What do private school teachers earn?

[Anonymous]

$72K a year with masters
$250 towards insurance monthly
Childcare onsite
50% off tuition for your children to attend (if they get admitted)
A serious amount of time off each year. End first week in June and start back the last week of Aug. Over 2 weeks for winter break, almost 2 weeks off for Spring break, 4 day Fall break, 5.5 day Thanksgiving break.

It is more like a 90K job if you worked all 52 weeks with some holidays. Nothing to complain about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$72K a year with masters
$250 towards insurance monthly
Childcare onsite
50% off tuition for your children to attend (if they get admitted)
A serious amount of time off each year. End first week in June and start back the last week of Aug. Over 2 weeks for winter break, almost 2 weeks off for Spring break, 4 day Fall break, 5.5 day Thanksgiving break.

It is more like a 90K job if you worked all 52 weeks with some holidays. Nothing to complain about.

How much does your health insurance cost monthly?

How much does the child care cost?

What are their retirement benefits, if any?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

Exactly. Private school teachers can TEACH without the bureaucracy, testing requirements, and behavior problems that often plague public schools.

Yeah. But now, at 39, I'm starting to regret the romantic idealism that shaped my early choices in schools. I've had great students and worked in lovely settings, but I am starting to worry about what my future will look like. I'll have good memories of my students and my job, but that isn't much to live on when I'm old.

I know that my students' wealthy parents realize how little I earn, but they value my dedication to their children and my job . However, I've been teaching long enough to have heard multiple high school students (and parents) speak disparagingly about my profession; I know the same parents who pay tuition so their children can be in the classrooms of poor, "dedicated" teachers who love teaching would never, ever encourage their children to become teachers. I didn't realize this when I was younger.

I know, I know. This might mean it is time to reconsider my professional trajectory and choices.

At my child's school, the classes range from 8-16 kids per class in HIGH SCHOOL. A few classes had a handful of kids in them. THAT is what the parents pay for. Extremely low teacher to student ratio. And the teachers to teach to them without standardized testing and freedom to bring in their passions and preferred learning style to the classroom. They get to take sabbaticals, get their tuition partially paid for furthering education, have more time to do research, write in teaching journals, and go on FREE national and international trips with students if they prefer.

If you prefer better pay, of course it is better to go to a massive school district. You will then have 30 kids per class and at least 1/3 of them won't give two craps about what you are teaching or even show up to your class. You will also spend countless hours a week grading and planning for the 100+ more kids you teach each week. Not to mention more mindless training/meetings, forcing kids to take standardized testing, being judged on trying to get Spanish speaking only kids to pass your classes, etc...

You are comparing apples to oranges here....

I am not saying ALL teachers do not deserve more. They do. But there is a reason many teachers pick private schools over public. I am a nurse and I could make a lot more money working night shifts with 15 patients at a major DC hospital. But I chose a massive pay cut to be an outpatient infusion nurse. Less stress, better hours, more positive working condition. Not everyone picks the highest paycheck for their career.

I teach in a massive school district, and do not have 30 kids in my class. Nor do I have a lot of experience with kids who don’t give a crap about what I am teaching, and they do show up to my class. I am the PP used to teach a Big Three, so I have experience in both systems. It is true that the bureaucracy could drive you crazy. But it is also true that the private school parents could drive you crazy. And all parents care about their kids’ education. That is true without exception in my 28 years of experience.

In any case, if you have a family, then someone has to have a job to support that family, and that job has to provide good pay and benefits including health insurance and retirement. If your employer won’t provide that, then your spouse’s employers has to. It’s one or the other. Writing in journals and taking “free” international trips as a chaperone won’t do anything for you in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

$80k with a PhD? I make more than that and didn't go to college. Teachers are underpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

$80k with a PhD? I make more than that and didn't go to college. Teachers are underpaid.

...and even at 50%, tuition will run her over $20,000 a year. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Where I work, about $60k-$80k. Teachers could probably earn about 40-50% more in public. Many prefer the working environment, and many just don’t have certification.

After a while, I have seen that many teachers just think they couldn’t handle public. I have heard them say that they just couldn’t teach a room with more than 15 kids in it, or teach without X number of breaks per day.

[Anonymous]

MCPS and FCPS cap what Level teachers can enter their pay scale. I have 17 years experience and a Master’s currently teaching in private. Making about $20k less than my public school equivalents but would actually take a paycut going to MCPS because they cap at level 8. FCPS would be a pay raise if I moved in the next year or two as they cap at level 15. So I’m staying in private for now.

To the PP that mentioned the perks of being a private school teacher left out the fact that you don’t have to have any education training or certification. So in MD, for example, laws like mandatory reporting don’t really bother you because you are only on the hook for your teaching license which you aren’t required to have in the first place. I always wonder if the pay for private teachers is lower because the standards to become one are lower. I’ve even seen some schools advertise online how they recruit teachers from top name colleges as if the brand of your education is more important than the content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is crazy how much these vary
$40k to $85k is a huge range.

