How Much Does a Primary School Teacher Earn?

Hands up if you know how much a primary school teachers earns!

In order to deliver a lesson inside the classroom, teachers must prepare lesson plans, visual aids, and other materials beforehand. Having to deal with difficult personalities, slow learners, and hard-headed students is all part of this demanding yet rewarding career.

As part of their preparation and how they will teach, they must also submit various paperwork in a timely manner. It is common for them to play various roles, such as acting as parents in the classroom, advisors, nurses, and sometimes even performing utility work, especially in public schools.

Teachers continue to impart knowledge and believe that someday their learners will be professionals or land decent jobs like them if they remain committed and passionate.

According to the NEA or National Education Association, a primary school teacher’s average annual salary in the US is $60,477 for the School Year 2017-2018 which is the same average salary as an event planner or a personal trainer.

This article is all about primary school teachers including their minimum salary in the US.

What is a Primary School Teacher?

In basic education, primary school teachers play a crucial role in the development of the mental, numerical, physical, social, and other aspects of their learners who normally age 5 to 11.

They are the ones who are teaching children in enhancing writing, reading, problem solving, and learning skills. A teacher at this level or an elementary teacher must possess all the teaching and experience required, be a role model, and possess all the qualities necessary, especially in terms of having patience with children and knowing the different learning skills, behaviours, and personalities of their learners.

How to Become a Primary School Teacher?

To become a primary school teacher, you must have the mind and the heart for this noble profession. If you are brilliant enough and have all the knowledge in teaching basic subjects to your learners but you don’t have the heart or the attitude and character needed, you might end up losing or quitting this tiring job.

To be qualified, you need to have a bachelor’s degree in Elementary or Primary Education as it is the basic requirement to teach at the elementary level. Some US state requires a teacher to have a master’s degree in Education wherein they receive a higher salary compared with entry-level teachers. Some countries even required teachers to pass national board examinations to practice their profession and be employed in public schools funded by the government.

Recruitment Process of Primary School Teacher

To deliver quality teaching to students, schools in every state must ensure that they hired the right and best teachers. It’s also the same with other countries, applicants need to pass all the documents and certificates needed as well as their teaching portfolio if applicable. If they are given the chance, they will undergo interviews and pass written examinations to advance to the next level.

Next, they will be rated or given points for demonstration teaching with the given lesson or topic to test if they have the knowledge and skills needed for teaching. After they pass the recruitment process, final interviews will be conducted by the school heads or principals.

If they pass all those levels, the hiring or recruitment team will check all documents and applicants will be ranked according to the points they accumulate from the very beginning. If they rank on top, they have a higher chance of getting employed immediately.

Primary School Teacher Salary

According to the NEA or National Education Association, a teacher’s average annual salary in the US is $60,477 for the School Year 2017-2018 which is the same average salary as an event planner or a personal trainer.

Conversely, almost 63% of US school districts pay their teachers less than $40,000, and almost 300 districts pay teachers less than $30,000. According to the latest report from Economic Policy Institute, US teachers are getting paid 21.4% less similar to those experienced and educated professionals.

Based on the ranks of teachers’ salaries in all countries, the United States consistently ranks 7th in the world. Other countries that beat the US in terms of teachers’ salaries are Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Ireland, and South Korea.

In the US, a primary school teacher normally makes an annual salary of $67,000, and $71,000 for high school teachers. Teachers in New York alone make a median annual salary of $78,576. New York is also one of the few states that require their teachers to have a master’s degree within the 1st five years of teaching.