I will argue that the pay difference is a direct result of sexism. Elementary schools historically have had more female teachers, and still do. We're often seen to be in more a caregiving role than educators with high school aged students. It's not that the work is in any way easier with younger children. In fact, I could make many good arguments that it's actually more difficult.
I think there is an argument to be made that high school classes are more rigorous, have more assignments that are harder to prepare than workbook sheets, or whatever. I also think we could have a district that had two tiers of pay. Listen, teacher pay is public info. Any d65 teacher can see this and apply at ETHS for a job if they want to. Does every city that consolidates k-12 have same pay rate? I’m more pissed about the gender pay gap in Evanston. That is suss.
I have been an advocate for consolidating the districts now so more than ever. I have never lived in a state where a community has more than one district (I have lived in 6). It's simply not cost effective AND there is less likely to be continuity across curriculum--exactly what is happening in Evanston. CONSOLIDATE. If major airlines can consolidate and merge with dozens of unions then it should be fairly straight between 65 (1400 employees) and 202 (270 certified staff, ? employees). It doesn't have to be done all at once and there actually can be a strategic plan outlining full consolidation done over a period of years.
As far as difference in pay, I think high school teachers should make more and for a variety of reasons. Overall both Evanston school districts pay well in relation to other districts but even that can be negotiated so there is more equity overall.
It's not up to the schools if they want to consolidate, it's up to taxpayers and voters.
All Evanston teachers make very good salaries and have good benefits. I’d argue that the biggest problem is the inconsistency in quality across teachers. For what we pay, all D65 and D202 teachers should be well above average, they should follow the approved curriculum, and they should all communicate often with parents. Anyone who’s had kids in D65 knows that this is not the case. Substandard teachers are never held accountable because it’s easier to let things slide than fight the union. Parents are afraid of being called racist if they complain so nothing changes and mediocre teachers who do the bare minimum stay for decades. I think teacher quality is better at the high school because they are far more selective than D65.
Without much more detailed information, I don’t really see this as a problematic gender gap issue. I generally expect HS teachers to be paid more than elementary school teachers and would expect middle school teachers to be in between (although that does not seem to be the case here). I think the prevalence of women in elementary schools is driven by a general preference of parents for women to teach their young kids; guys understand this and tend to gravitate to teaching older kids where this does not seem an issue. All and all, it seems to me that the median Evanston teacher is pretty well paid for a job that requires far fewer annual hours of work than a typical full time job. Anyways, thank you for the data and the newsletter.
As a recruiter in the k-12 public education space, I am extremely alarmed at the conversation in the comment section and how much general ignorance is being displayed about how teachers are compensated and why.
Moreover, the consolidation of these districts would be a terrible disaster. The fact there is even a petition getting started here to make this happen - makes me actually feel ill.
I will argue that the pay difference is a direct result of sexism. Elementary schools historically have had more female teachers, and still do. We're often seen to be in more a caregiving role than educators with high school aged students. It's not that the work is in any way easier with younger children. In fact, I could make many good arguments that it's actually more difficult.
I think there is an argument to be made that high school classes are more rigorous, have more assignments that are harder to prepare than workbook sheets, or whatever. I also think we could have a district that had two tiers of pay. Listen, teacher pay is public info. Any d65 teacher can see this and apply at ETHS for a job if they want to. Does every city that consolidates k-12 have same pay rate? I’m more pissed about the gender pay gap in Evanston. That is suss.
I have been an advocate for consolidating the districts now so more than ever. I have never lived in a state where a community has more than one district (I have lived in 6). It's simply not cost effective AND there is less likely to be continuity across curriculum--exactly what is happening in Evanston. CONSOLIDATE. If major airlines can consolidate and merge with dozens of unions then it should be fairly straight between 65 (1400 employees) and 202 (270 certified staff, ? employees). It doesn't have to be done all at once and there actually can be a strategic plan outlining full consolidation done over a period of years.
As far as difference in pay, I think high school teachers should make more and for a variety of reasons. Overall both Evanston school districts pay well in relation to other districts but even that can be negotiated so there is more equity overall.
It's not up to the schools if they want to consolidate, it's up to taxpayers and voters.
All Evanston teachers make very good salaries and have good benefits. I’d argue that the biggest problem is the inconsistency in quality across teachers. For what we pay, all D65 and D202 teachers should be well above average, they should follow the approved curriculum, and they should all communicate often with parents. Anyone who’s had kids in D65 knows that this is not the case. Substandard teachers are never held accountable because it’s easier to let things slide than fight the union. Parents are afraid of being called racist if they complain so nothing changes and mediocre teachers who do the bare minimum stay for decades. I think teacher quality is better at the high school because they are far more selective than D65.
Without much more detailed information, I don’t really see this as a problematic gender gap issue. I generally expect HS teachers to be paid more than elementary school teachers and would expect middle school teachers to be in between (although that does not seem to be the case here). I think the prevalence of women in elementary schools is driven by a general preference of parents for women to teach their young kids; guys understand this and tend to gravitate to teaching older kids where this does not seem an issue. All and all, it seems to me that the median Evanston teacher is pretty well paid for a job that requires far fewer annual hours of work than a typical full time job. Anyways, thank you for the data and the newsletter.
As a recruiter in the k-12 public education space, I am extremely alarmed at the conversation in the comment section and how much general ignorance is being displayed about how teachers are compensated and why.
Moreover, the consolidation of these districts would be a terrible disaster. The fact there is even a petition getting started here to make this happen - makes me actually feel ill.