Does paying teachers $125K plus (25K) bonus make a difference?
I just caught this article on NYTimes.com. It is the most emailed article at the NYTimes website at the moment.
To summarize it: A new charter school is opening in NYC and is trying to address a question that has always plagued my mind. To give some context to my thoughts on the topic, let me explain.
At UCLA when I ask some of my friends what they are interested in pursuing as a career, they generally respond with a typical white-collar career.
"I'm thinking about law school."
"I've already started studying for the MCATs."
"BCG looks like a pretty sweet gig."
One in every five adds this at the end of their response: "...but teaching is my backup."
When I ask them to elaborate, they sometimes confess to me that teaching is something they have always been interested in, but the compensation won't support the lifestyle they have in mind.
A quote comes to mind. This one is from the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet.
" A few months ago I was talking to another MBA student, a very talented man, about 30 years old from a great school with a great resume. I asked him what he wanted to do for his career, and he replied that he wanted to go into a particular field, but thought he should work for McKinsey for a few years first to add to his resume. To me that's like saving sex for your old age. It makes no sense."
Enter "The Equity Project." TEP is a new charter school system in NYC that is going to pay teachers a $125K Base + potential $25K Bonus salary. The idea behind it is that teaching is what makes the greatest difference in measurable success for schools. It will begin with 480 students that have come from low-income backgrounds. The school will initially rollout with 5th-8th grade. All students will take Latin and Music. TEP has supposedly been overwhelmed with applications to become a teacher at the school. There are very rigorous established guidelines set for applicants. One is 90%+ percentile score on a standardized test like the LSAT or GRE. Finally, the principal starts with a salary of $90K.
TEP is the brainchild of Zeke Vanderhoek. Zeke spent three years with Teach for America after graduating from Yale. To supplement his income he started Manhattan GMAT. The test prep group that pays its instructors $100/HR. Supposedly the highest GMAT instructor pay in the industry.
Maybe my fellow students will think twice the next time the thought of becoming a teacher occurs to them. I'm very excited to see what happens with TEP.
The project has the potential to disrupt the education market, and revolutionize the teaching profession. And it is social entrepreneurs like Zeke that can make it happen.
To summarize it: A new charter school is opening in NYC and is trying to address a question that has always plagued my mind. To give some context to my thoughts on the topic, let me explain.
At UCLA when I ask some of my friends what they are interested in pursuing as a career, they generally respond with a typical white-collar career.
"I'm thinking about law school."
"I've already started studying for the MCATs."
"BCG looks like a pretty sweet gig."
One in every five adds this at the end of their response: "...but teaching is my backup."
When I ask them to elaborate, they sometimes confess to me that teaching is something they have always been interested in, but the compensation won't support the lifestyle they have in mind.
A quote comes to mind. This one is from the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet.
" A few months ago I was talking to another MBA student, a very talented man, about 30 years old from a great school with a great resume. I asked him what he wanted to do for his career, and he replied that he wanted to go into a particular field, but thought he should work for McKinsey for a few years first to add to his resume. To me that's like saving sex for your old age. It makes no sense."
Enter "The Equity Project." TEP is a new charter school system in NYC that is going to pay teachers a $125K Base + potential $25K Bonus salary. The idea behind it is that teaching is what makes the greatest difference in measurable success for schools. It will begin with 480 students that have come from low-income backgrounds. The school will initially rollout with 5th-8th grade. All students will take Latin and Music. TEP has supposedly been overwhelmed with applications to become a teacher at the school. There are very rigorous established guidelines set for applicants. One is 90%+ percentile score on a standardized test like the LSAT or GRE. Finally, the principal starts with a salary of $90K.
TEP is the brainchild of Zeke Vanderhoek. Zeke spent three years with Teach for America after graduating from Yale. To supplement his income he started Manhattan GMAT. The test prep group that pays its instructors $100/HR. Supposedly the highest GMAT instructor pay in the industry.
Maybe my fellow students will think twice the next time the thought of becoming a teacher occurs to them. I'm very excited to see what happens with TEP.
The project has the potential to disrupt the education market, and revolutionize the teaching profession. And it is social entrepreneurs like Zeke that can make it happen.
Labels: education, nyc, social entrepreneurship
posted by Harsh Shah at
9:49 AM
1 Comments:
This is awesome. I have always thought the education system is extremely flawed, and one of my goals in life is to start a school that attempts to alleviate the problems in the system (like working with kids on career choices, at least having them know what's out there starting middle school). Thanks for the post. Won't be seeing you much anymore, but we'll still be good buddies.
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