Day 1
Understanding Your District Salary Schedule
“While it is surprisingly easy to move up your salary schedule, it’s not as straightforward as going out and taking the first professional development courses you find. When you take the time to understand how it works, you’ll see there’s a right way to move up the pay scale that maximizes your earning potential in the shortest time for the smallest investment."
“Watch today’s video for a breakdown of how teacher salary schedules work and how soon before you start to see a return on your investment in professional development.”
- Jen Cooper
Founder, CEO, and Teacher
The Happy Teacher Playbook
The Happy Teacher Playbook will be your companion for the rest of this 5-day mini-course. In it you will find all the resources and exercises you need to complete the course. For today’s unit, complete the exercise on page 5 with the help of the ROI calculator below.
Today’s Task
Is It Worth It to Invest in Your Professional Development?
If you’re feeling nervous about investing thousands of dollars in your professional development, we want to put your mind at ease. Unlike most investments, your district’s salary schedule guarantees you will earn more when you invest in professional development, and the more you invest, the more you’ll earn over your lifetime. To understand just how good of an investment this can be, use our ROI calculator.*
Before calculating your ROI, please watch the video above and consult page 5 of your Happy Teacher Playbook for guidance on how to complete the exercise.
Here are a few pointers from the video:
- To find your salary schedule, search "district name salary schedule” or “district name pay scale.”
- To find the percentage of your salary you’ll receive in retirement, visit your state’s pension website.
- As a rough estimate of the cost to move up the pay scale, we partner with Upper Iowa University to offer an accredited Master of Education (M.Ed.) for just $10,480, and you can max out your credits by purchasing four 20-semester packages for $10,549 for a total cost of $21,029.
* For this calculation, we used the national average longevity (71 years) and PERA's average age of retirement (58.8 years). It's always best to talk to an accountant about personal finances and advice.
Calculate Your Return on Investment (ROI)
Keep the Momentum Going!
Learn why you should get approval from your district first before beginning your professional development journey AND receive email templates to make asking for approval a snap.