Wow. A private school here

[Aubrey]

is hiring FT teachers for $1700/mo.

 

ETA: And no benefits.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Aubrey

[LaissezFaire]

That is sad.

[MamaJo]

Not unheard of for a private school.

[Jann in TX]

It is not unheard of for FT private school teachers to make less than minimum wage (of course their contract makes it SEEM like more...)

 

When I taught at a private school a few years ago my salary was $1000 per month--August and May were pro-rated and you were not paid for summer months. I DID get the tuition waved for my girls (I had 2 at that time). With the tuition waved it made it sort of 'reasonable'...

 

It is VERY SAD though... many of these private schools hope their teachers don't mind not really getting paid (husbands should be the primary money makers...) and that the teachers should teach because they 'love teaching'... Sometimes you get good teachers--sometimes you don't.

[LizzyBee]

Do the teachers' kids get free tuition? One of the Christian schools around here doesn't pay very well, but teachers' kids attend for free.

[Aubrey]

Not unheard of for a private school.

 

I know. When I was in 8th g, there was a canned food drive for two of our teachers (a married couple). It makes me angry, though. If you can't pay your teachers enough to *eat,* you don't have a school.

 

This couple ended up leaving mid-year, broke & bitter. Their finances were quickly fixed, since the dh had an MA in Engineering (or something like that), but the soft spot in their hearts for ministry, youth, education? Probably permanently hardened by scar tissue.

 

(The principal of the school & the pastor of the church were both very well-paid. This couple had no kids. Can you *imagine* how little they were being paid if they couldn't *eat*?)

[Jean in Newcastle]

If it were an "exclusive" private school then that would be unusual. If it were a small private school, possibly attached to a church, then that wouldn't be unusual at all.

[Aubrey]

It is not unheard of for FT private school teachers to make less than minimum wage (of course their contract makes it SEEM like more...)

 

When I taught at a private school a few years ago my salary was $1000 per month--August and May were pro-rated and you were not paid for summer months. I DID get the tuition waved for my girls (I had 2 at that time). With the tuition waved it made it sort of 'reasonable'...

 

It is VERY SAD though... many of these private schools hope their teachers don't mind not really getting paid (husbands should be the primary money makers...) and that the teachers should teach because they 'love teaching'... Sometimes you get good teachers--sometimes you don't.

 

Yeah, & at our church, they expect the nursery/children's director to work for free. And we wonder why so many kids renounce their faith by the time they're grown. :cursing:

[FO4UR]

Well, that helps me not feel so bad for using my degree to HS.:lol: It's not like the pay is much different.:tongue_smilie:

[Unicorn.]

Over the years, being married to a teacher has made me come to realize that teachers are not supposed to have families. They aren't paid to support them, are expected to spend all their free time working on school stuff, and work several days a year for free.

 

Dh's cousin is a teacher at a private school, and still has to pay half tuition for her dd, which amounts to about $3000 for the year.

[kokotg]

In general, private school salaries are lower than public schools. We've looked into it a bit around here; even at the very expensive, exclusive private schools, the salary is sometimes competitive with public schools, but the poorer benefits make it impossible for us to even consider DH working at one.

[Danestress]

and my father always told me not to because teachers don't get paid enough. It used to make me mad, and I used to think that maybe pay wasn't as important as doing what you are good at. I would have been a good teacher. I am glad I listened to him, though. He knew.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

and my father always told me not to because teachers don't get paid enough. It used to make me mad, and I used to think that maybe pay wasn't as important as doing what you are good at. I would have been a good teacher. I am glad I listened to him, though. He knew.

 

 

Yes, I think that your father was very wise, too. It is possible for people to still do what they love in other ways, it doesn't have to be by primary vocation. Homeschooling your kids, teaching classes elsewhere, etc.

 

It is so SAD that we don't pay the people we really need!! (teachers, police, fire fighters, etc.) :confused:

 

No one should have to choose between 'what they love' and eating/paying bills!

[Aubrey]

Yes, I think that your father was very wise, too. It is possible for people to still do what they love in other ways, it doesn't have to be by primary vocation. Homeschooling your kids, teaching classes elsewhere, etc.

 

It is so SAD that we don't pay the people we really need!! (teachers, police, fire fighters, etc.) :confused:

 

No one should have to choose between 'what they love' and eating/paying bills!

 

That's interesting. Ps teachers made about 40k to start out a few yrs ago (here in Tx). Now they make nearly 50k, to start. That seems pretty decent to me. Police officers around here do a little better than teachers; I don't know about firefighters. Before teaching, I thought police officers should make a LOT more than teachers; then I found out we were dealing w/ the same people, but the police were armed & I wasn't. :lol:

[Renee in NC]

That's interesting. Ps teachers made about 40k to start out a few yrs ago (here in Tx). Now they make nearly 50k, to start. That seems pretty decent to me. Police officers around here do a little better than teachers; I don't know about firefighters. Before teaching, I thought police officers should make a LOT more than teachers; then I found out we were dealing w/ the same people, but the police were armed & I wasn't. :lol:

 

In NC, the base salary for a new teacher is $30K per year. Local supplements add anywhere from $200 to $6200 a YEAR. Nowhere near the numbers you are quoting.

