Independent School Teacher Satisfaction

SATISFACTION WITH BENEFITSSatisfaction with job benefits is consistently ratedby employees as a key factor in overall jobsatisfaction.5 How satisfied are independent schoolteachers with their job benefits – especially thebenefits that are most important to them?Responding teachers report very high levels ofsatisfaction with many of the benefits that they rateas highly important. An overwhelming majority ofteachers are satisfied or extremely satisfied withtheir school’s professional developmentopportunities (82 percent), employer contributionsto retirement plan (81 percent), flexible benefitsprogram (75 percent), employer-paid healthinsurance for employee (70 percent), time off (69percent), life insurance (63 percent), and flexibilitywith their work schedule (62 percent). See Table 1a.Table 1a. Highly Important Benefitswith High Satisfaction RatingsImportanceRating byFaculty*SatisfiedExtremelySatisfiedEmployer contributionsto retirement plan4.7641%40%Employer-paid healthinsurance for employee4.7542%28%Professional developmentopportunities4.5735%47%Time off4.2141%28%Flexible benefitsprogram4.0934%41%Life insurance3.9742%21%Flexibility withwork schedule3.9342%20%Benefit* Rating based on scale of 1-5 (1 Not Important and 5 Extremely Important)As schools compete in a tighter labor market,highlighting these benefits — especially benefitsthat are becoming increasingly important toemployees such as time off and flexibility — willstrengthen their appeal to job candidates.Table 1b. Highly Important Benefitswith Low Satisfaction RatingsBenefitImportanceRating byFacultyNotSatisfiedSomewhatSatisfiedMy schooldoes notoffer thebenefitRemember Faculty Members’ Childrenin Your Benefits OfferingsDentalinsurance4.3114%15%13%While independent schools are very successful inoffering important benefits such as professionaldevelopment, there are other areas that are in needof attention. Five of the benefits that teachers ratedas their top 10 most important benefits are notbeing offered by all schools or are not beingdelivered in a manner that teachers findsatisfactory. Of these five benefits, three are benefitsspecifically for faculty children: (1) health carebenefits for dependents, (2) tuition remission forfaculty children, and (3) financial aid for facultychildren. See Table 1b.Health carebenefits fordependents4.2813%16%27%Tuitionreimbursementfor faculty4.269%13%26%Tuitionremission forfaculty children4.1813%11%34%Financialaid for facultychildren4.129%13%41%* Rating based on scale of 1-5 (1 Not Important and 5 Extremely Important)5Evren Esen, SHRM Job Satisfaction Series: 2005 Job Satisfaction,SHRM Research, Society for Human Resource Management, 2005.N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl8

ACTIONS SCHOOLS SHOULD CONSIDER Highlight in recruitment materials the benefits that your teachers are very satisfied with,such as professional development opportunities. Each year, provide teachers with benefits statement sheets that outline the monetary valueof the benefits they receive. Assess and respond to the benefit needs of faculty at different life stages. Will your schoolsucceed at recruiting faculty in their twenties, thirties, or forties if you do not offer benefits for facultychildren? What benefits do your most experienced teachers value? Consider benefits that are not typical and that would give the school a recruitment advantage,such as paying the interest and principal on student loans for as long as a teacher stays at the school. Consider making tuition remission “affordable to the school” by making faculty kids the“over-limit” count in classes: i.e., if class sizes average or are limited to 16, fill classes with payingcustomers, and make the faculty kids the 17th and 18th addition to the class. Consider some of these “additional” benefits in your benefits package. When asked if there wereother benefits that would be of great value to them, respondents frequently listed the following: Vision insurance, including coverage for glasses Equity adjustments or financial compensation for single, childless teachers who do not usefamily-related benefits More time off for sabbaticals, personal days, vacation, family leave, and comp time More time allotted by the school for administrative tasks, planning time, and professionaldevelopment Continuation of health insurance after retirement Tuition exchange programs that allow faculty to receive tuition reimbursement at sister schools.Several respondents mentioned that they teach at a single-sex school and that their children arenot the “right” sex to attend the single-sex school. Lunch provided and paid for by the school Wellness benefits, especially exercise or health club benefits, or benefits that allow faculty towork out at the school. (Benefits such as free lunches for faculty and wellness programs are nothigh in cost but could greatly lower teacher stress levels and increase overall job satisfaction.)N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl9

