For all the private school teachers who have posted here, have you also taught in a high performing public in an affluent area? I am just curious if you are basing your opinions about public schools on perception or experience.

I taught at both private and public, before I went back to school to go into a different field. As others have said, it was a warmer, more supportive, family-like community in the private school. I was only a couple years out of college, living several hundred miles away from where I grew up, and my colleagues were like family to me. I left teaching six years ago and I am still in touch with many of them.

In terms of instruction, the private school was fantastic in that I had so much more autonomy and the opportunity to be so much more creative than in the public school. There was still oversight, of course, but no one was checking up on me emphasizing stupid details like they did in public school (did my lesson plans follow the right format, did I write the "objective" on the board and have the students read it, did I have appropriate rubrics for each assignment, did I change my bulletin boards frequently enough, etc., etc., etc.). If I had a new idea of how to do something, of course I ran it by my team to make sure it was ok, but I was allowed to be very creative and the administration was very flexible. I loved my private school and some days I really wish I hadn't left.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we make less. But I continue to teach in privates because of the strong community, small class size, supportive families, etc.

And how does this compare to a top small public school in a wealthy neighborhood?

Not as strong a sense of community, but it's still good. Class sizes are still significantly larger, usually double, but the families are as supportive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes to most all the above poster wrote. There are schools that do cap out salaries, though at least they cap at a higher point than they used to. Also, contributions to health care costs for teachers, and other employees, can be quite limited. Small schools also can't negotiate the better plans like larger institutions or school systems. Wish they'd negotiate as a block with insurance providers. Might have heard that's being explored.

Negotiating as a bloc would make better business sense. I hope that's something they can arrange through the various private school associations.

So, private school teachers, what can parents do to make your lives easier and your salaries higher, aside from ensuring our snowflakes are reasonably well-behaved and interested in learning?

Thanks for asking. The biggest strain on teachers in my view is parents with unreasonable expectations who try to pull rank with the HOS or the Board when their DC isn't doing well in school and they don't want to face that "its not the teacher".

That kinda thing makes good teachers want work somewhere else.

Also, don't "drop in" and expect a walk in instant conference. View it the same as you would a client showing up unannounced at your law firm, walking past your secretary into your office, sitting down and beginning to talk to you while you were working on a brief.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we make less. But I continue to teach in privates because of the strong community, small class size, supportive families, etc.

And how does this compare to a top small public school in a wealthy neighborhood?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes to most all the above poster wrote. There are schools that do cap out salaries, though at least they cap at a higher point than they used to. Also, contributions to health care costs for teachers, and other employees, can be quite limited. Small schools also can't negotiate the better plans like larger institutions or school systems. Wish they'd negotiate as a block with insurance providers. Might have heard that's being explored.

Negotiating as a bloc would make better business sense. I hope that's something they can arrange through the various private school associations.

So, private school teachers, what can parents do to make your lives easier and your salaries higher, aside from ensuring our snowflakes are reasonably well-behaved and interested in learning?

Thanks for asking. The biggest strain on teachers in my view is parents with unreasonable expectations who try to pull rank with the HOS or the Board when their DC isn't doing well in school and they don't want to face that "its not the teacher".

That kinda thing makes good teachers want work somewhere else.

Also, don't "drop in" and expect a walk in instant conference. View it the same as you would a client showing up unannounced at your law firm, walking past your secretary into your office, sitting down and beginning to talk to you while you were working on a brief.

Thanks, PP. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to have parents pull rank. And, of course, expectations for an instant conference are rather rude.

More thoughts and suggestions from private school teachers on how parents can make their lives easier? Can parents have any impact on salaries? Does it help with salary increases/promotions if we write letters to HOS expressing our observations and appreciation for specific things the teachers do? Do our fund-raising efforts make any difference in teacher salaries?

I almost wonder whether this should be a separate thread. I'm sure parents would be very interested in hearing. After all, teachers MAKE the schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other upside is SMALLER CLASSES. I teach English in MCPS and have 28-29 kids in all of my classes. Imagine spending time grading a class set of essays for 10-15 kids versus nearly 30.

However, I know that when you work at a private school, it is generally the expectation that you pick up other responsibilities, like coaching a team, advising a club, etc.

Yes, but--in my experience at one of the schools mentioned above--there is MUCH less admin than in a public school, so teachers have some extra time to work directly with students instead of dealing with admin crap. And they get paid for coaching (don't know about club advising).

OP, I think it is is standard that privates, even the top privates, pay less than public. But the teachers are MUCH happier!

YES! And this translates to happy kids who enjoy school and develop a love of learning.

Yes, we make less. But I continue to teach in privates because of the strong community, small class size, supportive families, etc.

Anonymous wrote:They also generally receive either free or heavily discounted tuition for their kid(s), which can more than make up for the difference in salary.

Unfortunately this is less and less true.

Doesn't MC offer a decent pension too.....

This was discussed before... http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/206017.page

Anonymous wrote:No, it is not worth the lower salary.

-Private school teacher

Seems like a troll. If it is not, in all honesty please either get certified so you can get more money, or change careers, as a discontented person should not be working teaching kids.

Parents, know that this is a minority view (if not fake altogether). Working with bright, engaged kids in small class settings is a wonderful way to spend one's working day and I am grateful every day for the opportunity.

No, it is not worth the lower salary.

-Private school teacher

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes to most all the above poster wrote. There are schools that do cap out salaries, though at least they cap at a higher point than they used to. Also, contributions to health care costs for teachers, and other employees, can be quite limited. Small schools also can't negotiate the better plans like larger institutions or school systems. Wish they'd negotiate as a block with insurance providers. Might have heard that's being explored.

Negotiating as a bloc would make better business sense. I hope that's something they can arrange through the various private school associations.

So, private school teachers, what can parents do to make your lives easier and your salaries higher, aside from ensuring our snowflakes are reasonably well-behaved and interested in learning?

Thanks for asking. The biggest strain on teachers in my view is parents with unreasonable expectations who try to pull rank with the HOS or the Board when their DC isn't doing well in school and they don't want to face that "its not the teacher".

That kinda thing makes good teachers want work somewhere else.

Also, don't "drop in" and expect a walk in instant conference. View it the same as you would a client showing up unannounced at your law firm, walking past your secretary into your office, sitting down and beginning to talk to you while you were working on a brief.

If you want to know where your tuition dollars go, look at your school's annual report. You will likely see that most income (tuition and annual fund, because usually tuition alone does not cover operating costs) goes to paying for quality teachers. Smaller classes = more teachers per student.

Anonymous wrote:Yes to most all the above poster wrote. There are schools that do cap out salaries, though at least they cap at a higher point than they used to. Also, contributions to health care costs for teachers, and other employees, can be quite limited. Small schools also can't negotiate the better plans like larger institutions or school systems. Wish they'd negotiate as a block with insurance providers. Might have heard that's being explored.

Negotiating as a bloc would make better business sense. I hope that's something they can arrange through the various private school associations.

So, private school teachers, what can parents do to make your lives easier and your salaries higher, aside from ensuring our snowflakes are reasonably well-behaved and interested in learning?