Finance "bros" are working 100-120 hours a week? Cause I work 50-60 like most teachers. And dude, nobody really knows the intricacies of a job until they start doing it. So, no, when I became a teacher, I really didn't know about all these details. But this post isn't really about all that. It's about why would anyone work for a parochial school where they will forever earn 30-50% of what their public school peers earn, with no pension? When I began teaching, I didn't really think a lot about the pension. I was 23 years old and retirement was not even on my radar. I mean, I opened an IRA but that was about it. Now that I'm approaching retirement, I see that while teacher pay may sometimes be less, it's the pension that makes it worth it financially. (And it helps that I love my job.) Catholic school teachers in my area start at 23K a year with a bachelor's. It's odd for a church that talks so much about serving the poor to pay their teachers poverty level wages. |
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Your kids can get free private school education.
You don't have to deal with the beaucracy/dumpster fire of a big school system (ie FCPS). You know your teachers want to be there/love teaching bc clearly they're not doing it for the paycheck. |
My friends who teach in private schools have wealthy spouses. I want to teach in private school too but I can't afford it. |
Half the number of students. A significantly better work environment. |
| Our parent community works hard to support our teachers. I know there are a good number with students in the school, so presumably the pay plus the tuition discount make it worthwhile. That said, most of the ones I know have spouses who are paid fairly well also. I think they’re committed to an educational program that matches their values, and allows their kids to receive the education as well. |
Go do your homework. |
| Catholic schools pay notoriously low. Part of the reason I wouldn’t send my kids. |
Plus, the parochial schools can afford to be picky and selective about who they accept....and don't hesitate to kick you out if you're a problem. That alone can be priceless if you're a teacher. |
Who cares? Half the number of students and a better work environment (more like 20% less, and debatable) don’t pay my bills. |
Isn’t the better question to ask whether student outcomes improve by hiring more teachers who each teach half the number of kids as compared to public school, even if the teacher is lesser-qualified (and they may or may not be lesser qualified, as some highly qualified teachers may take the bargain of less pay for fewer kids)? As compared to public school, seems like the private school gets two teachers for the same total teacher compensation the public school pays for one teacher. |
When you control the variables (like parental income), the outcomes aren't different. |
Is someone forcing you to work at a particular school? |
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So, I just looked up the starting salary in for Fairfax teachers. It's 51k for a bachelor's degree. So, yes, it is more, but not nearly as much as people are suggesting.
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY22-teacher-194-day.pdf |
At our private school max class size is 15, most are between 11 and 13. It's absolutely half of pubic class sizes. Some people value other things, not just money |
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