basic question: why are private teachers paid less than public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Less education requirements.

Fewer

[Anonymous]

You get longer summer and winter breaks as a private school teacher. Often, you have far fewer students which is nice. With many private schools, you have minimal to no behavior problems although parents can be super annoying. Definitely a lower stress job. Kids tend to be more prepared too and closer to the same level. Nice gifts from parents.

[Anonymous]

Private schools have an unfortunate tendency to overpay the school head and underpay the teachers. They have fallen into the same trap as colleges - spend money on facilities to wow parents and skimp on paying teachers when ultimately it is the quality of teachers that make or break a school not the facilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They work under less extenuating circumstances.

20-30% less students in the classroom.
Less hours - private school teachers aren't expected to run study and after-school programs. outside of their core focus
There's more active support from specialist teachers and administrators - the Maret school for instance has scheduled meetings with academic advisors for all students weekly

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1593637123/maret/wzjwmjkjlegagkytl4ns/LS_COL_G3.pdf

Really? At our private, teachers run clubs based on things they are truly passionate about - running, guitar, baking, classic movies, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You get longer summer and winter breaks as a private school teacher. Often, you have far fewer students which is nice. With many private schools, you have minimal to no behavior problems although parents can be super annoying. Definitely a lower stress job. Kids tend to be more prepared too and closer to the same level. Nice gifts from parents.

It IS much easier to teach when the class is homogenized. As a public school teacher, I used to have to prepare 4-5 different lesson plans per class for a single course: on-level, remedial, advanced, ELLs, and special needs. I moved to a magnet program and now just have the main plan with modifications for SN. Many privates won’t even accept students with SN and don’t offer acceleration for advanced learners so teachers just have to write one lesson. It’s like being a line chef where your restaurant only serves one dish a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are paid less because they get little to no government funding. Period. Fwiw, I work in public and make 75k. I came from Catholic school where I was paid 25k. My question is why do parochial school teachers stay? Yes, some independent private schools pay higher than parochial but seriously, 25k is less than what people make serving fast food.

It was obvious a lot of our Catholic and private school teachers had either a spouse with a much higher income or had retired from a lucrative career (finance or law seem to be most common).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are paid less because they get little to no government funding. Period. Fwiw, I work in public and make 75k. I came from Catholic school where I was paid 25k. My question is why do parochial school teachers stay? Yes, some independent private schools pay higher than parochial but seriously, 25k is less than what people make serving fast food.

This is one of the questions.
The other question is: how amazing would private schools be if they paid even more to get the very, very best teachers? Surely they could afford it

No, they can’t. Look at their annual reports. It costs a lot to run a school. Don’t forget most have at least one R.N. as school nurse, multiple counselors for both college, learning skills, and social emotional needs, etc. Plus they have to pay a marketing and admissions team and they need budget on top of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bc they don’t have a union to lineback their mafioso demands

Especially that living wage and decent health care. Damn those gangster unions.

[Anonymous]

Public schools are incredibly well-funded compared to private schools, especially in the DC area. There’s nothing a public school needs in these rich areas of DC and Montgomery county. Private schools need auctions and always hat in hand because it is super expensive to run a school well and have good programs. Also, private schools attract teachers who don’t want to teach to the test or have inflexible curricula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Less education requirements.

Fewer

Please show proof. Fewer is used when the items are countable. Maybe you’re right but it’s not clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because there are enough teachers who are willing to take the pay cut in exchange for the more enjoyable teaching environment.
-teacher

+1. Finding a teaching job isn’t the easiest thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Less education requirements.

Fewer

Please show proof. Fewer is used when the items are countable. Maybe you’re right but it’s not clear.

DP. Aren’t requirements countable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are incredibly well-funded compared to private schools, especially in the DC area. There’s nothing a public school needs in these rich areas of DC and Montgomery county. Private schools need auctions and always hat in hand because it is super expensive to run a school well and have good programs. Also, private schools attract teachers who don’t want to teach to the test or have inflexible curricula.

They are actually not that well funded when you look at where the money goes. At least 50% of the budget goes to support all aspects of special education that school districts are required to provide per federal laws and regulations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't qualified to teach.

This is laughable. But I suppose it depends on the private school. No one I know thinks that an education degree, either undergraduate or graduate, makes you qualified to teach. Experience does that. I would much rather have private school teachers with content knowledge than public school teachers who studied "pedagogy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because there are enough teachers who are willing to take the pay cut in exchange for the more enjoyable teaching environment.
-teacher

+1. Finding a teaching job isn’t the easiest thing.

You're joking right? There are so many open positions that can't be filled in public. Ten years ago, you had to be a rock star to get hired. Now? It is amazingly easy to get a teaching job in most places and most subject areas or grades.