Unpopular opinion: DCPS teachers are super well paid!

[Anonymous]

I’m a first year mcps teacher and I make $60k. If I were single this would be unlivable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It bears repeating that this thread starts with an opinion based on misinformation. The opinion is OP's to have, but the provided provided as a factual motivation, is still incorrect: The stated budgetary costs for teacher (and other positions) are not salaries. They are, well, budgetary costs, which include all manners of costs that have nothing to do with what a teacher is actually paid. Not only that, it's an average, with no regard for the empirical distribution of actual salaries.
Here is where the public pay scales live: https://dcps.dc.gov/node/1057802
And this here may be a good place to gain a truer understanding of living adjusted (actual)teacher salaries compared across states: https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-pay-teachers-the-most-and-least/

+1. And I don't care about the max salary because it's more a question about the majority of teachers.

Also, still important to note this is all relative to the local cost of living which is HIGH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a first year mcps teacher and I make $60k. If I were single this would be unlivable.

But this thread is about DCPS?

[Anonymous]

It's true that teachers salaries are extremely high but the most amazinng thing is that, out of the 40,000 people who work for the DC government, the only ones who get a pension are teachers and cops. Everyone else's retirement benefits are crap by comparison.

[Anonymous]

Okay so I’m a teacher. That’s not how the budget works. Pleaseee don’t spread this misinformation. The salaries listed are set, but basically the total is how much they anre given in the budget for all of the teachers in total. For example, that librarian may be getting paid 60k, while the PE teacher could be getting paid 100k. The actual salaries are listed on the budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our school budget. Our librarian makes $140k. Most teachers make about $130k and they work for 9 months per year and they get a pension.
I am happy for them but people have to stop with pressuring parents to give them gift cards, valentine presents and all the talk about them not being well paid.
By

This is not valid in other states. I am just talking about DCPS and probably DC metro and other big cities.

That’s it 🙂

Yup. I have 20 years experience and am in a senior role at my large nonprofit and make $126. We have had some lovely, lovely teachers and assistants when my kids were at a title 1 elementary, and I was generous with the gifts. But I no longer go overboard or give gifts to individual teachers in middle and hs. They are professionals!

A 20 year teacher with a masters makes 112. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf

I don't think I can put into words how maddening this thread is

How much do you think that other nonprofit professionals with 20 years of experience and a master's make, and who have similar benefits (except for the summar breaks, week at Christmas and Easter)? Who also have huge drawbacks in their work (which are hard to describe, relatively, because most of us can imagine what it's like to be in a classroom)?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the repeated references to the high cost of living. Students' families--including the posters here--experience the same cost of living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our school budget. Our librarian makes $140k. Most teachers make about $130k and they work for 9 months per year and they get a pension.
I am happy for them but people have to stop with pressuring parents to give them gift cards, valentine presents and all the talk about them not being well paid.
By

This is not valid in other states. I am just talking about DCPS and probably DC metro and other big cities.

That’s it 🙂

Yup. I have 20 years experience and am in a senior role at my large nonprofit and make $126. We have had some lovely, lovely teachers and assistants when my kids were at a title 1 elementary, and I was generous with the gifts. But I no longer go overboard or give gifts to individual teachers in middle and hs. They are professionals!

A 20 year teacher with a masters makes 112. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf

I don't think I can put into words how maddening this thread is

How much do you think that other nonprofit professionals with 20 years of experience and a master's make, and who have similar benefits (except for the summar breaks, week at Christmas and Easter)? Who also have huge drawbacks in their work (which are hard to describe, relatively, because most of us can imagine what it's like to be in a classroom)?

And how much do they think college professors make? Elementary school art teachers in DCPS make more than art professors in universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our school budget. Our librarian makes $140k. Most teachers make about $130k and they work for 9 months per year and they get a pension.
I am happy for them but people have to stop with pressuring parents to give them gift cards, valentine presents and all the talk about them not being well paid.
By

This is not valid in other states. I am just talking about DCPS and probably DC metro and other big cities.

That’s it 🙂

Yup. I have 20 years experience and am in a senior role at my large nonprofit and make $126. We have had some lovely, lovely teachers and assistants when my kids were at a title 1 elementary, and I was generous with the gifts. But I no longer go overboard or give gifts to individual teachers in middle and hs. They are professionals!