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

The average salary of a teacher in Florida is roughly $42,000 with 14 years experience. So starting salaries would be a lot lower, of course.

[Renee in NC]

The average salary of a teacher in Florida is roughly $42,000 with 14 years experience. So starting salaries would be a lot lower, of course.

 

I just checked and the lowest salary in my county for a teacher with a Bachelor's is $34K (the average is $38K.)

 

Florida doesn't set the salaries - each school district does. The lowest I saw for minimum was $28K and the highest was $38K. The averages were $32K to $52K.

 

So, if you want to teach, go to Texas!:D

 

ETA: Starting police officers make $32-35K from what I have seen in my local area.

[Dmmetler]

Uh, where in TX? It was about 20-29K, depending on districts, when I graduated from TTU in 1995, and that was with a master's. The highest districts were also high cost of living areas, so while it might have been better to teach there financially, you probably couldn't afford to live there on that salary.

 

DH and I started at similar salaries when we began working-me in teaching, him in software engineering (both about 35K). But after 8 years, when I "retired" to stay home with DD, I'd made it all the way to 39K, and he was at 90K, plus bonuses and much better benefits.

[Aubrey]

Uh, where in TX? It was about 20-29K, depending on districts, when I graduated from TTU in 1995, and that was with a master's. The highest districts were also high cost of living areas, so while it might have been better to teach there financially, you probably couldn't afford to live there on that salary.

 

DH and I started at similar salaries when we began working-me in teaching, him in software engineering (both about 35K). But after 8 years, when I "retired" to stay home with DD, I'd made it all the way to 39K, and he was at 90K, plus bonuses and much better benefits.

 

I finished my MA in 2004, so 10yrs *should* make a pretty big difference. The places I've looked in DFW have all been between 40 & 50 for 0-1yrs exp in the last 5yrs. Better school districts pay less because they're easier to work for. Worse ones don't always pay more, though, lol. I did apply in a small country town that only paid 30-something, but the cost of living was much lower, too.

 

Tx has a min salary for teachers, which is pretty low. Last I checked, it was in the 20s. Individual school districts decide how much more (if any) they will pay.

 

The benefits do stink, the hours are awful, the level of respect is often zilch, from admin to parents to kids. Actually, I got the most respect from my students, & their response was to ask me why on earth I was teaching. :lol:

[duckens]

If it were an "exclusive" private school then that would be unusual.

Actually, whether the private school is "exclusive" or not does not reflect good pay for teachers or even if the school is above water.

 

Before dd, I was trying to finish my bachelor's degree...which meant taking the second semester of physics (the hard one!)

 

Matt was one of the grad students that semester. He was BRILLIANT at understanding and explaining the physics concepts to us....even quantum physics!

 

Matt had previously taught at a snooty private school. When he was hired, he couldn't be hired for public school because he didn't have an education degree. I think he did have a Master's when he taught. So he taught at a private school.

 

When spring arrived the first year Matt taught at the private school, one parent was unhappy with his child's grade in physics. Matt explained that the child was capable of doing the work, but had not applied himself. The administration (school president) backed Matt in this fight. Matt's assigned grades stood.

 

The second year, something similar happened.....but this time, the parent was someone to be reckoned with: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

As it turns out, the school worked in the red, and this parent would write a check to keep the school going every year. Yes, EVERY YEAR.

 

How much would you pay to support a private school so it didn't go under????

 

$250,000.

 

EVERY YEAR.

 

Matt was not allowed to teach physics anymore. He finished the year because his algebra students were doing well, and he didn't want to abandon them. He would also come into work early every day to go over the daily physics lesson with his REPLACEMENT.

 

Spinoff rant: Whenever my father brings up that the entire public school system should be privatized, I shudder. It was hard enough to compete with more privileged kids at school. To never have the best grade because of a parent's $$$ would be heartbreaking for a hardworking child/teen. :cursing:

[greensummervillian]

$250,000.

 

EVERY YEAR.

 

:001_huh:

[greensummervillian]

My stepdaughter graduated from her small private school with the grades to deserve valedictorian. She traveled 45 minutes each way to get to the school where he grandfather taught, so she didn't live in the town with everyone else. They ended up giving her the position of salutatorian because valedictorian could only go to someone who lives in town. ??? Her grandfather was so mad about what he said really amounted to money and politics that he quit working there, and he had been at this school more than 20 years.

[Mejane]

That's ridiculous. My niece just got a job at a NY public school. She'll earn $50,000/year right out of college.

[kalanamak]

If it were an "exclusive" private school then that would be unusual. If it were a small private school, possibly attached to a church, then that wouldn't be unusual at all.

 

:iagree:I know someone who feels she is "called" to teach, but cannot bear the idea of a school not in her particular sect. If she couldn't find a job, she would work for free. I also know a woman who works for very little at a religious school to get the benefits while hubby does free-lance skilled labor without any bennies. I think her kids might attend free/discounted, too.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I checked on this tonight. Public school salaries in our school district range from $38k - 71k depending on experience. The exclusive private school that I used to teach at has salaries that are a couple of thousand dollars a year lower but according to my friend who still works there, their benefits package is better than at the public school, so it ends up being comparable.