 8 news release.

Teachers “across the spectrum of classroom experience” will also get salary increases, and additional compensation will be available for teachers and certied sta who further their education, according to the release.

is new salary schedule was part of a compensation package approved Feb. 6 by members of the Cherry Creek Education Association, an organization that represents the teachers, education professionals, counselors, nurses and mental health professionals in Cherry Creek Public Schools.

“Our teachers are so passionate about what they do. Every day they are com- mitted to helping students discover a love of learning and a pathway of purpose. is new salary schedule honors and values the hard work of teachers in classrooms across the district,”

Kasey Ellis, president of the Cherry Creek Education Association, said in the release.

School district leaders collaborated with leaders of the education association to reach a fair compensation package, according to the release.

“ is salary update is designed to provide competitive compensation for all of our teachers and certi ed sta , and is aligned to our core values as a district,”

Superintendent Christopher Smith said in the release.

“ is week’s announcement is part of our ongoing e orts to ensure that all of our sta earn fair and competitive wages for the work they do in service of students.” e Cherry Creek School District said it hopes the salary increase will attract new teachers to work for the district, which is hiring for many positions across schools and departments, according to the release.

As reported in e Colorado Sun, every Colorado school district began 2023 understa ed.

Cherry Creek had about 124 open positions at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year that were not lled by normal hiring processes, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

Cherry Creek Schools is actively seeking to hire more teachers of color to be more re ective of student demographics, per the release. According to the district’s website, Cherry Creek has about 53,000 students, of which 20.9% are Hispanic, 11.8% are Black, 9% are Asian and 7.8% are two or more races.

As part of its e orts to recruit more sta , the school district is hosting a job fair for teachers and certi ed sta from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. ose interested in learning more about the job fair can visit: bit.ly/ccsdfairs.

Residents who want to nd job openings at the Cherry Creek School District can nd more information at: bit.ly/ccsdjob.