• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

October 30, 2019 Confessions of a Teacher

Is Combat Pay Worth It?

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Allyson A. Robinson

With a deep commitment and passion for all things youth, Allyson began her teaching journey in 2014. After two years of teaching her “kids” in Baltimore, she decided to try taking her passion abroad to the UAE. She is currently back in the USA, teaching in the Greater Atlanta area. Her love of building authentic relationships with students travels with her wherever she goes. Wife, twin mom, writer, and your kid’s favorite teacher.
  • Dear Teacher Friends, It’s Time to Show More Empathy - February 24, 2020
  • This is Not the Teacher I Wanted To Be - February 5, 2020
  • Survival Mode on Auto Pilot - January 28, 2020
  • The Intention Form: Tell The Truth...Shame The Devil - January 13, 2020
  • “Why Didn’t Anyone Help Me?” The Truth Behind Abused Teachers Who Took Matters Into Their Own Hands - December 16, 2019
  • #RealTalk Why We Haven’t Quit Teaching - November 11, 2019
  • First Year Teachers, Y’all Alright? - November 4, 2019
  • #TeacherGuilt - October 31, 2019
  • Is Combat Pay Worth It? - October 30, 2019
  • 3 Ways to Stop Ignoring the Teacherpreneur In You - October 14, 2019

We’ve all heard the term before: Combat Pay.

Preface

Let me preface this by saying I am a strong believer that ALL students deserve a great educational experience with highly qualified teachers. I know of teachers who ONLY apply to inner-city schools because they know how much these students need teachers who care about them and their education. There are teachers who are determined to help students push past whatever they’re going through at home and in their minds to succeed.

However, it is a known fact that most of the inner city districts pay higher because of the level of challenges awaiting every teacher that signs on. The discussion of this article is not about whether inner-city schools deserve good teachers based on pay. It’s about taking into consideration all the things that come with combat pay before signing your name on the dotted line.

What is Combat Pay?

For those of you who haven’t heard the term before, combat pay is when you receive a great salary from a school district, but it comes with a cost; your sanity and peace of mind. It’s an unfortunate type of trade-off because teachers everywhere deserve higher pay, no matter the additional battles they do or don’t have to face.

For example, my first few years of teaching took place in an inner-city school district. What I made as a first-year teacher there, I make as a 5th-grade teacher with a master’s degree in a different school district with not as many issues going on within the district and in the classroom.

Speaking from my personal experience, combat pay is given in areas where families have experienced many financial hardships and majority if not all schools are Title 1. Behavioral issues are experienced at a much higher rate than other school districts. Many schools in the districts are failing. The majority of the students are below grade level. Yet these districts set the same unrealistic expectations for “student success”, making the life of these teachers harder than most.

But… is combat pay worth it?

In some ways, accepting combat pay, knowing that the experience will be tougher, can seem like selling out your sanity for a few thousand dollars. I remember how I felt the first time I got paid when I worked in an inner-city school. My mind was blown. I was so thankful. On top of that, the health insurance covered everything when I gave birth to my twins.

But…

More than half of my class was below grade level. I was given little to no supplies for my classroom. Mice and roaches ran freely around my building and throughout the cafeteria. There were fights in my school on a daily basis. I was called out of my name on a weekly basis. My door was slammed by a student in another classroom every day because he was mad at his teacher.

But…

My principal was laid back unless the district showed up. Many of our staff meetings were canceled. My day ended at 2:30, and I could actually go home. The only time anyone showed up in my classroom was 3-4 times in an entire school year.

My current school has weekly meetings, surprise meetings, and meetings during my planning that are planned and unplanned. I have been observed up to 4 times in ONE week. I’m responsible for filling out data forms for weekly data meetings and providing evidence that I use the data to set up my small groups. There is a required way of going about instructional time, and if I veer away from that, my walk-through observation score is impacted.

The Trade-Off

From my experience, there seems to be a trade-off. Higher pay, with possible signing bonuses for a more chaotic, but less invasive experience. Lower pay, more demanding paperwork, more invasive administration, but smaller class sizes.

So what’s the better choice? A place where the biggest requirement is to maintain order in your classroom for higher pay? Or a calmer type of environment where you’re every instructional move is watched and challenged for less pay?

In no way am I saying that you should decrease your level of instruction because of your school or district. However, there are school districts where instruction can be the least of your worries.

Is combat pay worth it?

 

combat pay

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Teachers In Action: From the Classroom to the Convention The Facets of Personality and Successful Teaching The New Teacher Smell It’s time to talk about the culture of fear around standardized testing
« It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way: When I Knew To Look For Something New
#TeacherGuilt »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.