Oklahoma has seen significant growth in its teacher workforce with the addition of 1,751 certified classroom teachers since the 2017-18 school year.

During the past two legislative sessions, lawmakers passed back-to-back pay increases averaging approximately $7,400 per teacher, boosting Oklahoma’s teacher pay to the top of the region.

In the 2017-18 school year, Oklahoma’s classroom teacher count was 41,305.

A year later, it had grown to 42,453, an increase of 1,148. New Oklahoma State Department of Education numbers for the current school year include 43,056 classroom teachers, or 603 more than the year prior.