Compensationn 2006-2007, the national average salary for allNAIS member school teachers was 46,4416while the national average salary for publicschool teachers was 49,294.7 This reflects a gap of6.14 percent. For both independent and publicschool teachers, salaries can vary dramaticallydepending on region, years of teaching experience,tenure at school, school size, and degrees earned.IUnfortunately, the pay gap between teachers andother professionals has widened during the pasttwo decades. The Economic Policy Institute reportsthe following: “A comparison of teachers' weeklywages to those of other workers with similareducation and experience shows that, since1993, female teacher wages have fallen behind13 percent and male teacher wages 12.5 percent(11.5 percent among all teachers). Since 1979teacher wages relative to those of other similarworkers have dropped 18.5 percent among women,9.3 percent among men, and 13.1 percent amongboth combined.”8While research has found that individuals oftenchoose to teach in independent schools for reasonssuch as autonomy and empowerment, schoolculture, quality of students, and quality facilities,these factors may become less important and salarymay become more important as baby-boomerteachers retire and the competition for new teachersincreases. Schools will be pressed to make theirteacher salaries more competitive with salariesof professionals with similar degrees, experience,and workloads.When asked to rate the importance of thecompetitiveness of their independent schoolsalaries and the degree to which they are satisfiedwith the competitiveness of their salaries,“It would be goodto know the pay scaleat my school. The payscales in public schoolsare based on a teacher’seducation and the numberof years of experience ineducation. Stipends forextracurricular work arealso set. The pay scale Isaw was guarded andnot public. It gave mean uneasy feeling.”independent school teacher respondents indicatedthat having a competitive salary is very importantto them and that they are not satisfied with howtheir salaries compare to local salaries, includinglocal public school salaries.Respondents felt that it is extremely importantthat their salaries be comparable to other localindependent school salaries and very important that6National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), “NAIS Factsat a Glance,” 2006-2007.7Salaries & Wages Paid Professional and Support Personnel in PublicSchools, 2006-2007. (Alexandria, VA: Educational ResearchService, 2007).8Sylvia A. Allegretto, Sean P. Corcoran, Lawrence Mishel, HowDoes Teacher Pay Compare? Methodological Challenges andAnswers (Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, 2004)page 5. http://www.epinet.org/books/teacher pay-intro.pdfN A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl10

Respondents gave low satisfaction ratings with theirsalaries in comparison to local public school salariesand local salaries in general. They gave moderate tohigh satisfaction ratings for how satisfied they arethat their salaries are comparable to other localindependent school salaries.their salaries be comparable to local public schoolsalaries and local salaries in general. Respondentsalso indicated some interest in supplementing theirsalaries with summer, coaching, tutoring, and othertypes of employment at the schools where theywork. See Figures 4a and 4b.Figure 4a. Importance of the Competitiveness of SalarySalary comparable to localindependent school salariesSalary comparable to localpublic school salariesSalary comparable tolocal salaries in generalSalary can be supplemented bysummer, coaching, tutoring, andother employment opportunities2%1% 7%17%73%1%3% 3% 14%26%52%1%2% 3% 15%27%50%2%11%8%16%22%36%6%Rating based on scale of 1-5(1 Not Important and5 Extremely Important)12345N/AFigure 4b. Level of Satisfaction with Competitiveness of Salary6% 12%25%22%18%35%19%4%Salary comparable to localindependent school salaries23%22%10% 5%Salary comparable tolocal public school salaries19%21%29%19%8% 5%Salary comparable tolocal salaries in generalSalary can be supplemented bysummer, coaching, tutoring, andother employment opportunities9%14%22%24%14%16%Rating based on scale of 1-5(1 Not Satisfied and5 Extremely Satisfied)12345N/AN A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl11

