Public v. private school teacher salaries

[Anonymous]

I am starting a new thread, b/c I would like to know the difference b/w public and private school teacher salaries. I believe this has to have some affect on the type/quality of teachers at the schools (BUT, please, I am not saying it is dispositive, so no flames please).

Could the teachers out there provide some info, if you dont mind? Please state your school, or at least county system (if public), experience level so we have some context.

Thanks so much.

[Anonymous]

I have nearly 15 years of experience as a high school teacher, in both an excellent public school (out-of-state high school that is routinely mentioned in nationwide top ten lists) and elite private schools (one of which is regularly discussed on DCUM, LOL). (For the sake of privacy, I won't mention specific names.) I haven't taught in public school for about ten years, however, so my information here will be limited by my memory and by the passage of time, so take it with a grain of salt please.

Roughly, public schools pay on the order of 10K/year more; that is a rough figure and it can be more (for a friend it was closer to 15K) or less depending on the private school in question. For example, I taught for many years in an elite private school in another state, and it paid teachers considerably more than the local public schools. That case was more unusual, though; in general, public schools pay more.

As for salary affecting teacher quality, there is truly no correlation. In both the public and private schools I have taught in, there were outstanding teachers and mediocre teachers. While you might think that higher salaries attract better candidates, in fact many teachers are quite willing to work for fewer dollars because the working conditions in private schools are so much better--fewer students per class, less legal paperwork, more autonomy over curriculum, smaller course-load (full-time public high school course-load is five classes, whereas in many private schools it is four), generally better-behaved students, etc. In fact, one reason why private schools have historically been able to attract excellent candidates even when they pay less is because of all the things I just mentioned.

Hope this helps; feel free to ask more specific questions if any come to mind.

[Anonymous]

pp, is one of the benefits to teaching in private less work for the teacher? I don't mean to be rude with that question, just curious.

[Anonymous]

Some private schools also offer grants for independent summer study etc which allows the teachers to explore areas of interest to bring back into their curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I did student teaching in a public school and taught at private schools for a few yrs after that. Public school teachers had a higher salary and their group health benefits were very good. The private school was a much less stressful environment and I actually liked working there. The wasn't the huge emphasis on testing and the teachers had a lot more chance to teach things creatively. The parents at both types of schools were pains but in different ways. The public school parents were either not available at all (I should've figured that after about 5 parents out of 25 showed up to Back to School Night) or very ignorant and defensive (like they couldn't understand why I gave homework when their kids had soccer, ballet, etc after-school). The private school parents were kind of the opposite (very overbearing). They were the helicopter parents you know or read about. All in all, I would choose to teach in a private school if money wasn't an issue. I couldn't support myself and my child in the DC area on a private school salary though.

[Anonymous]

Op here, this is very very helpful/intersting info, so thanks very much.

Is it possible for the private school teachers who responded to identify their school? I ask b/c I wonder if there is a difference between a religious-affiliated private school? For example, my sister taught at a Catholic elem. school in another state about 8 years ago and was barely paid a poverty wage. So more info in the private schools mentioned above would be helpful.

Again, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pp, is one of the benefits to teaching in private less work for the teacher? I don't mean to be rude with that question, just curious.

21:21 PP back again. Not exactly less work, but a more pleasant kind of work--i.e., instead of working on legal IEPs (mandated individualized education plans for kids with issues like ADD, etc.), I could be lesson planning more intensely, etc. In both types of schools I put in a 60-hour week (yes, I am a workaholic and this was before kids), but the work in the private school was often more fulfilling.

Also, the immediate PP before me talked about the two types of parents at private/public schools, and I didn't have that experience at public schools; my public school parents were involved; she may have taught in a different type of public school.

[Anonymous]

21:21 again. Just wanted to clarify that when I said immediate PP before, I guess I meant a prior PP, because OP got in there in between.

As for identifying the schools, I truly do not feel comfortable doing that. Again, I taught in a top-tier out-of-state public high school, and two elite private schools--one was basically the Sidwell equivalent in a different state, and the other is a private school here.

[Anonymous]

Anyone can access the salary schedule for MCPS teachers from the MCPS website. The link below shows the salary schedule effective for the upcoming school year (Click on "teachers"). The 1st column indicates years of teaching. The 2nd column is for teachers who have their masters degree (or masters equivalency), which is required by your 10th year of teaching. The 3rd column is for teachers who have a masters degree/masters equivalency PLUS 30 additional graduate/MCPS approved credits,etc.

Example: An MCPS teacher who holds a masters/masters equivalency and is about to begin her/his 15th year of teaching in the county would have a salary of $84,256 for the upcoming school year.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/ersc/Salary_Schedules_FY09.shtm

[Anonymous]

84 K is a great salary, why all the complaining? That is more than most profs at these universities make.

[Anonymous]

The $84,000 salary is for a seasoned teached w/ 15 yrs experience. Few teachers last that long these days b/c of the crazy expectations in public school these days. All of my friends started off as teachers w/ Master's degrees and only one is left teaching 10 yrs later. And she wants out too but doesn't know what else to do. Talk about teaching burnout!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:84 K is a great salary, why all the complaining? That is more than most profs at these universities make.

I agree, and tbe burnout at the university level is a reality too.

[Anonymous]

Still wondering what the teachers at Sidwell/Landon/STA/Georgetonw Prep and similar school make. More or less than comparble teachers at the publics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:84 K is a great salary, why all the complaining? That is more than most profs at these universities make.

I agree, and tbe burnout at the university level is a reality too.

It seems like when you consider the investment which is much less for high school that university, high school is a better deal. Those profs have to have a PhD.

[Anonymous]

I work at a public school in Fairfax County and make about $65,000/year. I am going into my 9th year of teaching. Not bad, but much less than all my friends make - most of whom are lawyers! Benefits are good (we use health insurance through me).