Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:23 year old who just graduated with a BS in Math and Secondary Ed (student taught, obtained a teacher's license.). Working at a Catholic high school in the DMV. $55,000 per year.

We need good teachers. How can this low salary encourage young people to seek out career in education?

It doesn’t.

I was a career changer who got a graduated degree in education. It was a terrible investment, and I was upset with myself for not doing more research about salaries. I took a $10k salary cut when I went from a non-teaching admin job at a private school to a teaching job at a private school down the road. It’s not like the admin position paid a lot either. After years of paltry salaries, costly health insurance, and sad retirement savings, I went back to the business world. There’s a reason why so many private school teachers are white women who come from wealthy families and are married to high earning men.

A lot of people don’t understand the economics of private school operations. Any school costs a lot to run. DCPS has an average operating cost of $24k/student/year. This excludes central office admin costs—marketing, PR, HR, technology, insurances. Public schools often rely on donations for classroom materials—everything from new science tools, to photocopier paper, to tissues—whereas your private school provides these things as well as a classroom supplies budget of between $200 and $1000 per teacher per year. Your private school has a greater teacher-student ratio, so faculty expense is higher. The large, attractive campuses with great sports facilities are expensive to maintain too, especially as electricity costs skyrocket. Field trips, particularly overnights are bonkers expensive, especially when an outside tour operator or facilitator is engaged. Yet, in the privates where I have worked, I was expected to have at least two field trips per year. Costs of employee benefits have been crushing privates for all of the 21st century. Unlike publics, which use state pension schemes where a sizable portion of staff never vest, privates have to administer 403(b)s. Health insurance costs are also very high for these small risk pools (fewer than 100 employees, skews older). Curriculum, whether books or tech-based, is also very, very expensive. A lot of educational software subscriptions are $10k/year or more for between 300 and 400 licenses. Schools will have multiple subscriptions for the whole school and a few that are specific to a grade level or department. And that’s before you factor in the hardware—a $1k Thinkpad or MacBook for every student and teacher and smartboards in classrooms. (There are some bulk purchasing discounts, however.) In short, the attractive campuses, variety of courses, and smaller classes that sell families on private schools carry a lot of associated costs.

Anonymous wrote:23 year old who just graduated with a BS in Math and Secondary Ed (student taught, obtained a teacher's license.). Working at a Catholic high school in the DMV. $55,000 per year.

We need good teachers. How can this low salary encourage young people to seek out career in education?

Anonymous wrote:23 year old who just graduated with a BS in Math and Secondary Ed (student taught, obtained a teacher's license.). Working at a Catholic high school in the DMV. $55,000 per year.

In that case the salary is justified for the lack of experience (just starting a teaching career)

23 year old who just graduated with a BS in Math and Secondary Ed (student taught, obtained a teacher's license.). Working at a Catholic high school in the DMV. $55,000 per year.

Anonymous wrote:I am fortunate to have a spouse who is the primary earner in our household so I have the option of taking a job that pays less at a private school. I genuinely enjoy the community and freedom I have at my school and I don’t think I’d be able to handle the class sizes, bureaucracy, discipline, etc issues at public. Yes I would make more money but day to day experience would be far less rewarding/enjoyable. I realize I am in a fortunate position because my spouse makes enough money so I don’t need to worry about my paycheck. Agree that it’s frustrating.

+1

I am fortunate to have a spouse who is the primary earner in our household so I have the option of taking a job that pays less at a private school. I genuinely enjoy the community and freedom I have at my school and I don’t think I’d be able to handle the class sizes, bureaucracy, discipline, etc issues at public. Yes I would make more money but day to day experience would be far less rewarding/enjoyable. I realize I am in a fortunate position because my spouse makes enough money so I don’t need to worry about my paycheck. Agree that it’s frustrating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Administration teams often pull in bigger salaries. A lot of money goes toward facilities maintenance—it’s extremely expensive to maintain a campus. Insurance eats up a lot of cash. Things like sports team uniforms, field trips and other experiences that you don’t pay extra for. Some schools provide supplies and/or textbooks. Schools invest money in professional development. Full pay tuition helps offset families on FA. Etc etc.

