Three Salary Ideas Worth Exploring

The “salary chart” based on years of experience virtually guarantees we underpay our best teachers and overpay others. We can’t afford to do either.

So here are three ideas worth exploring:

—Broad salary bands—Create “benchmarks” based on years of experience, but leave a lot of flexibility on either side of that benchmark. So for example, the benchmark for a starting teacher might be 50k, plus or minus 5k, whereas the five year benchmark might be 55k, +/- 5k, the ten year mark 60, +/- 5k, up to the 20 year mark of 70k.

The scale depends on the market and the school’s resources. But I believe we should make it as wide as possible, starting with the lowest salary necessary to secure a young teacher and the highest possible on the back end. When young people join us, they can afford the low wages. But after marriage and kids, our salaries don’t keep pace with their exploding expenses. We lose a lot of talented teachers in their late 20’s, right when they’re hitting their stride!

The wider our scale, the faster we can accelerate salaries. It’s a mistake to raise salaries by focusing on the entry salary, pushing everything up from there. Rather, we should focus on widening step increases.

—Teachers as “Partners”—In law firms, new lawyers are “associates” who receive annual salaries. But after 8 years or so (it varies by firm), if chosen, they can become “partners” (owners, really) who share in the company profits. At year end, the firm distributes its revenue over expense to the partners depending on their “share.” Junior partners own a tinier portion of the firm than senior partners. If they are not chosen to become partners within a certain window, they leave.

How might this work in our schools? Full disclaimer: I’ve never done this. But what if our Council designated a certain number—let’s say, 30K– that if our school had a good year, with revenues exceeding expense by 30k or more, we would “revenue share” that 30k with our “partner” teachers, in addition to their salaries? We would have to set up some rigorous requirements for becoming “partners,” just as law firms do. But it would be a way to incentivize and reward long time teachers.

—More intermediate leadership positions-We typically only have two “levels” of leadership: assistant principals and principals. We may have talented teachers whom we’d like to pay more, but don’t have “positions” that justify the bumps they need for us to do so.

For large schools with multiple classrooms per grade, I like the idea of “lead teachers” for each grade, with extra curricular responsibilities.

I’ve known many small schools, led by beleaguered principals in need of admin help, but without the means to hire an AP. I’ve recommended they segment as K-2, 3-5, 6-8 “units” and then appoint a teacher as “unit leader” for each. They can then give these teachers a substantial bump in salaries for their additional responsibilities.

My Pre-Prom Letter to Parents

How do we communicate what we know as principal to parents about what teens are doing during their watch without intruding upon their rightful sovereignty, or coming off as paternalistic or preachy? It isn’t easy. What I’ve done is share stories of how other parents in my career have handled similar situations, using both good and bad examples. Here’s a letter I’ve sent to parents about after-Prom parties as an example.

Dear senior parents,

The school prom is a just three Saturdays away—on April 13. The official prom hours are between 7-11 p.m. It’s likely that many students will leave prior to 11, but even if they stay, the million dollar question will be: What will they do next? 

I do not presume to tell you how to handle your children that evening—in my view, that’s a parent’s decision. But part of my job as principal is to be a repository of information,  sharing with you what parents have done in the past. So let me me share three approaches parents have taken: 

The “default”—Kids were on their own. Some students “camped out”  all night on someone’s property, with dates sharing tents. Others rented hotel rooms. Some kids were home by a certain time as their parents instructed. 

The “good”—Three or four families organized a series of progressive “after-parties.” Recognizing their homes could not hold 100 kids at a time, they divided things up, and organized the night in two stages: with 3 “stage one” parties at their homes from 12-1:30, and then a “stage 2” big breakfast from 2–3 a.m. in the school cafeteria for everyone. The parents knew their kids should be home by 3:30. The “pact” the parents made with each other was there would be no drinking allowed at any of these venues. The parents invited everyone in the class so that no seniors were left out. 

The “bad”— Years ago in a previous school, a parent thought it would be OK to host a “small party” for 20 of their child’s “closest friends” at barn on their property, allowing them to drink if they turned in their car keys. But word got out around town, students began arriving from other schools, and soon there were 100+ kids, most of whom the parents didn’t know. Alcohol flowed freely. Propriety and confidentiality prevent me from becoming too specific about all that happened, but crimes were committed, arrests were made, things were posted on social media, parents from our school and other schools were outraged, and I was besieged with angry letters and phone calls. I spent the entire next week dealing with police, calling parents from other schools, and suspending students, with one expulsion.  It was a calamity. 