I have a PhD and one of the reasons some of my friends teach in private schools is that they don't require teacher certification. The ones,who've gone public have had to do formal certification or second career training peograms.

This is exactly it. Private schools don't require certification. And many of the teachers have degrees in subjects that aren't very employable. Private schools may not pay much, but they pay more than Starbucks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Partner teaches at a private in VA. She has her Masters and makes just over $62k. Left public school teaching for private after a bad year made her question changing careers. Therapist helped her realize she wasn’t disenchanted with teaching or the kids but with the parents. She loves teaching at the private! No more teaching to the test, more freedoms with her curriculum, more Admin support, less having to dip into her own $$$ to cover for supplies, and best of all in her eyes is having easier parents to deal with.

She has a 401k with 7% match, health and dental insurance but no vision insurance. She pays around $200/month out of her pay for the insurance.

Her least favorite aspect is the admin is even more strict with time off. Parents don’t like to pay for their kids to be educated by subs and stand-ins too many times per year.

I've never heard anyone say that private school parents are easier to deal with than public school parents. It's common for public school teachers to say that in low income schools you have worse behaved kids, but more easy going parents, in high SES publics you have well behaved students but nightmare parents!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

Exactly. Private school teachers can TEACH without the bureaucracy, testing requirements, and behavior problems that often plague public schools.

Yeah. But now, at 39, I'm starting to regret the romantic idealism that shaped my early choices in schools. I've had great students and worked in lovely settings, but I am starting to worry about what my future will look like. I'll have good memories of my students and my job, but that isn't much to live on when I'm old.

I know that my students' wealthy parents realize how little I earn, but they value my dedication to their children and my job . However, I've been teaching long enough to have heard multiple high school students (and parents) speak disparagingly about my profession; I know the same parents who pay tuition so their children can be in the classrooms of poor, "dedicated" teachers who love teaching would never, ever encourage their children to become teachers. I didn't realize this when I was younger.

I know, I know. This might mean it is time to reconsider my professional trajectory and choices.

At my child's school, the classes range from 8-16 kids per class in HIGH SCHOOL. A few classes had a handful of kids in them. THAT is what the parents pay for. Extremely low teacher to student ratio. And the teachers to teach to them without standardized testing and freedom to bring in their passions and preferred learning style to the classroom. They get to take sabbaticals, get their tuition partially paid for furthering education, have more time to do research, write in teaching journals, and go on FREE national and international trips with students if they prefer.

If you prefer better pay, of course it is better to go to a massive school district. You will then have 30 kids per class and at least 1/3 of them won't give two craps about what you are teaching or even show up to your class. You will also spend countless hours a week grading and planning for the 100+ more kids you teach each week. Not to mention more mindless training/meetings, forcing kids to take standardized testing, being judged on trying to get Spanish speaking only kids to pass your classes, etc...

You are comparing apples to oranges here....

I am not saying ALL teachers do not deserve more. They do. But there is a reason many teachers pick private schools over public. I am a nurse and I could make a lot more money working night shifts with 15 patients at a major DC hospital. But I chose a massive pay cut to be an outpatient infusion nurse. Less stress, better hours, more positive working condition. Not everyone picks the highest paycheck for their career.

I teach in a massive school district, and do not have 30 kids in my class. Nor do I have a lot of experience with kids who don’t give a crap about what I am teaching, and they do show up to my class. I am the PP used to teach a Big Three, so I have experience in both systems. It is true that the bureaucracy could drive you crazy. But it is also true that the private school parents could drive you crazy. And all parents care about their kids’ education. That is true without exception in my 28 years of experience.

In any case, if you have a family, then someone has to have a job to support that family, and that job has to provide good pay and benefits including health insurance and retirement. If your employer won’t provide that, then your spouse’s employers has to. It’s one or the other. Writing in journals and taking “free” international trips as a chaperone won’t do anything for you in retirement.

I have 4 kids. 3 in public. 1 in private

Senior private: highest class this year is 15 kids
8th public: last year her smallest class was 28. Most were 30-31
4th public: 29 kids homeroom/32 kids compacted math
K public: 27 kids, no aide.

Sorry, but just because you have never had 30 doesn’t mean others don’t. It is a terrible system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where I work, about $60k-$80k. Teachers could probably earn about 40-50% more in public. Many prefer the working environment, and many just don’t have certification.

After a while, I have seen that many teachers just think they couldn’t handle public. I have heard them say that they just couldn’t teach a room with more than 15 kids in it, or teach without X number of breaks per day.

I can assure you there is no public teacher making $120K. My aunt is a principal and she doesn’t even make that much at public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

Exactly. Private school teachers can TEACH without the bureaucracy, testing requirements, and behavior problems that often plague public schools.