Agree it’s a shame that teachers are not paid better but teaching at private is a lifestyle choice. They have far more freedom to modify curriculum and run a classroom. They do not have to deal with the same disciplinary issues and too large class sizes as they would in most public schools. Many privates offer a tuition reduction of some sort for faculty children. Teachers might select a certain school because it aligns with their religious beliefs. There are opportunities to coach and earn some extra money (tiny stipends but still) and many opt to work through the summer camps (again not a huge pay, but if they have kids attending they often go for free). Many teachers would tell you, on a good day, that there’s a feeling of being part of a community and something more than just a job. Obviously the benefits and work environment vary from school to school, but there are indeed upsides to teaching at a private school (vs public).

But for STEM, how does this low salary compete for other sector jobs?

It is indeed an issue.

Low salaries for almost any math teacher (public or private) are one of the reasons math instruction all across the US is so poor. Someone who is good at math in the US can get paid a lot more for a non-academic job.

In some other countries there are fewer highly paid non-academic jobs, so not the same opportunity to earn more outside academia as there is here.

This is so odd. Given they charge so much tuition, why can’t they invest ok teachers? Isn’t it the most important resources at the school? Kids really learn better when they have good teachers.

It is odd indeed. School Management get juicy salaries, and also DEI activities are not free. It drain resources from core teaching , and teachers salaries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Administration teams often pull in bigger salaries. A lot of money goes toward facilities maintenance—it’s extremely expensive to maintain a campus. Insurance eats up a lot of cash. Things like sports team uniforms, field trips and other experiences that you don’t pay extra for. Some schools provide supplies and/or textbooks. Schools invest money in professional development. Full pay tuition helps offset families on FA. Etc etc.

Agree it’s a shame that teachers are not paid better but teaching at private is a lifestyle choice. They have far more freedom to modify curriculum and run a classroom. They do not have to deal with the same disciplinary issues and too large class sizes as they would in most public schools. Many privates offer a tuition reduction of some sort for faculty children. Teachers might select a certain school because it aligns with their religious beliefs. There are opportunities to coach and earn some extra money (tiny stipends but still) and many opt to work through the summer camps (again not a huge pay, but if they have kids attending they often go for free). Many teachers would tell you, on a good day, that there’s a feeling of being part of a community and something more than just a job. Obviously the benefits and work environment vary from school to school, but there are indeed upsides to teaching at a private school (vs public).

But for STEM, how does this low salary compete for other sector jobs?

It is indeed an issue.

Low salaries for almost any math teacher (public or private) are one of the reasons math instruction all across the US is so poor. Someone who is good at math in the US can get paid a lot more for a non-academic job.

In some other countries there are fewer highly paid non-academic jobs, so not the same opportunity to earn more outside academia as there is here.

This is so odd. Given they charge so much tuition, why can’t they invest ok teachers? Isn’t it the most important resources at the school? Kids really learn better when they have good teachers.

Anonymous wrote:Could you share your salary and school anonymously? I work at FCPS and am wondering how much local privates are paying their teachers. I’m getting sick of the endless demands at my current job and would love having the more manageable workload of a private school.

My salary went up by 50% when I went from private to MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Administration teams often pull in bigger salaries. A lot of money goes toward facilities maintenance—it’s extremely expensive to maintain a campus. Insurance eats up a lot of cash. Things like sports team uniforms, field trips and other experiences that you don’t pay extra for. Some schools provide supplies and/or textbooks. Schools invest money in professional development. Full pay tuition helps offset families on FA. Etc etc.

