[wideawake]

A big difference is that most Catholic school teachers are either young women fresh out of college who want to work for a few years before becoming homemakers, women who have gone back to teaching now that their children are school age (often teaching in the same school that their children attend) or homemakers whose children are now grown and who want to make a supplementary income.

Usually there is a husband who is the primary breadwinner.

By contrast, many public school teachers are resolutely single men and women in their thirties who want a guaranteed job for life without putting in too many hours. They are heavily unionized and extremely overpaid.

This may not apply to public school teachers in the American heartland - but it certainly applies to NYC teachers.

[Textide]

A big difference is that most Catholic school teachers are either young women fresh out of college who want to work for a few years before becoming homemakers, women who have gone back to teaching now that their children are school age (often teaching in the same school that their children attend) or homemakers whose children are now grown and who want to make a supplementary income.

Don't forget the nuns! My second grade teacher, a nun, was quick with a ruler on the back of one's hand. She also had the superhuman ability to twist an apple in half with her bare hands. Great woman!

[Straight Vermonter]

My child will be attending a Catholic High School next year. The teachers there do not fit the mold you have presented. As a matter of fact the majority of teachers there have advanced degrees in the subjects they teach, the teacher retention rate is >90%, and the average teacher has been ther 13 years. According to the schools recruitment materials their teachers make about 80% of what a similar public school teacher would make. They choose to accept the difference in salary because the students are there to learn and the job is more fun and rewarding.

My local high school spends $10,500 per student. I will have to spend $6,300 of my own money so that my child can attend this school. This despite living in the town with the highest property taxes in the state.

[ninenot]

In Milwaukee area, teachers earn (after about 5 years) in the upper $30's/low $40's.

What makes the compensation worthwhile is that health insurance is 100% paid and there is almost no deductible/copay required. In addition, the school districts contribute 12% of the teacher's gross income to a pension plan.

And, of course, there's the 6-months vacation/holiday time.