Teaching in Colorado? (Denver, Grand Junction, Littleton: credit, teaching jobs, private schools)

[froggin4colorado]

Actually, its only the starting salaries that vary most..otherwise, when you get further down the payscale, there is little difference.
The best paying school district in the pikes peak area for both teachers/paras, and subs is Fountain Fort Carson D8 because of the extra monies they recieve from the military.

[CosmicWizard]

I found the article I referenced in my earlier post in this thread. School District 51 (Mesa County) actually ranks 14th in the state instead of 4th as my mistaken memory led me to believe.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/05/21/5_21_1a_teacher_salary.html (broken link)

I apolige for the erroneous information.

Many Blessings....Franco

[sayhola]

I believe "Hawaii" has a good point about Cherry Creek and Cheyenne Mountain School Districts. One thing that's "hot topic" right now in teacher salaries is benefits package. The school district I work for covered employee health insurance 100% last year and I think 75% of family, which is HUGE. This year they are charging employees $30 or $8/month, depending on the package you choose, which is still a steal when you consider your premium is $370/month. Here is a link you may find useful--it's from the Colorado Department of Education and lists average salaries:

FALL 1999 Average Salaries by Setting

(Sorry it won't seem to hyperlink.) Hope that helps.

Also, a good point was made about how many years of experience that districts will accept. Depending on your situation, that may be relevant. I'd suggest calling the HR departments--any district will send you out a salary scale, as they are public information. You may also ask about benefits, because it's very hard to compare the apples to oranges. Good luck!

[Danimal2112]

Thank you all so much for your input on this. I'll be looking at a loss of at least 30k annually as the sole provider for a family of 4. Scarry, but probably worth the payoff in other ways, (smog, crime, traffic, rude people, etc.) More comments are welcome. Thanks again.

[rebagirl]

Originally Posted by Danimal2112

Thank you all so much for your input on this. I'll be looking at a loss of at least 30k annually as the sole provider for a family of 4. Scarry, but probably worth the payoff in other ways, (smog, crime, traffic, rude people, etc.) More comments are welcome. Thanks again.

I can completely relate, although I am not the sole provider. However, we do have 3 kids and I would be taking about a 25K cut as well. Very scary--but yes, I believe the other factors you mentioned are important. They are the very reasons we are also looking to move, along with being near family. Good luck to you.

[Danimal2112]

Same to you.

[Steelers06]

So the teaching job market is good in Colorado? I'm looking to work in a private school...I have a prek-3 license in ohio but I have taught up to 8th grade in language arts.

[ledzepjim]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

are you handy? There is the teacher next door program available to buy a HUD owned property for half the asking price.

definitely not a part of the bible belt of the southeast states, we are decidedly mountain west.

Can anyone give me some more information about this teacher next door program?

[delta07]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Danimal2112

I saw an article a few days ago in the GJSentinel that Mesa County (District #51) was the 4th highest paying district in Colorado. I don't remember the top three. My wife had 15 yrs experience in Virginia, but the district allows only 10 yrs on the step scale. I think she took a $10,000 pay cut. Ouch! But she says that the smalll town kids are not as wild and crazy as the city kids from Virginia Beach and they are more disciplined due to greater parental involvement. Also the school district is growing and they will need to hire more teachers. Quite a few teachers were lost through retirement. Here's a link to the payscale for 2006:

http://www.mesa.k12.co.us/2003/Human_Resources/documents/TEACHER05-06.pdf (broken link)

I hope this helps you out.....Franco

Wow, I'm really surprised GJ was the 4th highest paying district. I worked there as a teacher and the salary was fairly low. CosmicWizard, your wife must work in one of the better schools in the valley too. My experience was quite different. Of course, I was near the Clifton end of the valley, and most parents both worked, were incarcerated, or had checked out of their children's lives. It showed.

I believe Cherry Creek and Douglas Co. are the top two highest paying districts in CO. I would imagine Boulder fits in there as well. I have my doubts about Mesa Co. unless they got a signficantly higher pay raise in the last year.

[Katarina Witt]

You can find the salary scale for the Boulder Valley School District on their website, Boulder Valley School District I find this webste not very user-friendly, you'll have to dig around. I frankly doubt they are as high-paying as DPS and some of the other districts, because, frankly, people are willing to take a pay cut to work in Boulder. Sad, but true.