KIPP Colorado rolls out new pay increases; teachers now receive top starting salary in Denver

Currently, teachers across Colorado are struggling to make ends meet, and it's no surprise, as our state ranks 49th out of 50 when it comes to lowest pay.

However, KIPP Colorado, a network of free college-preparatory public charter schools, is aiming to change that. It's rolling out a new compensation program and increasing pay to ensure that educators are compensated fairly and transparently.

"Here at KIPP Colorado, we are committed to the idea of the exceptional student experience. When students come here and feel a sense of belonging, curriculum that is identity affirming and joyful. We have about 350 staff, including teachers and home office, supporting our students every day," said Taamiti Bankole, Chief External Affairs Officer for KIPP. "And as a son of teachers, I know first-hand how hard it is for teachers to survive often times on the pay they receive."

For the 2023-24 school year, KIPP is implementing an entirely new pay scale at its schools. "It's a 12-17% raise on average for most people. And a $59,000 starting salary. We are excited that we are now the top paying Denver public school for starting teacher salary and we raised pay for everyone," explained Bankole.

"It's been a wild five years but teaching with the pandemic teachers have had to reinvent how we are getting instruction across," said Alexandra Sanderson, who's a psychology teacher. "After the pandemic this means a lot to feeling like I'm getting the appropriate compensation for how hard we work."

"It means a lot not just for me. We see high quality teachers not only exiting the school but teaching in general. It's been harder and it was not compensated the right way and I feel like we are taking the right steps," added Spanish teacher Alvaro Munoz. "To see that we are here supporting the same students, the same community, means a lot not just for the students but for the families."

"It allows me to save for a house and future family and adventures and enjoy time off and ensure we're coming back bright eyed and bushy tailed for our students," Sanderson said.

 With the compensation study, KIPP says it was able to move all roles at KIPP Colorado to market average, which resulted in an increase of at least 5% for every single position and staff member.

The compensation study and rollout of the compensation plan is equity-based around compensating people of color fairly in a way that was not done before. Here are some of the demographics of KIPP staff and students:
• 49.3% of KIPP's staff identify as Black or Indigenous people, or people of color.
• 66.6% of KIPP's executive team identify as Black or Indigenous people, or people of color.
• 89.5% of KIPP's students identify as Black or Indigenous people, or people of color.
To view all KIPP Colorado's salary scales, see below:

Or visit KIPP Colorado's website to view current teaching opportunities.