What Benefits Do Teachers ACTUALLY Want?

It’s not a secret: teachers are overworked and underpaid. They hold one of the most important jobs in society, yet we know they often feel undervalued and unsupported.

In fact, according to a 2021 MetLife Teacher Survey:

• Only 26% of teachers felt like their salary was fair for the work they do.
• Only 46% reported they felt like their community treated them like professionals.

Now, you may be thinking how am I supposed to fix that?

And, to be honest, there’s no quick fix. And we won’t pretend a blog post can help fix these macro-level problems — but there are a few benefits and supports you can provide to make your teachers feel supported and valued.

1. Financial Benefits

First on this list is pretty obvious: money. Teacher salaries are, on average, about 20% lower than similarly educated professionals in other fields. And while you may not be able to give everyone a raise, regardless of how much you want to, consider providing some other financial benefits that teachers are asking for.

Performance-based bonuses are common in many fields, and it’s been successfully piloted in many schools across the country.

The benefit is more than just financial too: students in classrooms where teachers are given performance-based raises showed a modest bump in performance, and high-performing teachers are more likely to stay in schools that implemented performance-based bonuses.

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2. On-Site Subsidized Childcare 

Almost 50% of teachers are also parents with children living at home. With rising childcare costs (an average price tag of $12,000 a year) and a lack of available quality childcare, it’s difficult for working parents to make ends meet.

On-site childcare is a great way to retain employees who are also parents.

In fact, a survey by Bright Horizons said that 90% of employees would be more likely to stay with their current employer if they provided on-site or subsidized childcare. On-site childcare helps teachers:

• Have a better work-life balance
• Alleviate the stress of finding a quality childcare option
• Get a benefit most other places of employment can’t provide

3. Ability to Take PTO 

As a former teacher, I’ll attest that getting set up for a substitute teacher is almost more work than just going to work. So when you’re sick and trying to get your sub plans ready — the LAST thing you want is to worry about whether your school will find a substitute for you.

But, unfortunately, up to 20% of substitute requests went unfilled in the last year. A school that provides quality substitute teachers and is able to provide reliable PTO for their teachers is a great benefit that all teachers deserve.

If you’re having difficulty sourcing substitute teachers, SchoolMint can help you through our teacher and staff recruitment service. We’ve helped districts like San Francisco Unified source more than 500 teachers and substitute teachers. Click the image below to learn more about this service.

4. Flexibility

This is a tough one. We all know teachers just can’t be as flexible hours-wise as other professionals. When students are in class, teachers have to be there, no way around it.

But there are a number of other ways schools can be flexible with their staff:

• Casual dress codes
• Increased PTO (not just sick leave)
• Allowing teachers to job share
• Allowing flexible start or end times when coverage isn’t needed

Anything you can think of to allow teachers some flexibility and autonomy in their career can help them not just stay working at your school but also entice other teachers to work for you as well.

5. Convenient Healthcare 

As a teacher, I had access to the school clinic that was staffed by a nurse practitioner for any of the regular health concerns I experienced. This was really helpful because, as already mentioned, getting a sub isn’t easy, and working at a school means you’re exposed to basically every germ known to mankind.

Being able to pop over at lunch when your throat is a little scratchy to get a strep test or to get a flu shot on your prep period made my life as a teacher a lot easier.

Some places even offer access to virtual care options for employees and their families, making it much easier to get appointments after school hours and on weekends. It can be incredibly difficult to get a convenient appointment time when you aren’t feeling your best, but virtual appointments make it a breeze.

Offering virtual healthcare as a benefit means your teachers can get healthcare whenever and wherever they need it with minimal disruption to not just their work but also your operations.

So when you’re wondering how to attract and hire the best teachers to your school, it’s worth thinking outside the traditional box. And obviously nothing comes for free, but don’t forget how much money schools pay to backfill positions: often more than $20,000, according to the Learning Policy Institute.

If offering stronger benefits helps recruit new teachers and retain existing staff, it’s a no-brainer!

For more tips on how to hire teachers and other staff, check out our upcoming webinar, where I’ll dive into more staff recruitment strategies.