Anonymous wrote:When I left my highly regarded NoVa independent several years back , (MA and 15 years of experience at the time) and went to FCPS, I went from about 65K to 80K. I got my MA+30 pay increase in FCPS and am now making just over 100K.
I would have to take a good 20-25K pay cut, and return to worse benefits, to go back to private. I might still do it when my kids are a little older.
The class size cap, extensive professional development funds, and AMAZING amount of planning time made for a better quality of life. I never needed to take work home. There were certainly still behavior issues, but they were of the “attitude” variety than the “flipping chairs” variety. The parents were mostly lovely with a few each year that fit the stereotypical nightmare private school parent profile.
I also really like my public school colleagues, but my independent school colleagues were firing on all cylinders. Smart, dedicated, and enthusiastic.
Do you find the work load a lot more in public? There are just so many kids and the range is huge + special Ed, ESOL, etc.