Agree it’s a shame that teachers are not paid better but teaching at private is a lifestyle choice. They have far more freedom to modify curriculum and run a classroom. They do not have to deal with the same disciplinary issues and too large class sizes as they would in most public schools. Many privates offer a tuition reduction of some sort for faculty children. Teachers might select a certain school because it aligns with their religious beliefs. There are opportunities to coach and earn some extra money (tiny stipends but still) and many opt to work through the summer camps (again not a huge pay, but if they have kids attending they often go for free). Many teachers would tell you, on a good day, that there’s a feeling of being part of a community and something more than just a job. Obviously the benefits and work environment vary from school to school, but there are indeed upsides to teaching at a private school (vs public).

But for STEM, how does this low salary compete for other sector jobs?

It is indeed an issue.

Low salaries for almost any math teacher (public or private) are one of the reasons math instruction all across the US is so poor. Someone who is good at math in the US can get paid a lot more for a non-academic job.

In some other countries there are fewer highly paid non-academic jobs, so not the same opportunity to earn more outside academia as there is here.

While I 100% support paying teachers in all sectors more, I would never in a million years want to be them or to be an admin in a school. As long as curriculum and college admissions remain strong, I encourage the board to compensate the HoS at privates and other senior officials as much as they deem reasonable. If that includes housing, free tuition for their own children , and other perks, so be it.

Anonymous wrote:Administration teams often pull in bigger salaries. A lot of money goes toward facilities maintenance—it’s extremely expensive to maintain a campus. Insurance eats up a lot of cash. Things like sports team uniforms, field trips and other experiences that you don’t pay extra for. Some schools provide supplies and/or textbooks. Schools invest money in professional development. Full pay tuition helps offset families on FA. Etc etc.

Agree it’s a shame that teachers are not paid better but teaching at private is a lifestyle choice. They have far more freedom to modify curriculum and run a classroom. They do not have to deal with the same disciplinary issues and too large class sizes as they would in most public schools. Many privates offer a tuition reduction of some sort for faculty children. Teachers might select a certain school because it aligns with their religious beliefs. There are opportunities to coach and earn some extra money (tiny stipends but still) and many opt to work through the summer camps (again not a huge pay, but if they have kids attending they often go for free). Many teachers would tell you, on a good day, that there’s a feeling of being part of a community and something more than just a job. Obviously the benefits and work environment vary from school to school, but there are indeed upsides to teaching at a private school (vs public).

Not Sidwell.

Anonymous wrote:Administration teams often pull in bigger salaries. A lot of money goes toward facilities maintenance—it’s extremely expensive to maintain a campus. Insurance eats up a lot of cash. Things like sports team uniforms, field trips and other experiences that you don’t pay extra for. Some schools provide supplies and/or textbooks. Schools invest money in professional development. Full pay tuition helps offset families on FA. Etc etc.

Agree it’s a shame that teachers are not paid better but teaching at private is a lifestyle choice. They have far more freedom to modify curriculum and run a classroom. They do not have to deal with the same disciplinary issues and too large class sizes as they would in most public schools. Many privates offer a tuition reduction of some sort for faculty children. Teachers might select a certain school because it aligns with their religious beliefs. There are opportunities to coach and earn some extra money (tiny stipends but still) and many opt to work through the summer camps (again not a huge pay, but if they have kids attending they often go for free). Many teachers would tell you, on a good day, that there’s a feeling of being part of a community and something more than just a job. Obviously the benefits and work environment vary from school to school, but there are indeed upsides to teaching at a private school (vs public).

It's a luxury that requires being married to a person who has a good job with benefits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize that good benefits are difficult for small organizations to offer, but isn't there some type of cooperative or something that the independent or Catholic schools could form to try to offer their staff better healthcare?

There is a health insurance cooperative through AIMS. Our school is part of it.

I just googled how much salary a English/Math teacher made in Big 3 like GDS and Sidwell. It is shockingly low, like 60K-70K. How can this be when tuition is $55K? Where did the money go? How can they attracts good teacher by paying so little?

My spouse got a big raise and great benefits when they left a Big Three for MCPS. Such a relief.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, paid less or equal to public school teachers? If I was paying 50-60K for tuition, I’d be emailing my HOS and asking where all my money went.

Well, it went to the pockets of the HOS.