Teachers: Why do you choose to teach at private vs. public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents are more supportive in private in many ways.

And the nominees for "biggest generalization in this thread" are . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

See, you're saying "many" and I said "many." Neither one of us is saying "all." So there's no "misconception" at all, is there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents are more supportive in private in many ways.

And the nominees for "biggest generalization in this thread" are . . .

I have experience as a teacher in APS, FCPS, and the Diocese of Arlington.

The Catholic community (including non-Catholic parents) understood when I missed a week of school due to my parent being ill, supported me when my spouse was deployed, and were very willing to hear feedback like, "your kid has been kind of mean to their classmates," without saying, "Can I see some documentation on that".

In public school I was literally not allowed to put the name of a child in an email, TO THEIR PARENTS for legal reasons.

In private I can say, "Did Larlo have a rough weekend? They fell asleep in math today. Anything I need to know...".

I public, I'd be called out for "define what 'asleep' means," on top of HIPPA and naming the kid.

They also are willing to accept feedback about "bad news" in general without making me a villain for saying something. I am also never worried that my students are underfed, lacking weather-appropriate clothing, or that they are experiencing homelessness.

This sounds awful, and elitist, but when my students in Catholic school have hit economic or emotional speed bumps, the general community has found a way to circle the wagons around that family. Sometimes, the family had no idea. Uniforms appeared out of nowhere. A parent bought lunch for their kid "and anyone who needs it". We had a supply closet with donations to avoid embarrassing kids if they "lost" their pens/folders/pens over holiday break. Even kids with some money hot awkward moments (leaving things at dad's house on a Monday when they spent the weekend with mom).

I have gone to my principal and my pastor and said I was worried, and they helped me find ways to bridge those gaps, instead of saying, "take data" or "call CPS if you are so concerned". They know the families so well that the "social work" part does not fall on teachers, as much.

APS and FCPS have families with means (sometimes), but they also have families who struggle. How those struggles are managed are less stressful for a teacher in a private system.


The money is reallllyyyy different, and less transparent in private. In public, even the students can figure out the pay scale, and that's motivating to get advanced degrees. Private is "more private".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers, why have you chosen to teach in private school vs. public school? I have heard public school teachers make more money (in Baltimore, at least) and private school parents can be very difficult. So why choose private over public?

I teach in Baltimore City. I chose it so I can send my DD to a private school. Baltimore City pays more than any other district in MD. If money wasn't an issue, I'd choose to teach in a private school. Why? Let me count the ways. 1) more involved parents 2) students who come prepared to learn 3) more freedom to be creative because of a lot less testing. 4) more resources.

I taught in Baltimore City, too.

We had back to school night. Two parents came. They were married.

When we had testing, materials they needed for testing came out of the basement. Like, microscopes. Those were put away until the next year's testing week.

I paid for a lot of my classroom supplies, like copy paper, every month. I was told to write if off on my taxes. I shopped a lot of thrift stores and garage sales to furnish my classroom.

The human trafficking concerns among 8th grade girls....I don't think my DC private school parents could see that as something other than a capstone project.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents are more supportive in private in many ways.

And the nominees for "biggest generalization in this thread" are . . .

As a teacher, I am sooooo grateful for the generosity of the parents. It isn't just money, it is the way parents know that (w/o unions) teachers are they by choice, and generally choose to "boost up" teachers. I have had parents bring me lunch when I was having a tough time, bring me dog food when they heard from their kids I got a puppy, and donate old lap tops, in case we needed them for writer's workshops.

I asked one parent if they had some "preschool instruments" for a fun project (they had preschoolers). They told me they did. They went out that day to collect them for me (from other parents), without telling me they had done that.

It amazes me that people who are making a sacrifice to pay even 15% of their monthly expense to pay tuition (for some it is a much larger sacrifice), are still so invested in making sure THE WHOLE SCHOOL thrives.

Parents without those kinds of means also prepare great foods for potlucks, volunteer to be a guide for new families, and really listen to what teacher's say.

It's like a "not-hostile" workplace. Especially wonderful for teachers who "retired", but didn't really want to retire.

[Anonymous]

I felt much more work life balance. Which meant there was more of me for work and more of me for home. I think humane workplaces ultimately get more out of employees. Pay could have been more of course. I could only swing it long term due to having a working spouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public pays more - I did teach in private internationally and it was easier work. More planning time - very few struggling kids so you didn’t really feel like a failure or not able to reach certain kids. I didn’t have to deal with parent issues too much because all the parents loved me being a native English speaker.

The assumptions made about private schools show lots of people are posting who don't know what they're talking about.

In this area, the average private school pays a lower salary and has as many "problem" kids as the public schools. Lots of kids get thrown out of school or their parents pull them for other problems. The teachers I know at private schools can't get jobs in the public schools or they can't move because the public schools don't count their years of experience in the same way. A teacher with lots of experience in private schools may not been given credit for all those years and thus start at a lower level in public.

Also, the stories I can tell about the crazy people I know who have no experience teaching who should never teach who are now or were teaching at private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pays more - I did teach in private internationally and it was easier work. More planning time - very few struggling kids so you didn’t really feel like a failure or not able to reach certain kids. I didn’t have to deal with parent issues too much because all the parents loved me being a native English speaker.

