Saturday, September 24, 2011

Teachers and Professional Development Classes

In Los Angeles, teachers receive a pay increase averaging $800 per year for their first nine years on the job. At that point, the only way for them to earn more money is by taking salary-point classes. So an unambitious teacher—call him “Laid-back Louie”—whose beginning salary is $45,637, and who takes no extra classes, would be making $52,406 beginning in year ten. That will be his annual salary from that point on, no matter how long he teaches. But if a more enterprising teacher—call her “Aggressive Annie”—takes the maximum allowable salary-point classes, but couldn’t be bothered with obtaining a master’s degree, she would make $72,592 starting in her tenth year—just over $20,000 more per year than her laid-back counterpart—simply for taking these courses, regardless of her in-classroom performance. She may or may not be a better teacher than Louie. Additionally, because Annie has taken all of the allowable classes, she is entitled to various other “bonuses” the longer she teaches.

Read the rest of the City Journal article by Larry Sands
here.

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