Please know we are here to support you. I am happy to offer the school cafeteria if three or four families want to host an after prom event. Give me a call to set something up. May God bless you these next few months—graduation is almost here! 

Onward and upward,

Faustin

The Crazy Life We Expect of our Student-Athletes—How High Schools Can Help Them Balance

At 6 a.m. every weekday, the lights to the nearby high school stadium turn on so that basketball players can begin their weightlifting and conditioning. Inquiring, I learned that access to the gym is too precious to waste time on conditioning—there they must run plays and hone their shooting and passing skills.  So on a typical day, a player wakes up at 5 a.m., conditions and weight-trains from 6-7:30, showers up, eats breakfast, attends school from 8:30 to 3:30, goes to practice from 4-6 p.m, comes home, showers, eats, does homework from 7:30 p.m to 9 or 10, then goes to sleep in time to be rested enough for the 5 am —9:30 p.m. gauntlet the next day. 

That’s the “new normal” for high school athletes in big time athletic programs. And on one level, it’s a beautiful, disciplined life for a kid, which keeps him out or her out of trouble. And look, I think there is tremendous value to high school athletics! Students learn to delay gratification, sacrifice for the good of the team, put themselves second, win and lose with grace, and build virtue in so doing. As my football coach in a former school once quipped: “My most important ‘trophies’ are letters from former players, thanking me for their experience, the memories they have, the brotherhood they formed with teammates, the values they learned that made them better husbands, fathers, and employees.” Summarizing, he said. “It’s a lot more important than football.” 

I agree with that!

But on another level, expecting this much from high school kids is greatly worrisome to me, for it demands such allegiance and sacrifice that kids have very little time for anything else.  

I want our student athletes to be competitive. I want our coaches to feel like they have the means to build programs that can win state championships. But I also want our schools to help our kids live balanced lives, where they can branch out into other areas, such as music, or student government, or service clubs, or participate in religious initiatives. I want them to have room in their schedules to take classes that are demanding if they are capable, without ramping down because of their athletic commitments.  I believe students flourish when they are encouraged to become “Renaissance” young men and women, active in many things, the more different, the better.

But am I just adding to their stress by asking them to juggle even more? Possibly! But here’s how I tried to help things stay balanced when I was a high school principal:

1. First, an 8-period schedule was essential. This gave athletes a chance to take weight-lifting and conditioning during the school day as part of their normal schedule. They met in multiple periods. Our coaches would have preferred having them all at once in an “Athletic P.E.,”  but the schedule wouldn’t allow it. However, they realized they could be more efficient rotating through weights —less standing around—with smaller classes.
2. Because of this extra period, I would not allow pre-school practices. Sleep matters, especially over time!
3. I would not allow Sunday practices for any reason. We “Kept holy the Sabbath” which allowed everyone, including our families, a chance to recharge.
4. All students were required to take two years of the Arts. Most of our athletes were in choir—some opted for a third and fourth year because they enjoyed it. Some even took band (see pic). This requirement helped bring some healthy variety to their lives.
5. We built “club time” into our weekly schedule, 25 minutes every Thursday, so that participation in other clubs was possible for our athletes and others with after school commitments.
6. Tutorials for classes were everyday after school, Monday through Thursday, 3:15-3:45. The teachers went from 7:30-4 p.m.  No practices could begin until 4 p.m. so that student-athletes could attend them. No tutorials on Fridays. 
7. The school day was a bit longer to fit everything in: 7:45 to 3:10 M—Th and  7:45-2:45 on Fridays.  Everyone, including teachers,  could leave 30 minutes earlier on Friday.  It felt like a “bonus” each week!
8. For students taking three or more A.P. classes in their senior year,  I assigned them one period a day, no more than two students at a time, to another teacher, where they could work quietly in the back of the class, while the teacher taught other students. This “study period” incentivized A.P. enrollments, gave our kids extra  time for homework, and didn’t cost us another teaching unit to host a study hall. (It also helped me create a working master schedule, as these periods could land anywhere on a student’s schedule, which helped since seniors taking A.P, classes had so many singletons in their schedule.)

These practices helped our student-athletes live less crazy lives. I’m including our bell schedule to show how it all fit together. Was it perfect? No! But it helped.