Larger Starting Teacher Salaries In Newark Are Helping To Retain Staff

NEWARK, NJ — A higher salary for teachers in Newark is helping to retain staff members, school administrators recently said.

Hundreds of educators were present for a teacher orientation event in the Newark Public School District last week at Science Park High School. Addressing the crowd, Superintendent Roger León said that Newark’s public school system is seeing “growth and expansion” – despite a national teaching shortage.

In 2022, the district began offering new teachers a starting salary to $62,000 per year, a move that aimed to beef up the number of educators in Newark’s classrooms. New hires in “critical areas” like math, science, special education, bilingual education and English as a second language became eligible for a $4,000 signing bonus. See Related: Newark Schools Try To Attract New Teachers With $62K Starting Salary

Earlier this year, the starting salary was bumped up to $65,000 under a new contract inked with the Newark Teachers Union. It will rise to $74,000 by the end of the five-year deal. See Related: Teachers Agree On New Contract With Newark Public School District

According to the Newark Board of Education, the district has created 338 new positions for the 2024-2025 school year, 181 of which are classroom positions.

As of late August, 122 of the 181 classroom positions have been filled, the board reported.

There’s also some other encouraging news, the board added: teacher resignations dropped by nearly 100 from last year, a sign that the district is retaining the staff who have been recruited.

“People are acknowledging the fact that we are a district that knows the value of a teacher, and we pay them accordingly,” said Yolanda Mendez, assistant superintendent of human resources.

However, educators aren’t only coming to (and staying in) Newark for the competitive salaries, Mendez said – they also have teaching opportunities that “cannot be found anywhere else.”

For example, a certified science teacher who is a weekend musician may find their dream job at Arts High School, Mendez suggested. Meanwhile, a fashionista world languages teacher might be a perfect fit for the Newark School of Fashion and Design.

“Newark Public Schools is an attractive, exciting place to work – and Newark is an exciting place to be,” she said.

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