Anonymous wrote:So all this is telling me why MCPS has stagnant overwhelmed mediocre teachers. They stay for benefits and slightly better pay instead of being happy and thriving.

OR...they are qualified for the higher paying job.

Don't you think that a significantly better package and higher salary is going to attract a higher quality of candidate? There is less competition for the poorly paid, no-pension jobs, so they really can't afford to be as selective.

Anonymous wrote:So all this is telling me why MCPS has stagnant overwhelmed mediocre teachers. They stay for benefits and slightly better pay instead of being happy and thriving.

I stay so I can pay my bills and so my kids and I can eat. Silly us!

Anonymous wrote:So all this is telling me why MCPS has stagnant overwhelmed mediocre teachers. They stay for benefits and slightly better pay instead of being happy and thriving.

This is absolutely correct. I am not stagnant -- except when MCPS ties my hands and I am forced to be--and I am passionate about what I do, to the point that I think I will give up the benefits etc. for a chance at professional happiness. I want to leave before it's too late and I lose my love for teaching. Btw, parents--it doesn't have to be this way. Lobby MCPS to prioritize talent retention by giving teachers more autonomy when they have a proven track record, and by encouraging personal growth and meaningful professional development, as opposed to rote internal trainings. The system needs true leadership.

There is another important factor to consider if you are contemplating moving from public to private. I know of only one private school in the DC area that has a teacher's union. I have heard of private schools where teachers with many years of experience are let go to make way for younger, less experienced, and less expensive teachers. With no job security, you could find yourself after awhile without a job and with too many years of teaching experience to get hired at another school with a reasonable pay scale, either public or private.

As to the pay differential, I worked for awhile at one of the bigger, wealthier, well-known private schools in the DC area. About 5-6 years ago, a teacher with 20 - 25 years' experience at that school would make about $70K. Starting pay was around $45K. It is my impression that private school teachers are generally making at least $15K less (sometimes more than $20K less) than public school teachers with the same years of experience.

I know teachers at other less prestigious private schools in the area who are only making in the $30 - $40K range even with decades of experience. Some of those smaller private schools offer no benefits at all. And some of those small private schools still have oodles of paperwork and bureaucratic oversight.

One more thing to bear in mind: you'll find a wide range of abilities and behaviors in any classroom, public or private. A small class size does not always mean that a class will be easier to manage.

So all this is telling me why MCPS has stagnant overwhelmed mediocre teachers. They stay for benefits and slightly better pay instead of being happy and thriving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah, I need the money.

Me too. I can barely live on my public school salary.

Me too. Plus the pension is a huge benefit the more years you put in. Not worth it for me to leave with all the years I have already invested.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha! If you think you've got bureaucracy now, just wait till you get yourself into a private where everything is accountable.

Quite the contrary.

+1

Do all privates pay less?

Anonymous wrote:Nah, I need the money.

Me too. I can barely live on my public school salary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a private and am planning on going the other way once I get my certification. It's very odd to me that parents pay this much money for teachers who are often much less qualified. It's not that there's anything wrong with hiring a recent grad English major who can also coach lacrosse, but I think it's more valuable to have had formal training.

+1 I used to teach at a private school in the area, and I have posted similar observations on DCUM: it amazes me that many parents will argue that it is different at THEIR private, and that there are not underpaid, less experienced, less qualified teachers at THEIR private.

Maybe they're saying that because so many of the teachers at the private school actually did come from MCPS (or the equivalent public school system)! I know that's the case at our school.

But why would their choice to leave public indicate greater qualification?

For what it's worth, I still teach in an independent school, just not anywhere near DC. I enjoy the atmosphere of a private school, but I don't think my colleagues are more qualified than those of public. I do know that many privates hire a LOT of inexperienced, non-certified teachers because the salaries are so abysmally low compared to public, and most parents simply don't realize how little the teachers at their very expensive privates are paid. There are just as many teachers with degrees from top universities working in public, but they are also certified/have completed a program with practicum (that's the "student teaching" semester, in which a new teacher receives extensive feedback,mentoring/support, and observation by an experienced teacher in the classroom; if the new teacher hasn't done this, their practicum/student teaching period is essentially going to be their first year in the classroom--usually alone--in a private, and bad practice habits/skills may go unnoticed by the teacher/admin for a lot longer than would have happened in a practicum experience).

Anonymous wrote:Ha! If you think you've got bureaucracy now, just wait till you get yourself into a private where everything is accountable.

Accountable to who? My private school job gives me way more freedom, and way less paperwork! The result is much more reasonable hours.

-- Private school teacher who left public 2 years ago.

No. I came from a Big Three and would never go back - terrible benefits, low pay. No tuition remission.

No way.

OP here. Had one of my worst days professionally today. A big setback on something I had worked on tirelessly, and that MCPS changed course on, as they are known to do frequently. I don't think they really cared that my work would benefit kids or that I went far beyond the typical to make it happen. Totally unapologetic. I wish I knew what I would earn in a private and get in terms of insurance. Let me rephrase the question a bit--what would you do if money was not the driving factor, ie you could use your spouse's insurance and the financial differential wasn't that big? Would you still stay in MCPS? And as a related question, have any MCPS teachers experienced what I am talking about? Anyone do anything about it?

I teach in MCPS for the stability. I have a doctorate in my field, and I used to assume that I'd earn more in a private institution given my credentials. Nope- salaries were always substantially less when I applied.

I'm sure I'd love the smaller classes, but I wouldn't enjoy many of the drawbacks that PPs have mentioned.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at a private and am planning on going the other way once I get my certification. It's very odd to me that parents pay this much money for teachers who are often much less qualified. It's not that there's anything wrong with hiring a recent grad English major who can also coach lacrosse, but I think it's more valuable to have had formal training.

+1 I used to teach at a private school in the area, and I have posted similar observations on DCUM: it amazes me that many parents will argue that it is different at THEIR private, and that there are not underpaid, less experienced, less qualified teachers at THEIR private.

Maybe they're saying that because so many of the teachers at the private school actually did come from MCPS (or the equivalent public school system)! I know that's the case at our school.