Have you notice the shortage of teachers in your school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

LOL this post right here is an example of why teachers are quitting.

[Anonymous]

Independent school teachers are almost always at will employees. Standard practice.

[Anonymous]

“The lifestyle” Where is the crying laughing emoji?

I worked in independent schools, was NOT independently wealthy, and was overworked/underappreciated for peanuts compared to public school teachers’ salaries. I have a BA and MA in my field. I love my subject and love seeing students have that “Aha” moment. At one point I did the math and figured out I get paid less than $18/hour. Trust me, it’s not “the lifestyle.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Until you start paying the true cost of your kid’s education, you’ll get what you pay for. Actually, I’m sure you’re currently getting much more than you pay for. Yeah, I’m sure they’re in it for “the lifestyle” of getting paid near-poverty wages to work in insecure at-will environments with no protection against bad bosses, ever-changing workloads, and angry parents who have no appreciation for what goes into educating their children. Here’s an idea: get rid of idiotic administrators, “brand communicators,” “associate directors,” “division coordinators,” etc…, push teacher salaries up 100 percent, invest in their long-term development and appreciate that they get 6-8 weeks off in the summer to make up for their insane workload during the year. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you that they get to school at 7:00 am, don’t even have time to scarf down a banana during the day, are made to attend pointless meetings that distract from grading and planning, have to go home only to do said grading and planning there, take care of their own families, and often lose sleep at night thinking about their students’ challenges.

I hear what you’re saying.

To answer that from my perspective, which is very different from what you’re describing, we’ve given over $275k to support financial aid and professional development over the past 5 years at my child’s school. It has a very lean administration, so I feel ok about that but on the other hand, I know some teachers probably have insufficient support. To answer the “lifestyle” counter argument: I regularly see teachers arriving after I drop my kid off and walking out of the building at the same time that I am walking out with my kid. I serve in multiple volunteer roles at school and am frequently one of the last to leave the building after meetings.

Every school probably has different expectations and culture, but ours doesn’t or can’t hold teachers to a very high standard and it shows. My child is on their third teacher in 3 years who will be leaving after a lengthy PIP process. This year’s teacher has my kid “tutoring” her classmates while she plans travel on her laptop within full view of the classroom.

I won’t go on because my situation and our school is hopefully the exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Until you start paying the true cost of your kid’s education, you’ll get what you pay for. Actually, I’m sure you’re currently getting much more than you pay for. Yeah, I’m sure they’re in it for “the lifestyle” of getting paid near-poverty wages to work in insecure at-will environments with no protection against bad bosses, ever-changing workloads, and angry parents who have no appreciation for what goes into educating their children. Here’s an idea: get rid of idiotic administrators, “brand communicators,” “associate directors,” “division coordinators,” etc…, push teacher salaries up 100 percent, invest in their long-term development and appreciate that they get 6-8 weeks off in the summer to make up for their insane workload during the year. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you that they get to school at 7:00 am, don’t even have time to scarf down a banana during the day, are made to attend pointless meetings that distract from grading and planning, have to go home only to do said grading and planning there, take care of their own families, and often lose sleep at night thinking about their students’ challenges.

I hear what you’re saying.

To answer that from my perspective, which is very different from what you’re describing, we’ve given over $275k to support financial aid and professional development over the past 5 years at my child’s school. It has a very lean administration, so I feel ok about that but on the other hand, I know some teachers probably have insufficient support. To answer the “lifestyle” counter argument: I regularly see teachers arriving after I drop my kid off and walking out of the building at the same time that I am walking out with my kid. I serve in multiple volunteer roles at school and am frequently one of the last to leave the building after meetings.

Every school probably has different expectations and culture, but ours doesn’t or can’t hold teachers to a very high standard and it shows. My child is on their third teacher in 3 years who will be leaving after a lengthy PIP process. This year’s teacher has my kid “tutoring” her classmates while she plans travel on her laptop within full view of the classroom.

I won’t go on because my situation and our school is hopefully the exception.

If this is the case, and I don’t doubt it is, the problem is the school and the administration it hires. It should be out of business. And that would be ok. Many of these “schools” shouldn’t exist. They are run by boards that have no educational philosophy or insight, and that lack of direction filters down into every decision and cultural imperative.

[Anonymous]

It seems that the benefits like pensions or healthcare are much more stingy in private schools relative to public. Hence private schools are getting to worst recruitments. Very sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“The lifestyle” Where is the crying laughing emoji?

I worked in independent schools, was NOT independently wealthy, and was overworked/underappreciated for peanuts compared to public school teachers’ salaries. I have a BA and MA in my field. I love my subject and love seeing students have that “Aha” moment. At one point I did the math and figured out I get paid less than $18/hour. Trust me, it’s not “the lifestyle.”