A 20 year teacher with a masters makes 112. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf

I don't think I can put into words how maddening this thread is

How much do you think that other nonprofit professionals with 20 years of experience and a master's make, and who have similar benefits (except for the summar breaks, week at Christmas and Easter)? Who also have huge drawbacks in their work (which are hard to describe, relatively, because most of us can imagine what it's like to be in a classroom)?

DCPS isn’t nonprofit.

It is proven over and over on DCUM that most people’s imaginary vision of what it’s like to be in a classroom bears little resemblance to reality.

[Anonymous]

I am a DC resident and DCPS parent.

I appreciate the teacher's at our school and we do give thank you cards (including often gift cards) to teachers at the holidays and during teacher appreciation week.

However, I honestly get mad when I see teachers on this thread (1) downplaying how much teachers in DCPS make, and (2) expressing anger at parents for believing this is a "well paid" salary.

Here's why: I make 55k/yr. My spouse makes 105k/yr. We both have college degrees and I have a masters. I work 30 hr weeks because it enables us more flexibility as a family in terms of childcare and schedules. We both work very hard, I work in a helping profession and my spouse is a public servant. I know exactly how far a 100k salary goes in DC because we lived on close to that for a long time, including for two years after we had a kid. The oen saving grace for us is that we bought a home using an assistance program in 2014 (the program enabled us to buy a modest condo with a very small down payment) and this has enabled us to keep our housing costs consistent. It is hard. We do hope to move out of this area within the next few years because it is too expensive.

There are WAY more families in DCPS who have incomes similar to mine and my spouse's, or lower, than people who make more. This board might skew wealthier, but the city does not.

So I am going to go ahead and agree with OP that teachers in DCPS are well paid professionals, both compared to teachers in other municipalities and compared to families in DCPS. Just because there are lawyers and consultants with kids in DCPS who make many multiples of this does not mean that DCPS teachers are poorly paid. A very secure job with excellent benefits, including a pension, and a salary of 80-100k is considered a very good job by many of us in DC. Especially for someone who may have just a bachelor's degree.

Oh, and my first job out of college paid 45k. This was only 10 years ago. Now it would pay closer to 55k for full time. So to the MoCo teacher upthread who is complaining about making 60k right out of school -- that is a good salary! Your issue is with municipal policies that make it hard to build affordable housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the repeated references to the high cost of living. Students' families--including the posters here--experience the same cost of living.

This! And many of us make less than DCPS teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our school budget. Our librarian makes $140k. Most teachers make about $130k and they work for 9 months per year and they get a pension.
I am happy for them but people have to stop with pressuring parents to give them gift cards, valentine presents and all the talk about them not being well paid.
By

This is not valid in other states. I am just talking about DCPS and probably DC metro and other big cities.

That’s it 🙂

Yup. I have 20 years experience and am in a senior role at my large nonprofit and make $126. We have had some lovely, lovely teachers and assistants when my kids were at a title 1 elementary, and I was generous with the gifts. But I no longer go overboard or give gifts to individual teachers in middle and hs. They are professionals!

A 20 year teacher with a masters makes 112. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf

I don't think I can put into words how maddening this thread is

How much do you think that other nonprofit professionals with 20 years of experience and a master's make, and who have similar benefits (except for the summar breaks, week at Christmas and Easter)? Who also have huge drawbacks in their work (which are hard to describe, relatively, because most of us can imagine what it's like to be in a classroom)?

And how much do they think college professors make? Elementary school art teachers in DCPS make more than art professors in universities.

Looking at some local schools... college professors make more than elementary art teachers. At GW, the average professor in the college of arts and sciences makes about $160K. In the college of business and school of public health, it's over $200K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got our school budget. Our librarian makes $140k. Most teachers make about $130k and they work for 9 months per year and they get a pension.
I am happy for them but people have to stop with pressuring parents to give them gift cards, valentine presents and all the talk about them not being well paid.
By

This is not valid in other states. I am just talking about DCPS and probably DC metro and other big cities.

