A first year teacher make about $40,000 per year. The great thing is that there are salary scales and every year you get a raise of about $2,000. You also earn more by reaching certain levels for additional personal education.

In most states base pay is cued to education and years of service. Teachers get stipends for extra duty like coaching and managing Title programs like Title I. For instance; I was told yesterday that I may be teaching an extra period this year. After the first week of school we have too many classes with students over 40 in my subject of grade 8 US History. So I may be offered an additional 1/6th of my salary to teach that additional class and have no prep or off period each day. That means that I will get an additional $12,000 this school year that I may or may not get next year. That also means that another teacher at my same salary grade of roughly, $70,000 will not get that extra money if they have a prep period. I have, in the past, been offered an additional 7th period either before or after school. Usually called a zero or a 7th period. In that case they would have to pay me another $12,000 so I would be teaching two extra periods and making $24,000 more than others at my pay grade.

Often special education teachers have extra off periods for IEP’s and meetings. It is really hard to get additional work, and money, as a special education teacher. I also was a sped teacher for 10 years and I never got extra money to teach, on my contract. I was paid extra any time my case- load of students went over the negotiated cap of 28 for RSP and 25 for SDC. Severe teachers were at 15 and never went over that number. I taught at a continuation school and often had 45-50 kids on my case-load. So every day I was over I got an amount for each period I taught. The money could add up to $600-1,000 each month.

I always make extra money doing independent study and home teaching. I make an additional $500-700, plus mileage each month. I coach football, $2,500 a season, volleyball 2,500 a season, do admin duty at games, $75.00 a game, work the score table at basketball, $50,00 a game, so $150 a night. Chaperone band and drum line trips, $100.00 a trip and they feed you sometimes. Every extra thing you do in education, especially at the Jr and Sr High School level get paid something. In some districts even adminstrators get extra money for extra duty eventhough they have no union or association.

I have a friend who just quit being an assistant principal to teach independent study at a high school. With all of the extra hours worked daily and no prep period he will be making about $93,000 only 4,000 less than he was as an administrator. He arrives at 7:15 and leaves at 3:30 four days a week and until 6:00 on night. No extra duty, no games, meetings, hastles at all. He was getting to school at 6:30 and often not leaving until 6:00 at night, plus the extra evening and weekend duty. There is money to be made in education but not in special education

The district I teach in offers a $2500 (one time) stipend for special needs. BTW, special needs in my district include billingual, ESL, and Special Education.