- facilities
- class size
- salaries
- budgets
- administrative support
Facilities
Some public school facilities are impressive; others are mediocre. The same is true of private schools. In the public school system, the twin engines of political support and economic revenue base are critical. In private schools the ability to attract endowments and other forms of financial support are just as critical. Private school facilities reflect the success of the school's development team and that of the school to continue to generate alumni support. Public schools also reflect the economic realities of their location. Wealthy suburban schools will have more amenities than inner city schools as a rule. So, who has the edge? Let's call it a draw, all things considered.
Class Size
Based solely on anecdotal evidence, I would say that the private schools win out on this issue. Why? Because one of the key points of private education is individual attention. You need student to teacher ratios of 15:1 or better to achieve that goal. On the other hand a public system has to take almost anyone who lives within its boundaries. In public schools you will generally find much larger class sizes, sometimes exceeding 35-40 students in some inner city schools. At that point teaching rapidly degenerates into babysitting. So, based on class size, private schools will be better places to teach.
Compensation
Public sector teachers are generally better paid. Naturally compensation varies widely depending on the local economic situation. Put another way, it's cheaper living in Duluth, Minnesota than it is in San Francisco. Unfortunately low starting salaries and small annual salary increases result in low teacher retention in many public school districts. Public secotr benefits have historically been excellent; however, health and pension costs have risen so dramatically since 2000 that public educators will be forced to pay or pay more for their benefits.
Private school compensation tends to be somewhat lower than public. Again, much depends on the school and its financial resources. One private school benefit found especially in boarding schools is housing and meals. Private school pension schemes vary widely. Many schools use major pension providers such as TIAA-CREF
Budgets
Since local property taxes support the bulk of public education, the annual school budget exercise is a serious fiscal and political business. In poor communities or communities which have many voters living on fixed incomes, there is precious little room to respond to budget requests within the framework of projected tax revenue. Grants from foundations and the business community are essential to creative funding.
Private schools on the other hand can raise tuition, and they also can raise significant amounts of money from a variety of development activities, including annual appeals, cultivation of alumni and alumnae, and solicitation of grants from foundations and corporations. The strong allegiance to private schools by their alumni makes the chances of fund-raising success a real possibility in most cases.
Administrative Support
The bigger the bureaucracy, the harder it is to get decisions made at all, much less get them made quickly. So, private schools, which have a lean management structure, come out ahead in this regard. I have included this category, because it is one of those commonly overlooked factors in teaching job satisfaction. Let's face it, if you know something can be improved or changed for the better, but cannot get the support to institute that change, frustration quickly sets in. Job satisfaction will diminish.
Conclusion
So, who has the better deal? The public school or the private school teacher? I think that the private school teacher does because she can focus more on teaching. That's my opinion. What do you think?
Resources
Class Size Matters
Teacher Compensation Surveys
School Redesign Network
