Area Private School Teacher Shortage?

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard anecdotal salaries at some DC Catholic elementary schools are @$30k. Insane.

[Anonymous]

A qualified teacher at a school in an expensive area should be making 200k a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a nationwide problem and some public districts are resorting to waiving certification requirements, etc - there's been a fair amount written about this in the news. So it's no surprise that area private schools are feeling the shortage as well. Treat your kids' teachers with respect. High-quality replacements are not easy to come by at the moment.

Most area private schools don't even have certification requirements.
Already, private school teachers were paid less than public, had little or no benefits, and no protection. These schools were the first to reopen during the pandemic and if teachers didn't like it, too bad.

Teachers everywhere are leaving this high stress, underpaid profession, but if they were already underpaid, well, yes, there's not much to lose.

[Anonymous]

I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Significantly increase the salary. Currently not enough money for all the bs they go through.

This. Private schools are going to have a tougher time recruiting teachers due to lack of competitive salaries. These teachers can make way more in public, or if they are totally over/burnt out of teaching, find a new career path. Amazon has openings for numerous positions that pay more than teacher salaries even in public with better benefits.

+1. Parents have gotten completely out of control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

Nothing will change until those schools can't get enough paying applicants. When your organization is swamped with demand, you sit back and enjoy bidding up the price of the service. No need to mess with apparent success, right?

Same as many fields of human endeavor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

Until you engage with educators with none. Yes, teachers do need education, training, and experience.

Maybe you just aren't in the right field. If these goal posts are meaningless, why did you spend all that time obtaining them? It's a lot of work and money and time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

Until you engage with educators with none. Yes, teachers do need education, training, and experience.

Maybe you just aren't in the right field. If these goal posts are meaningless, why did you spend all that time obtaining them? It's a lot of work and money and time.

I think you missed PP’s point. They are saying that the certifications are pretty meaningless. They aren’t discounting the training and education they received while completing master’s degrees and their teaching experience. There are those on this board who seem to think that unless a teacher is certified, they aren’t qualified. I’ll take a teachers with a masters and experience any day over a teacher with a state certification and little to no experience. Not to say that the latter won’t become a great teacher but the point is that a state certification is not the great qualifier that some thing it is. Education and experience are the more important factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

Until you engage with educators with none. Yes, teachers do need education, training, and experience.

Maybe you just aren't in the right field. If these goal posts are meaningless, why did you spend all that time obtaining them? It's a lot of work and money and time.

I think you missed PP’s point. They are saying that the certifications are pretty meaningless. They aren’t discounting the training and education they received while completing master’s degrees and their teaching experience. There are those on this board who seem to think that unless a teacher is certified, they aren’t qualified. I’ll take a teachers with a masters and experience any day over a teacher with a state certification and little to no experience. Not to say that the latter won’t become a great teacher but the point is that a state certification is not the great qualifier that some thing it is. Education and experience are the more important factors.

You mean your point?
How one acquires certification (s) is the point. For me it was years of graduate school, training, years of experience to have an Advanced Professional cert in 4 areas. I also wrote curriculum for the public system. There are a lot of people now running for school board who think they are able to write curriculum. They all have degrees. Their only background to do this is a fair amount of racism and homophobia.
Go into a private school and check it out. You will be amazed at what is not there. Did you know that there are huge religious private schools in the area with their own version of science and history? With no technology, no standards, or accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

Until you engage with educators with none. Yes, teachers do need education, training, and experience.

Maybe you just aren't in the right field. If these goal posts are meaningless, why did you spend all that time obtaining them? It's a lot of work and money and time.

I think you missed PP’s point. They are saying that the certifications are pretty meaningless. They aren’t discounting the training and education they received while completing master’s degrees and their teaching experience. There are those on this board who seem to think that unless a teacher is certified, they aren’t qualified. I’ll take a teachers with a masters and experience any day over a teacher with a state certification and little to no experience. Not to say that the latter won’t become a great teacher but the point is that a state certification is not the great qualifier that some thing it is. Education and experience are the more important factors.

Certifications aren’t just pieces of paper. There's a lot of work involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A qualified teacher at a school in an expensive area should be making 200k a year.

I wish good teachers can get that, but where the money comes from? More tax for public schools? More tuition for private schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

A lot of people used to say "Well I can always just go and teach." If only it were that easy. Until I volunteered at a school, I really didn't understand the importance of classroom management taught in an education program. That's the difference in someone that can convey concepts vs an actual classroom teacher. IMO, individuals that have gone thru an ed program are just light years ahead of someone that may know content. It seems like privates should require the same certifications as publics or even more.

[Anonymous]

IS admin here. Teachers are not paid commensurate with their education, experience, dedication, and hours worked/ week. Teachers do what they do because they believe that teaching critical thinking skills to our children will make our world better. What would make their work a tad easier are parents who are demonstrably less neurotic, less unkind, and a tad more grateful. Many teachers I know have left the profession due to horribly demanding and rabid parents.

We need to do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an administrator and teacher at a private school for a period of time. I have multiple state certifications, 2 graduate degrees, and at the time, approximately 20 years of experience. The majority of teachers employed there had no background in teaching and were not certified. There was a staff of around 30-35 teachers, and I would say only about 10 or 12 were talented teachers quite on their own, but still flying by the seat of their pants. There was no real sense of curriculum understanding, learning theory, or best practices. It was posh daycare with some books. I left for public school. I don't understand why people pay to send their kids to private schools. I think there are some private schools with bone fide standards, certified teachers and staff (largely underpaid,however) and oversight, but people would be very surprised at how many are not, particularly the religious schools. Some well regarded schools that are private are really just a business model.
In the end, this is a whole career that requires an overhaul, public and private. Time to do it. An entire paradigm shift.

I have certifications (state and national), Masters Degree and over 30 years of experience. The certifications are pretty meaningless in my opinion.

Until you engage with educators with none. Yes, teachers do need education, training, and experience.

Maybe you just aren't in the right field. If these goal posts are meaningless, why did you spend all that time obtaining them? It's a lot of work and money and time.

I think you missed PP’s point. They are saying that the certifications are pretty meaningless. They aren’t discounting the training and education they received while completing master’s degrees and their teaching experience. There are those on this board who seem to think that unless a teacher is certified, they aren’t qualified. I’ll take a teachers with a masters and experience any day over a teacher with a state certification and little to no experience. Not to say that the latter won’t become a great teacher but the point is that a state certification is not the great qualifier that some thing it is. Education and experience are the more important factors.

Certifications aren’t just pieces of paper. There's a lot of work involved.

They aren’t just pieces of paper but they also aren’t the only way a person can show they are qualified to teach. Why would a private school teacher with a masters in computer science and a bachelors in education decide that they need to go and certify as a teacher before accepting a position with a school that doesn’t require or hire based on certifications? What’s the point?
Public school educators get certifications because the school system itself has made them necessary and valued. The education behind them is always of value but whether someone has sat for the certification and can check that box isn’t a concrete measure of qualification.
I would rather have someone who has a degree in the field they are teaching, a basis in teaching and a willing, non-jaded attitude than a new teacher with no experience and a certification who has been glued to Bored Teachers all summer long.