That’s it 🙂

Yup. I have 20 years experience and am in a senior role at my large nonprofit and make $126. We have had some lovely, lovely teachers and assistants when my kids were at a title 1 elementary, and I was generous with the gifts. But I no longer go overboard or give gifts to individual teachers in middle and hs. They are professionals!

A 20 year teacher with a masters makes 112. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/WTU%20FY20-FY23.pdf

I don't think I can put into words how maddening this thread is

How much do you think that other nonprofit professionals with 20 years of experience and a master's make, and who have similar benefits (except for the summar breaks, week at Christmas and Easter)? Who also have huge drawbacks in their work (which are hard to describe, relatively, because most of us can imagine what it's like to be in a classroom)?

No, most people CAN’T imagine what it’s like in a classroom. Teaching has changed a ton since DCUM users were students themselves. Plus, former students don’t know what their teachers actually dealt with behind the scenes.

I also thought I knew what teaching is like. And then I actually taught.

It is emotionally, mentally, and physically grueling. The level of fatigue you feel by 3pm is hard to describe, and you still have 3-4 hours of work at home to prep you for the next grueling day.

You’re also held directly accountable for things that are actually out of your control, which (over time) starts to weigh on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a DC resident and DCPS parent.

I appreciate the teacher's at our school and we do give thank you cards (including often gift cards) to teachers at the holidays and during teacher appreciation week.

However, I honestly get mad when I see teachers on this thread (1) downplaying how much teachers in DCPS make, and (2) expressing anger at parents for believing this is a "well paid" salary.

Here's why: I make 55k/yr. My spouse makes 105k/yr. We both have college degrees and I have a masters. I work 30 hr weeks because it enables us more flexibility as a family in terms of childcare and schedules. We both work very hard, I work in a helping profession and my spouse is a public servant. I know exactly how far a 100k salary goes in DC because we lived on close to that for a long time, including for two years after we had a kid. The oen saving grace for us is that we bought a home using an assistance program in 2014 (the program enabled us to buy a modest condo with a very small down payment) and this has enabled us to keep our housing costs consistent. It is hard. We do hope to move out of this area within the next few years because it is too expensive.

There are WAY more families in DCPS who have incomes similar to mine and my spouse's, or lower, than people who make more. This board might skew wealthier, but the city does not.

So I am going to go ahead and agree with OP that teachers in DCPS are well paid professionals, both compared to teachers in other municipalities and compared to families in DCPS. Just because there are lawyers and consultants with kids in DCPS who make many multiples of this does not mean that DCPS teachers are poorly paid. A very secure job with excellent benefits, including a pension, and a salary of 80-100k is considered a very good job by many of us in DC. Especially for someone who may have just a bachelor's degree.

Oh, and my first job out of college paid 45k. This was only 10 years ago. Now it would pay closer to 55k for full time. So to the MoCo teacher upthread who is complaining about making 60k right out of school -- that is a good salary! Your issue is with municipal policies that make it hard to build affordable housing.

Ty I came here to say this. And, like you, I also make 40k out of college and slightly more for the first ten years of my profession also just ten years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep your gift cards. Send your kids to school on time, engaged, and excited about learning. Ask the mayor to ensure I don’t have to spend my own money on things like copy paper, Kleenex, and expo markers.

Ensure your students don’t lose their tablets or chargers so that they can actually do work on Canvas. Stop texting and calling your kids during class. Ask the principal to provide and mandate cell phone locker usage so I don’t have to request that phones are put away multiple times during class. Teach your children to be respectful and not cursing like sailors. Stop your kids from skipping class and roaming the halls. Think about the grading policy and how it removes student accountability and the way it sets them up for failure in the future.

I don’t mind my salary because I know teachers in surrounding cities make much less. Here’s a thought, if we are so overpaid, why are there so many teacher vacancies at many schools? Five teachers have left my school since the start of the school year and I know of at least four more (including me) who don’t plan to return.

Yea I don't think your audience is here on dcum. But nice try.

You really need to spend some time in your Ward 3 school if you think this isn't applicable there.

+1

Parents texting and calling kids midday, letting them miss school for any reason under the sun, thinking they don’t curse, aren’t rude, etc. This is a district wide problem.