ACTIONS SCHOOLS SHOULD CONSIDER Every two to three years, conduct a formal salary study to ensure that your school’s salaries andbenefits are competitive with local salaries and benefits. NAIS’s StatsOnline database provides abenchmarking tool that allows you to compare salaries at your school with those at otherindependent schools. Make your salary system more transparent by informing faculty members how your schooldetermines salaries and salary increases. Explore with faculty various “pay for performance” systems that reward excellence and that payadditional stipends to teachers who take on leadership and/or more work.N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl12

The Independent SchoolWork Environmenthe work environment has a profoundimpact on a teacher’s ability to do his orher job and the feelings of efficacy andsatisfaction. As Johnson, Berg, and Donaldsonreport in Who Stays in Teaching and Why, the“psychic rewards” associated with helping studentsachieve are especially important to teachers. Thedesire to help students is one of the primaryreasons why people become teachers in the firstplace and why they continue to teach. Whenteachers feel thwarted in their efforts to helpstudents achieve because they do not have suppliesand resources to do their jobs, have unproductiverelationships with parents and students, or workin schools without a culture of commitment tostudents, they are much more likely to feelineffective as teachers, dissatisfied with teaching,and to leave the profession.9TWhen asked to rate how important different aspectsof the work environment are to them, independentschool faculty respondents mirrored these findingsand also rated other aspects of the workenvironment as being very important to them.Being able to balance their work lives with theirpersonal lives, having a job that is located in anarea where the cost of living and housing areaffordable, and having a diverse faculty and studentbody are also highly important to independentschool teachers. In keeping with the research onthe value of psychic rewards and positive studentrelationships for teachers, respondents rated havingpositive interactions with students as the mostimportant aspect of their work environment.See Figure 5 on page 14.A RED FLAG: WORK/LIFE BALANCEWhen asked to rate their satisfaction with variousaspects of the work environment, respondingfaculty members reported high levels of satisfactionwith many work aspects that are very important tothem. However, for a few areas, a significant gapexists between the level of importance facultymembers assign to the aspect and their level ofsatisfaction with the aspect.The largest discrepancy occurred with respondents’ratings on the ability to balance work and personal life.On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 Not Importantand 5 Extremely Important, respondents gave thisaspect a rating of 4.75 indicating that it is of greatimportance to them. However, on a 5-point scalewith 1 Not Satisfied and 5 Extremely Satisfied,faculty rated their satisfaction with this condition attheir current job as 3.21. Female respondents andrespondents in their twenties, thirties, and fiftiesrated their satisfaction in this area even lower, withrespondents in their twenties giving the lowestsatisfaction rating of 3.14.It is vitally important that independent schoolsrespond to faculty needs in this area. The Societyfor Human Resource Management’s 2006 SHRMWorkplace Forecast identified “increased demand forwork/life balance” as one of the top five trendsaffecting the workplace.109Johnson, Berg, Donaldson.10Jennifer Schramm, SHRM Workplace Forecast. (Alexandria, VA:Society for Human Resource Management, June 2006).N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl13

