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Which private schools retain their teachers the most?
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Anonymous
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We definitely have teachers at our school that are terrible teachers and are abusive to their coworkers but for some reason are still employed.
The original question referred to staff turnover and happiness. Notice to all administrators: when you keep bad and abusive teachers on staff just because they have been at the school for a long time and you are afraid of firing them bc of public reaction you are creating an unhappy staff!!!!! |
Anonymous
And parents should watch what they say to and around their children. You would be appalled at some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths. Especially, political, ethnic or religious comments. We teachers have a field day with that. 
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Anonymous
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Our school keeps the old, dead (male) wood around and pays them handsomely. They either move around in upper admin positions or they teach one or two classes and serve on committees. The young teachers are worked like dogs. Four or 5 classes, coach 2 or 3 sports, sponsor clubs, advisor duties, serve on numerous committees. By the end of the year they are wrung out.
At our school, like others I'm sure, the old guard had 100% tuition remission for their kids. When the rules changed and the benefit was cut to 50% those teachers were grandfathered in. So we have teachers with 2 or 3 kids in the school paying 0 tuition working alongside newer teachers that cannot afford to send their one kid to the school because it would still cost around $15,000 at the 50% level. As tuition is ratcheted up, fewer teachers can afford even a 50% break in tuition. |
Anonymous
Sure "Kids say the darndest things". Clearly you've never watched Art Linkletter/Bill Cosby, taken courses in childhood development/psychology, or attended Ed. School. Of course you are a private school teacher so naturally you consider any kid who is not a Stepford Child to be a freak. On one hand I feel bad for you guys because you earn minimum wage, but on the other hand so many of you have taken academic shortcuts to become teachers, you don’t really deserve much more. If you knew anything about childhood development you’d know that children are not adults just placed in smaller bodies. No far from it, they are children who are learning a wide variety of academic and social skills. Much of their learning curve is completed through the process of trial and error. It’s difficult know where or how children have acquired the information they've cobbled together and later presented as their understanding of the facts. As you say some of it may be learned at home, but they may also attain information from teachers, peers, and media. Correct them because you are a good teacher. Gossip about something they have said making them the fodder of your ridicule in the teachers’ lounge makes you a bad teacher. Kindness, understanding and forgiveness will make you a good teacher and a gracious human being. Refusing to forgive a child, refusing to allow them to redeem themselves and ruing their reputations are the worst kinds of evils and you should remove yourself from the classroom immediately. Kids have fewer filters and the strange or awkward things they say should be gently corrected and not be repeated for public amusement in the teacher’s lounge. Most of us have gossiped at times and we should all resolve to never do it again; especially about children. So yes you are right, kids do say the darndest thing, but if you are a professional educator you do not turn those missteps and misspoken words into a "field day" in the teachers' lounge. |
Anonymous
My best friend left her Big Three school because of no tuition remission. NONE. When her oldest started school, she became so resentful of the situation that she walked away, after 10+ years of service. |
Anonymous
I know exactly which one you are referring to. And at an all-girls school, too. Disgusting that they don't support their teachers, mostly female with families. Meanwhile their brother school gives a HUGE tuition break. |
Anonymous
| Dont happy teachers come from the same place as happy cows? California? |
Anonymous
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17:03 if that all-girls' school could afford to give tuition remission I'm sure they would. Building an endowment is harder at an all-girls school than at co-ed or all-boys' schools, because for so many years the alums of the girls' schools did not have the same earning potential by and large as the male alums of the co-ed or all-boys' schools. This may change going forward, of course -- here is hoping it does -- and maybe alums/parents will try to endow a scholarship fund for faculty kids.
I can see why it would be tough when other schools have tuition remission, though, but I think calling it "disgusting" is ignoring budget realities -- should a school cut financial aid or raise tuition more to make up for lost tuition revenue if they add in a tuition remission program where none existed? Finally, the faculty members can also apply for financial aid, can they not? |
Anonymous
Well said! Strangely enough, this particular school and TR policy was the topic of conversation with myself and many of my colleagues in the past two weeks. "Disgusting" is a bit strong. I am a teacher at an all-girls school and though I wish that the TR percentage was higher, I am grateful for any at all. Hopefully, DD will attend the school and receive an excellent education at the same school where her mother works. You will find that the reason that many of these local Independent schools aren't as progressive as you would hope them to be is because the precedent wasn't there in the first place. How many members of the faculty would send their children to the school? Have you spoken to the HOS in the past about this issue? If you don't ask, then how can you be upset that no one listens? I've never understood the Armchair Revolutionary approach. Just start the dialogue with your HOS and whoever else is involved in the process. Also, most schools make the effort to grant some kind of financial aid to allow for faculty and staff children to attend at a lower cost. 17:03 The school you have in mind, if I'm not mistaken, is very traditional. Maybe you should address your concerns to the school rather than speak (write?) badly of it on DCUM. Isn't that setting a better example for DC as well? Or else, you could just not work at that particular school. There are many other options and roads to take. For what it is worth, I did learn that the brother school gives significant TR to faculty and staff for sister school, as well. Good luck! |
Anonymous
Nope, the school I'm referring to is not single-sex. |
Anonymous
How would you feel about disclosing your entire financial picture, including your spouse's finances, to your employer? And then doing it every year? |
Anonymous
11:12 here. My friend's school offered nothing. Nada, zilch, zero. No effort at all. It is not the girls' school PP refers to. It is one of the Big Three talked about here all the time. |
Anonymous
I am a female teacher and I'd like to stand up for the male teachers here, though I thought that I was done reading this thread. Not all dead wood is male. In fact, I'd say that at my particular school, we don't have a lot of dead wood, but if I had to make a decision on it, I'd say that the dead wood that we have is female. We have incredible male teachers at my Independent school. They put in long hours, coach sports, serve on committees, and act as advisors. The girls look up to them and have plenty of positive male role models in their lives because of the dedication that these men have to an all-girls education. My students and their parents adore our Division Head because they know that everything he does is for the benefit of the students. Do female teachers consistently struggle to garner the same respect as male teachers? Absolutely. It is exhausting to try to manage a family and a full-time job and be successful at both. And yes, male teachers are, for the most part, valued more than female teachers. I don't have an answer to that dilemma. As for the rest of the post...yes, I understand, I'm in the same boat. But most schools give financial aid and are willing to engage in a dialogue with faculty about TR. It does seem grossly unfair that some fac children are at 100% and the rest at 50%. My only guess is that it was cut to 50% due to the economy, not because of a personal vendetta against the new, younger members of the faculty. The only answer to that is to raise faculty salaries, I suppose...maybe let go of the "dead wood" and their inflated salaries so that the school can find more money to put into the salary pot for talented, dedicated teachers. both male and female. Now, I am really going to stop reading this thread. |
Anonymous
I thought I was off this thread. I wouldn't care about disclosing my financial picture. I'm a teacher. Everyone knows that I don't make a lot of money. LOL Good night. |
Anonymous
I would do it for financial aid. Every family has to make that choice when they apply for financial aid -- one gives up privacy (the economic details of one's life) in return for the possibility or reality of aid. Is it a great perk if a school offers tuition remission not tied to financial need? Sure. But it may in effect be taking financial aid money away from those with greater need and giving to those with lesser need (say, a faculty member with a spouse who has significant earning). Every policy had a downside. |