Lower pay, no degrees, lots of ponds
At wealthy Prairie Crossing, charter school they pay teachers 10% less. Here's why:School Director Myron Dagley said he tries to peg an incoming teacher's salary at about 90 percent of the pay at schools feeding the charter. He relies on the school's unique environmental mission and small class sizes to help with recruitment. "(Teachers) have a lot of academic freedom implementing our curriculum," Dagley said. "We have a 2.4-acre campus. There are a large number of ponds, hiking trails, paths and prairie restoration areas. Our students, and teachers, have the benefit of accessing all those common areas." Another factor in its relatively low average pay is that most of the school's 25 educators are young and do not have advanced degrees. (Chicago Tribune)
At wealthy Prairie Crossing, charter school they pay teachers 10% less. Here's why:
PCCS also pays %100 of TRS for teachers while the surrounding districts do not. So the teachers take home pay is equal to teacehrs of surrounding districts. They also do not have to pay union dues. I taught at PCCS and found it to be a wonderful environment for teachers. I did not go into education for the pay and have never taken a job becuase of the pay, you must be happy where you teach.
ReplyDeleteAnon sounds like the prototype teacher for charter schools. Just like the Tribune article described. Sure, you should be happy where you teach, including in urban public schools. Of course, we would all like to have hiking trails and ponds outside our inner-city schools. And of course none of us went into teaching to get rich. But I wonder why having no union protection makes Anon so happy? And if Anon is so blissed out by PCCS, why did he or she leave?
ReplyDeleteIn a weird way, it's like the third-worldization of our schools, with charter school teachers competing with public school teachers and offering their services at a cheaper rate, leaving more money on the table for the operators. The operators love it when they hear, "I don't teach for the money, or "at least I don't have to pay union dues."
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