Yeah. But now, at 39, I'm starting to regret the romantic idealism that shaped my early choices in schools. I've had great students and worked in lovely settings, but I am starting to worry about what my future will look like. I'll have good memories of my students and my job, but that isn't much to live on when I'm old.

I know that my students' wealthy parents realize how little I earn, but they value my dedication to their children and my job . However, I've been teaching long enough to have heard multiple high school students (and parents) speak disparagingly about my profession; I know the same parents who pay tuition so their children can be in the classrooms of poor, "dedicated" teachers who love teaching would never, ever encourage their children to become teachers. I didn't realize this when I was younger.

I know, I know. This might mean it is time to reconsider my professional trajectory and choices.

At my child's school, the classes range from 8-16 kids per class in HIGH SCHOOL. A few classes had a handful of kids in them. THAT is what the parents pay for. Extremely low teacher to student ratio. And the teachers to teach to them without standardized testing and freedom to bring in their passions and preferred learning style to the classroom. They get to take sabbaticals, get their tuition partially paid for furthering education, have more time to do research, write in teaching journals, and go on FREE national and international trips with students if they prefer.

If you prefer better pay, of course it is better to go to a massive school district. You will then have 30 kids per class and at least 1/3 of them won't give two craps about what you are teaching or even show up to your class. You will also spend countless hours a week grading and planning for the 100+ more kids you teach each week. Not to mention more mindless training/meetings, forcing kids to take standardized testing, being judged on trying to get Spanish speaking only kids to pass your classes, etc...

You are comparing apples to oranges here....

I am not saying ALL teachers do not deserve more. They do. But there is a reason many teachers pick private schools over public. I am a nurse and I could make a lot more money working night shifts with 15 patients at a major DC hospital. But I chose a massive pay cut to be an outpatient infusion nurse. Less stress, better hours, more positive working condition. Not everyone picks the highest paycheck for their career.

I teach in a massive school district, and do not have 30 kids in my class. Nor do I have a lot of experience with kids who don’t give a crap about what I am teaching, and they do show up to my class. I am the PP used to teach a Big Three, so I have experience in both systems. It is true that the bureaucracy could drive you crazy. But it is also true that the private school parents could drive you crazy. And all parents care about their kids’ education. That is true without exception in my 28 years of experience.

In any case, if you have a family, then someone has to have a job to support that family, and that job has to provide good pay and benefits including health insurance and retirement. If your employer won’t provide that, then your spouse’s employers has to. It’s one or the other. Writing in journals and taking “free” international trips as a chaperone won’t do anything for you in retirement.

I have 4 kids. 3 in public. 1 in private

Senior private: highest class this year is 15 kids
8th public: last year her smallest class was 28. Most were 30-31
4th public: 29 kids homeroom/32 kids compacted math
K public: 27 kids, no aide.

Sorry, but just because you have never had 30 doesn’t mean others don’t. It is a terrible system.

Reasonable people can disagree on whether or not it is a "terrible system," but that doesn't speak to the point I made above, i.e., that small class sizes, "free" trips (during which you work as a chaperone), and writing in journals doesn't pay the bills or provide retirement security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where I work, about $60k-$80k. Teachers could probably earn about 40-50% more in public. Many prefer the working environment, and many just don’t have certification.

After a while, I have seen that many teachers just think they couldn’t handle public. I have heard them say that they just couldn’t teach a room with more than 15 kids in it, or teach without X number of breaks per day.

I can assure you there is no public teacher making $120K. My aunt is a principal and she doesn’t even make that much at public.

MCPS principals make more than $120,000, and teachers at the top of the pay scale with 25 years of experience, a master's degree, and 60 post-master's credits make almost $110,000. They also have a good pension and excellent healthcare insurance.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I can easily look up public school pay scales. I’m interested in actual numbers from private school salaries. Dying of curiosity!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BFF teaches HS private in the DC area (not at a big 3). She has a Phd in her subject and makes $80k. She gets about 50% tuition assistance for her son.

She laments about benefits but likes the ability to teach in a more collegiate manner than having to teach to specific standards.

Exactly. Private school teachers can TEACH without the bureaucracy, testing requirements, and behavior problems that often plague public schools.

Yeah. But now, at 39, I'm starting to regret the romantic idealism that shaped my early choices in schools. I've had great students and worked in lovely settings, but I am starting to worry about what my future will look like. I'll have good memories of my students and my job, but that isn't much to live on when I'm old.

I know that my students' wealthy parents realize how little I earn, but they value my dedication to their children and my job . However, I've been teaching long enough to have heard multiple high school students (and parents) speak disparagingly about my profession; I know the same parents who pay tuition so their children can be in the classrooms of poor, "dedicated" teachers who love teaching would never, ever encourage their children to become teachers. I didn't realize this when I was younger.

I know, I know. This might mean it is time to reconsider my professional trajectory and choices.

Their parents don't need to say anything. All the kids need to do, as they pull into the lot driving the BMW convertible that daddy bought them, is look at the crappy cars the teachers drive.