Me too!

Looking back, I am so sad for the person I was then. I was so proud and happy to be teaching at a "prestigious" private school, but I see now how exploitive that system is. The parents and school were happy to pay teachers peanuts, just assuming it was such a privilege to work for them that it didn't matter. Parents truly looked down on teachers, and admin didn't care about us either.

I just don't get it. If you are wealthy enough to afford that kind of tuition, how can you feel good knowing that the people who spend the most time with your child are paid peanuts, and are often young people working in conditions that would enrage you if it were your own child? I think most parents justify it by the vague observation that tuition would just be TOO MUCH if teachers were paid more, so....peanuts for salaries and limited benefits for the people educating your child is good enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay is so bad at privates compared to publics. Seems like the only people who stick with it 5+ years have family money or a spouse who makes good money.

Or a child enrolled at the school.
Or they’re kind of mediocre but have a lot of social capital among families and fellow teachers.
Lots of possibilities.

Social capital doesn’t pay the bills.

Plenty of people have been teaching for 15-20 years, bought a house at a relatively low price, and would rather be comfortable than rich.

None of those people did it as single teachers working for private schools, though, because those people are not making "comfortable" salaries. They are truly poor.

Some teachers are married to wealthy spouses or have trust funds, and they are able to buy houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pay is so bad at privates compared to publics. Seems like the only people who stick with it 5+ years have family money or a spouse who makes good money.

Or a child enrolled at the school.
Or they’re kind of mediocre but have a lot of social capital among families and fellow teachers.
Lots of possibilities.

Social capital doesn’t pay the bills.

Plenty of people have been teaching for 15-20 years, bought a house at a relatively low price, and would rather be comfortable than rich.

None of those people did it as single teachers working for private schools, though, because those people are not making "comfortable" salaries. They are truly poor.

Some teachers are married to wealthy spouses or have trust funds, and they are able to buy houses.

This. Many, many teachers are married to higher earning or independently wealthy spouses. Those colleagues who are single live far away from school so they can afford housing and are struggling with their micro salaries. Don’t even get me started on what coaches at these schools are paid.

In response to teachers coming into school at the same time as children being dropped off—many of the teachers have children they are dropping off (elsewhere) as well. Our school is single sex so if you have a child of the opposite sex they cannot go to the school where you teach and the tuition “break” is so small that many opt to send their children to other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Until you start paying the true cost of your kid’s education, you’ll get what you pay for. Actually, I’m sure you’re currently getting much more than you pay for. Yeah, I’m sure they’re in it for “the lifestyle” of getting paid near-poverty wages to work in insecure at-will environments with no protection against bad bosses, ever-changing workloads, and angry parents who have no appreciation for what goes into educating their children. Here’s an idea: get rid of idiotic administrators, “brand communicators,” “associate directors,” “division coordinators,” etc…, push teacher salaries up 100 percent, invest in their long-term development and appreciate that they get 6-8 weeks off in the summer to make up for their insane workload during the year. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you that they get to school at 7:00 am, don’t even have time to scarf down a banana during the day, are made to attend pointless meetings that distract from grading and planning, have to go home only to do said grading and planning there, take care of their own families, and often lose sleep at night thinking about their students’ challenges.

I hear what you’re saying.

To answer that from my perspective, which is very different from what you’re describing, we’ve given over $275k to support financial aid and professional development over the past 5 years at my child’s school. It has a very lean administration, so I feel ok about that but on the other hand, I know some teachers probably have insufficient support. To answer the “lifestyle” counter argument: I regularly see teachers arriving after I drop my kid off and walking out of the building at the same time that I am walking out with my kid. I serve in multiple volunteer roles at school and am frequently one of the last to leave the building after meetings.

Every school probably has different expectations and culture, but ours doesn’t or can’t hold teachers to a very high standard and it shows. My child is on their third teacher in 3 years who will be leaving after a lengthy PIP process. This year’s teacher has my kid “tutoring” her classmates while she plans travel on her laptop within full view of the classroom.

I won’t go on because my situation and our school is hopefully the exception.

I’m a private school teacher. I’m also a parent.

I have to drop my own children off at their school before I can get to work. That means I may not arrive as early as you want me to. I also have to pick up my own children and take them to appointments, practices, etc. Therefore, I may not stay as late as you want me to.

Here’s what you don’t see:

You don’t see me waking up at 4am and working at my dining room table. You don’t see me grading papers in the car at their sporting events or ortho appts. You don’t see me staying in pajamas all day Sunday, spending 8-10 hours prepping for the upcoming week. All those things are happening, but you don’t see them.

This expectation (demand?) from some parents that I live and breathe for THEIR children is too much.

I get paid a fraction of what I’m worth and I put up with disrespect far too often.