Figure 5. Faculty Members’ Ratings of Both Importance of and Satisfactionwith Aspects of the Work Environment4.514.86Positive interactions with studentsTeaching style being a goodmatch with school culture4.474.77Manageable class sizes4.364.76Engaged students4.304.75Ability to balance workand personal life3.214.754.514.69Safe work environmentAdequate room,supplies, and equipment4.084.56Positive interactions with parents4.044.483.21Affordable cost of living4.303.47Diverse student bodySatisfactionLevel of Satisfaction(1 Not Satisfied and5 Extremely Satisfied)ImportanceLevel of Importance(1 Not Important and5 Extremely Important)4.133.21Affordable housing4.093.31Diverse faculty4.06A community that“has people like me”3.733.830As SHRM suggests in its 2005 Benefits Survey Report:“Offering employees more flexibility in terms ofwork/life balance is and will remain an importantcomponent of the workplace. Employers who canoffer flexibility in schedules and workplaces will bethe future employers of choice, as demographictrends indicate that employee expectations offlexibility are likely to increase.”11Schools should also pay attention to other areasthat are important to faculty but did not receivehigh satisfaction ratings. These include affordablecost of living and housing in the area where a job islocated and having a diverse faculty. When asked to12345identify other work conditions that have animpact on teacher satisfaction at their schools,respondents frequently mentioned collegiality andprofessionalism among faculty and departments,the relationship between the school administrationand faculty, workload, and additional duties outsidethe classroom that make work/life balancedifficult, and school support for faculty dealingwith difficult parents.11Mary Elizabeth Burke. 2005 Benefits Survey Report. (Alexandria,VA: Society for Human Resource Management, June 2005)page 57.N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl14

WHY TEACH IN ANINDEPENDENT SCHOOL?When asked why they choose to teach in anindependent school instead of a public school, theoverwhelming majority of respondents indicatedthat having smaller class sizes (85.5 percent), beingmore autonomous in the classroom (81.5 percent),not having to “teach to the test” (68 percent),and having students who are more engaged(67.5 percent) are the top reasons that they chooseto teach in an independent school. Encounteringless red tape (61 percent) and being in a safer schoolenvironment (52 percent) also strongly influencedtheir decisions to teach in independent schools. Anumber of respondents added the following reasonsto the list of why they made the choice to teach inan independent school rather than a public school(See Figure 6):Faculty children can attend the same school astheir parent at a reduced cost or for free. Facultychildren also become part of the community. Teacher certification is not required. Figure 6. Reasons Respondents Teach in an Independent School instead of a Public SchoolSmaller class sizes85.5%81.5%More autonomy in the classroom68%Don’t have to “teach to the test”67.5%Students are more engaged61.3%Less red tape52.2%Safer school environment49%Better room, supplies, equipment, and support services43.6%Better support from teacher colleaguesParents are more involved in the school community40.2%Better work/life balance39.6%Better support from other school leadersOther39%27.2%N A I S I n d e p e n d e n t S c h o o l T e a c h e r s at i s f a c ti o n S u r v e yl15

The poor quality of the public schools led themto independent schools. Independent schools allow faculty to be morecreative and versatile in their work. The independent school environment is familylike — they are happy to be part of a positive,caring community. Their independent schools are a good fitwith their teaching styles and educationalphilosophy. Interestingly, more than half of the respondents(55.4 percent) reported that they have received joboffers from both public and independent schools. Alarge number of respondents (46.4 percent) havetaught only in independent schools and asignificant number of respondents (38 percent)taught previously in public schools and thenmoved to independent schools. The large numbersof respondents who have received job offers frompublic schools or have taught previously in publicschools highlight the need for independent schoolsto stay abreast of the compensation and teachingpractices of local public schools.WHAT FACULTY MEMBERS LIKEBEST AND LEAST ABOUT TEACHINGIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOLSWhen asked to describe what they like best aboutteaching in independent schools, manyrespondents mentioned the engaged students,strong sense of community and collegiality,academic freedom and autonomy, and committedparents. When asked to describe what they likeleast about teaching at an independent school, alarge number of respondents wrote about heavyworkloads and extracurricular duties th

While teachers report satisfactory levels of support by school leaders and satisfactory effectiveness of schools leaders, there is room for improvement in this area. Increasing communication with teachers, being visible and accessible to teachers, showing appreciation for teachers’ work, and involving teachers