How do schools and school districts determine teacher's pay?

Question

In K - 12th Grades does what you teach matter in what your pay is? Should the subject matter make a difference in teacher pay? Should a Language teacher make more than a History teacher, or an eighth grade teacher make more than a 1st grade teacher when both have the same education level, the same number of years teaching and are both execelent teachers. If subject matter and/or grade level counts, what are the arguments used to rate each subject and each grade level? What arguments are there against different pay levels based only on the subject matter and-or grade level?

Answer 1

its a union job. schools majority of the time dont determine... the teachers union does by degree and what classes the teachers have taken to further THEIR education.

Answer 2

I'm an education student at the university of Lethbridge Alberta, and in regards to Alberta's guidelines, the above answers are true.

Teachers unions are the biggest part, the school board the school resides in is the second biggest, and the rest falls on the amount of years completed in post secondary education, the position the teacher holds, and the numbers of years in a teaching experience.

for more information download a teachers bargaining agreement from the school board you are interested in and you will see their grid of years taught and years in study.

in Ontario and Alberta most* schools begin a teacher at 36,000-38,000 for a 1.0 position in a full time regular classroom, if you are a special needs teacher, or a teacher who is the head of a department, you earn a higher amount as you are in a new grid tier.

*most - referring to the schools i have researched in the public and catholic elementary sectors of both city and rural. Not a stats canada legal figure, check each school board for more information.

Answer 3

My wife is a teacher. Their pay is negotiated through the teacher's union and the municipality they work for. It has nothing to do with what subject they teach or what grade level. The overriding determining factor is years of service & the teacher's education. They get more money if they have a masters degree.