Yes, teachers are leaving. Frankly, it’s because we aren’t valued or appreciated. Want to help fix that, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Interesting. I'm an American teacher with 20 years of experience now teaching at an international school in East Asia. I get paid much and save much more than I would in a private or public in the US, AND the kids and parents are much more respectful. The behavior is excellent, and I can focus on just teaching.

The international schools in desirable locations are very competitive in their hiring practices, much more so than the "elite" privates where I taught in the US.

I'm not ever coming back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Until you start paying the true cost of your kid’s education, you’ll get what you pay for. Actually, I’m sure you’re currently getting much more than you pay for. Yeah, I’m sure they’re in it for “the lifestyle” of getting paid near-poverty wages to work in insecure at-will environments with no protection against bad bosses, ever-changing workloads, and angry parents who have no appreciation for what goes into educating their children. Here’s an idea: get rid of idiotic administrators, “brand communicators,” “associate directors,” “division coordinators,” etc…, push teacher salaries up 100 percent, invest in their long-term development and appreciate that they get 6-8 weeks off in the summer to make up for their insane workload during the year. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you that they get to school at 7:00 am, don’t even have time to scarf down a banana during the day, are made to attend pointless meetings that distract from grading and planning, have to go home only to do said grading and planning there, take care of their own families, and often lose sleep at night thinking about their students’ challenges.

I hear what you’re saying.

To answer that from my perspective, which is very different from what you’re describing, we’ve given over $275k to support financial aid and professional development over the past 5 years at my child’s school. It has a very lean administration, so I feel ok about that but on the other hand, I know some teachers probably have insufficient support. To answer the “lifestyle” counter argument: I regularly see teachers arriving after I drop my kid off and walking out of the building at the same time that I am walking out with my kid. I serve in multiple volunteer roles at school and am frequently one of the last to leave the building after meetings.

Every school probably has different expectations and culture, but ours doesn’t or can’t hold teachers to a very high standard and it shows. My child is on their third teacher in 3 years who will be leaving after a lengthy PIP process. This year’s teacher has my kid “tutoring” her classmates while she plans travel on her laptop within full view of the classroom.

I won’t go on because my situation and our school is hopefully the exception.

I’m a private school teacher. I’m also a parent.

I have to drop my own children off at their school before I can get to work. That means I may not arrive as early as you want me to. I also have to pick up my own children and take them to appointments, practices, etc. Therefore, I may not stay as late as you want me to.

Here’s what you don’t see:

You don’t see me waking up at 4am and working at my dining room table. You don’t see me grading papers in the car at their sporting events or ortho appts. You don’t see me staying in pajamas all day Sunday, spending 8-10 hours prepping for the upcoming week. All those things are happening, but you don’t see them.

This expectation (demand?) from some parents that I live and breathe for THEIR children is too much.

I get paid a fraction of what I’m worth and I put up with disrespect far too often.

Yes, teachers are leaving. Frankly, it’s because we aren’t valued or appreciated. Want to help fix that, PP?

Yes, this.

These parents regard the teachers at their child's private school with contempt and scorn simply BECAUSE the teacher chose to work for a poverty-level wage at a private school.

Let's be frank. The real reason y'all are OK with paying the teachers at your child's elite private school peanuts, with no job security and paltry benefits, is that you just consider those teachers to be peasants who simply aren't smart enough or good enough to get a better job. Admit it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have noticed that the academic background of the recent hires is very weak. On the contrary older teachers are much better at teaching and dealing with kids at school.

For instance the recent math teacher in my kid school comes from a public school where none the kids are proficient in math according to state evaluations. Also every month 1 teacher is leaving. So the shortage is very disruptive and it seems that the school is not raising salaries to retain top talent. This in spite of setting the tuition at 50+k. Do you experience something similar?

Oh no! No one with an elite academic background wants to live as a poor serving your child at your private school that pays poverty-level wages? Your life is so hard. I can't believe the gall of these uppity teachers, with their demands for living wages and benefits and job security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

Teacher "contracts" at privates now are like "jumbo shrimp" as oxymorons. They can be fired anytime and can quit anytime.

The only purpose of the contract is to spell out the terms of their employment and compensation if both sides continue to agree they will work there for the entire school year.

It's also easier for the school not to offer a new contract for the following year if they are not satisfied with the teacher's work but don't have any actual cause to terminate the teacher immediately.

[Anonymous]

Do the teachers here think all privates are like this, or only some? Maybe I’m deluded, but as a parent, at our school (K-8) I see a lot of appreciation and respect for our teachers. We have some terrific teachers who know our kid and have worked with their strengths and weaknesses. I’m tremendously grateful for them and have told them so. I don’t see an adversarial relationship between teachers and parents, but of course I don’t see everything.