Reply #77: Catholic teacher pay is higher, which isn't saying much.

[knitter4democracy]

One Baptist school I interviewed at offered me $15K gross per year, the other one $12,600. Both only offered half medical and no other insurance coverage.

The Catholic schools I taught in had basic insurance (that refused to cover contraception or for anything that compromised my fertility, even to save my life), and my starting salary was $18,600 gross per year. I didn't break $20K until my third year of teaching.

Oh, and they stopped paying us over the summer my second year, too. I had to teach summer school and camp all summer just to pay the bills.

At the Catholic schools in Cleveland, though, everyone has to be certified or on track to be certified (through a local program) if the school wants to be accredited. They didn't mess around with unqualified teachers--I taught with some of the best in the state, and I count it an honor to have known them.