
Private has it's benefits I am sure, however I met many several people who taught private in different schools and the one thing they all had in common was the pay was super low. This included montessori, religious, and secular private. Most of them either switched to public or stopped teaching.
Another issue at a private school is because they are paying tuition, if a family is particularly generous they seem to put up with behavior that you would not expect to be tolerated at a private school. I don't think it's the norm but it definitely happens. |
Echoing all of this, and please remember that so much of what you are upset about is likely out of teacher's hand. Many complaints seem to be more of what gatehouse is dictating rather than the teacher, and above gatehouse what they are deciding in richmond. Please consider what is actually in the hands of the teacher and if you stop to think, what they are teaching is completely out of their hands. How they discipline is also out of their hands. Many are told just to deal with it and many will even be disciplined if they are bringing up children that are issues. No it doesn't make sense but it definitely happens. |
I’m the PP. The private I work at matched my public pay. Close to half the staff is former public school teachers. Benefits are similar, too. I also find that I deal with a tenth of the behavior than I did in public. We have consequences for poor behavior that are consistent and progressive. I’ve had donor children, and I was supported by admin when I issued detention. The only thing harder is I get a lot more parent emails and a lot more parent involvement. I don’t see this as a bad thing, however. I still recommend it! My coworkers and I think we landed in teachers’ equivalent of paradise. |
DP How far into your career were you when you switched? Just wonder if there is a max they would have matches. |
I was in my 13th year. |
That's amazing, I don't have any idea where you teach and I don't expect you to disclose it, but if you found a place that could match your salary that far along that you're happy with you have truly found Paradise. |
The schools are out there. I meet other private school teachers at regional conferences, and they report similar experiences. For teachers looking to quit, I recommend considering the private route. I had to get over the guilt of leaving public, but decided that I can’t fix bad administrations. I was going to quit teaching altogether or go private, so either way I wouldn’t be helping improve public schools anymore. That’s where burnout led me. |
No way did private match your pension. Just no. If they factored pension contributions until age 95 into my compensation and made it well above my current pay, I would consider it. It would still be dancing with the devil and choosing capitalism over building a strong and educated democracy, but I tend to hold too much to my ideals which is what got me into teaching in the first place. |
It's so disrespectful and there are way too many behaviors. |
I used to work in a private. The only benefit was smaller class sizes, which was canceled out quickly by even lower pay, longer hours expected in the building, longer commute and parents who were crazier than public. And that was with a head of school who made 9x my salary- it makes Dr Reid’s pay seem quaint. |
Yikes....this is how I envision it. I honestly think getting out of eduction altogether is the answer....it's a losing battle all around. It's not just the board and gatehouse although both have many issues....it's so much more. |
Student behavior in MCPS and PGCPS is much worse than in FCPS. Please go recruit for private school teachers in those forums since you taught in MD. |
FCPS is dealing with extreme behaviors among many other hurdles-even if you don't see them in you child's school. They can share on fCPS-it may bring relief to a teacher looking for an out from FCPS. |
For teachers looking for something a bit outside of the box, see if your district has positions for hospital or homebound teachers. My county does and it is full time. I’m in a large district (not in VA) and there are about 20 of us.
I see my students either virtually or in their homes. Wide range of grades. I make my own schedule, get paid for mileage. Also, virtual charter schools. |
What extreme behaviors? And have the teachers and school tried to deal with them or do they just push them off? |