The assumptions made about private schools show lots of people are posting who don't know what they're talking about.

In this area, the average private school pays a lower salary and has as many "problem" kids as the public schools. Lots of kids get thrown out of school or their parents pull them for other problems. The teachers I know at private schools can't get jobs in the public schools or they can't move because the public schools don't count their years of experience in the same way. A teacher with lots of experience in private schools may not been given credit for all those years and thus start at a lower level in public.

Also, the stories I can tell about the crazy people I know who have no experience teaching who should never teach who are now or were teaching at private schools.

Well this is dumb, because not all private schools are the same by a long shot (and neither are all public for that matter). Our school has a 30% admit rate and is sure not taking kids who gotten thrown out of their school, or hiring unqualified teachers (the vast majority of teachers they hire have graduate degrees in their field of expertise, if not “education”). I mean, I guess there are probably schools that hire mostly public school rejects, or don’t counsel out kids with issues, but I really don’t know of them. I suspect you don’t, either.

But it is true that private schools tend to attract teachers who don’t need to maximize their income, for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Music teacher at a private. I don't have a degree in education, but I'm a specialist and former professional. I love my job, my students and families, and my kids attend the school I teach at on generous FA. Salary is 70K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pays more - I did teach in private internationally and it was easier work. More planning time - very few struggling kids so you didn’t really feel like a failure or not able to reach certain kids. I didn’t have to deal with parent issues too much because all the parents loved me being a native English speaker.

The assumptions made about private schools show lots of people are posting who don't know what they're talking about.

In this area, the average private school pays a lower salary and has as many "problem" kids as the public schools. Lots of kids get thrown out of school or their parents pull them for other problems. The teachers I know at private schools can't get jobs in the public schools or they can't move because the public schools don't count their years of experience in the same way. A teacher with lots of experience in private schools may not been given credit for all those years and thus start at a lower level in public.

Also, the stories I can tell about the crazy people I know who have no experience teaching who should never teach who are now or were teaching at private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many private schools don't require that their teachers be certified in education, for one thing -- so they can't get hired by public schools. You can debate whether being certified makes you a better, worse, or more qualified educator, of course -- but that's beside the point. The point is that if you're not certified you can't get hired by a public school, so you go private.

I’ve seen this posted and I’ve corrected this misconception before. For many private schools, this isn’t the case. My school won’t hire teachers who aren’t MSDE certified. Over half the staff transferred from public schools, so certification clearly wasn’t an issue for many anyway. I’m sure there are some privates where certification isn’t required, but for many… it is. We are also observed using the same observation frameworks as the public schools I formerly taught in.

What school is this? My husband and I are both private school teachers (one in MD and one in DC) and neither one requires a teaching certificate or even a degree in education. In fact, at my country club style K-8 a teacher asked the HOS if she could list her MSDE certificate in her credentials in the school directory and he replied “No, because then parents will ask why other teachers aren’t certified”. She and I were the only 2 teachers in the entire school with a current teaching certificate.

I know in other states like Texas all teachers have to be certified. Otherwise it seems predatory. Give me your $40-50k and I will give you less than what you can get for free?

[Anonymous]

Ha! This thread makes me laugh. My child has a new teacher this year in our private lower school. The teacher spent decades teaching in a local public school and just joined my child's private school. This teacher is hands down the worst teacher we have ever experienced with any of our kids.

I have no confidence in the teacher's ability to teach. I don't even get it. You would think the teacher would excel with the ability to teach a class that is half the size of a public school class. This teacher is terrible at communication, does not know how to teach and engage with kids one-on-one and in small groups, does not know how to motivate kids, cannot control the classroom, and doesn't know how to work with the kids to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The teacher's approach to discipline is very punishment focused rather than understanding how to nurture and use positive communication to drive behavior.

I hope this teacher is an anomaly but I can't figure out how they stayed employed in a public school for decades.

The teaching certificate is not indicative of teaching quality.

[Anonymous]

One needs to look at the salary comparisons based on the school calendar too. Public schools often have longer working calendar schedules with required orientation weeks, while privates only have a few days and often pay summer stipends for extra work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha! This thread makes me laugh. My child has a new teacher this year in our private lower school. The teacher spent decades teaching in a local public school and just joined my child's private school. This teacher is hands down the worst teacher we have ever experienced with any of our kids.

I have no confidence in the teacher's ability to teach. I don't even get it. You would think the teacher would excel with the ability to teach a class that is half the size of a public school class. This teacher is terrible at communication, does not know how to teach and engage with kids one-on-one and in small groups, does not know how to motivate kids, cannot control the classroom, and doesn't know how to work with the kids to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The teacher's approach to discipline is very punishment focused rather than understanding how to nurture and use positive communication to drive behavior.

I hope this teacher is an anomaly but I can't figure out how they stayed employed in a public school for decades.

The teaching certificate is not indicative of teaching quality.

The best teacher my DD ever had at our private K-8 in MD was from MCPS. The teacher went back to MCPS after just one year so that should tell you something. She used the MCPS math curriculum materials as enrichment for my kid and other advanced math students in our private.