- Sep 4, 2005
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Ive never understood why a PhD is considered an appropriate requirement for school admin at any level. What does your ability to do original research have to do with running a complex and often political organization?
Not sure.
...having a few teachers in the family, based on what they said, it does seem like there's an emphasis on that sort of thing though.
My one aunt is a 4th grade teacher (covering math and reading), and had been doing the job just fine for 15+ years with a bachelors. She went back to complete her Masters because A) they offered to pay for it, and B) it got her an instant 20% pay bump because the district she teaches in uses the "step & lane" salary schedule. And completing the degree allowed her to move to a different "lane" (which is based on what type of degree you have) that had additional step levels, and retroactively apply "steps" (which are based on tenure) that she would've had.
This isn't her district, this is just an example I found from a real school district that uses a similar model.

Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383
Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383
Did that new degree make her any better at her job? She says not really lol. After teaching 4th graders for 15+ years, one would assume a teacher has it pretty dialed in by that point.
Not to mention, is a relatively "green" teacher with Masters better than a veteran teacher with a bachelors who's been doing it for well over a decade? In the context of elementary or Jr. High, I'd say probably not.
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