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

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the potential perks for kids. Teachers' kids often face a much lower bar for admissions at selective schools and they often have a leg up when it comes to financial aid or schools may have a staff discount on tuition.

[Anonymous]

They aren't even required to be certified or even educated. The school doesn't have to use accepted practices or have a suitable curriculum. A private school is basically expensive daycare unless someone cares to make it otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they don't have to meet the same standards in some cases. I never had a science teacher who actually majored in the field they were teaching.

-private school graduate

I would blame that on your school, not private school education in general.

We have never had a math or science teacher where that was not their primary field. Most have masters in their subjects. Social sciences are different. there I agree. but not math and hard science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Incorrect. At least in MCPS where 90% of the 2.8 billion goes to staff pensions, salaries and healthcare. Which is pretty funny! All these retired teachers from MCPS in South Carolina funded by blue state taxes. The special education budget has also been cut every year under Dr. Smith - yet somehow in 2017 the county found 11 million to pay outside counsel to fight IEP implementation. Really the scam of the unions continues to be to convince the power centers in TP and Silver Spring they are underpaid. Part of the scam is keeping the schools looking terrible - and allowing many of the schools in higher tax areas (Wootton cluster) to remain the oldest in the county and filled with portables (hence trying to justify even higher taxes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

NP. Yes, I don't see how "less" is correct. However, "lesser" could be correct, for a different meaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went from teaching in public to teaching in private and am willing to answer honestly, but I also want to challenge some of the assumptions in this thread:

1. I initially made less in private school, but that was mostly due to the differential in health insurance cost. I am not paid in "lockstep" with teachers who have the same number of years of experience anymore, but that also means that over time I negotiated a far better salary. I make more in private now than I would have at the equivalent step in public. That is case by case.
2. That said, I only could take that initial cut because I have a much higher-earning partner. It was an inconsequential part of the decision for me.
3. I never looked back. Part of the value of private school is that 99% of my time goes to direct teaching and addressing students' needs. I'm not watching a series of dumb training videos that have no bearing on my work.
4. I have more flexibility to innovate and do what's right for kids. My hands were often tied when I was in public school. I don't need an IEP to give a child the right accommodations.

Now for the false blanket statements, at least from my perspective in a DC independent school, not a Catholic school:

1. My peers are not less qualified, though many are not certified. Think about it for a moment. I'm certified because I had to get certified to work in a public school, but that certification process has very little to do with what I bring to my school. I was a career changer with extensive experience in my field. I'd been working with children in other capacities my entire life. I have several graduate degrees and a passion for what I teach. I went to top 5 universities for both my undergraduate and graduate programs. When I changed fields, I went back for certification at a local university that accepts everyone. It was just a means to an end. The quality of that program was abysmal. Yet it gave me the piece of paper that allowed me to apply to public schools. It did nothing to improve my teaching. Everyone ends up learning things like behavior management on the job, anyway. There are excellent teachers in both settings, but independent school teachers' contracts are re-upped annually. If you're terrible, you won't be passed around the system; you'll be terminated. My colleagues now (and again, there are good and bad teachers everywhere) may not be certified, but they are incredibly intelligent, well-educated people who want to be there. So many of my former colleagues are riding it out until they have enough years to collect their pension. I hope to stay at my school for as long as they'll have me.
2. Yes, the workload is lighter in an independent school, at least with regards to extraneous duties and number of preps you have to do, as well as the number of students in your classes. But many independent teachers still put in long hours because they don't feel like time punchers. It's their choice as long as they're doing their job well. You can pick up extra work in both settings for a stipend, ie coaching.
3. Sometimes the kids are all higher-achieving, better-behaved etc., but that isn't true for all schools. Given the economy, some schools have loosened standards without adding appropriate supports, so buyer beware. Look at how well their support programs are staffed.

Ok, that's my 2 cents. I'm aware that I'm very lucky that I get to work by choice and love my job. I probably would have stayed in public if that differential had made a substantial difference in my life, but that wouldn't have benefitted anyone's kids, because I was miserable. Never underestimate the importance of happy teachers to a school's overall culture.

This is a great response.

[Anonymous]

Because the funding comes from the school district, county, state, and federal taxes, not just current parents; also the public funding line item is a separate pool of money from capitol and maintenance costs, no need to find scholarship money, and operating costs benefit from economies of scale.

[Anonymous]

I would challenge the assumption that private school teachers are "better" than public school teachers. Some teachers get inspired teaching smaller classes, focusing more narrowly on the subject matter of the class, and enjoy the flexibility of private school. Some teachers are inspired by teaching in public schools, a helping kids who need it the most, etc., and are attracted by the higher pay. It is not as if all the best teachers chose public or private, it depends on their preferences, like everything else. What you pay for with private is a cohort of kids whose parents who are either rich or willing to find a way to pay for private school. What you get in public school are kids whose parents either don't have the means for private school, or believe in public school, etc. You aren't buying a necessarily better education, just a different education. (spoken as someone who went to private and public schools, whose kids go to public (for now), and someone with a bunch of teachers in the family who have taught in all sorts of settings, fwiw).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't even required to be certified or even educated. The school doesn't have to use accepted practices or have a suitable curriculum. A private school is basically expensive daycare unless someone cares to make it otherwise.

Keep telling yourself that 😘

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They aren't even required to be certified or even educated. The school doesn't have to use accepted practices or have a suitable curriculum. A private school is basically expensive daycare unless someone cares to make it otherwise.

Keep telling yourself that 😘

I mean, they're right. Hopefully as a parent you do due diligence and identify programs that meet the needs of your child, but from a government standpoint there are basically no requirements. In VA in particular, all you need to do to open a "private school" is open your doors 180 days, take attendance, and keep immunization records.

https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/non-public-education/regulation-map/virginia.html

Noteworthy:

Accreditation is optional.
Teacher certification is not required by the state
The state does not require a specific curriculum for private schools.
Private school students are not required to participate in state administered tests
There is no state policy at this time pertaining to technology with private schools.
There is no state policy at this time pertaining to professional development with private schools.

Obviously most schools go way above and beyond, but you don't even technically need a HS diploma to teach HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make sense to me... or maybe the better question is why are private schools better (often) even though they have less qualified (presumably) teachers?

Isn’t it obvious why they don’t pay as much? They don’t have the funds that public schools have.

[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

Not true.
I teach public and my Aunt teaches private.
Private schools demand an insane amount from their teacher, think about who their clientele is.

I work horrible hours as a public school teacher, but what my aunt works is nightmarish.
And I don’t think you could pay me enough to deal with private school parents.

There is a reason why certified teachers don’t work in private schools, none of them want to!

[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.

From what I have seen a lot of teachers who teach in the religious schools, not just parochial, really do feel like they have a calling and are less concerned about the money

The ones who teach at independent private schools? To be completely honest most of them have unemployable degrees, and don’t really know what they want to do for a career, and just sort of fall into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't qualified to teach.

+1000

This doesn’t mean that they aren’t good teachers, but outside of those who teach at religious schools, essentially no one who has the qualifications to teach in a public school chooses private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they’re not unionized.

Many public schools are not unionized.

Like Virginia.