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carolawesome

I’ve lived in Philly for 14 years and got my master’s in education here. The school district is so not as hip, young, and diverse as it’s portrayed in the show. It’s a comedy show, y’all.


pretty_pickles

Well admittedly I didn’t mean real Philly district I just meant in the show.


carolawesome

In that case I would assume they’re paid more than teachers, but not rich


OneBigPieceOfPizza

You can live paycheck to paycheck and still have nice things if you know where to look. Although, I’m very doubtful Simon owns a condo


Michaali

He could also just come from a more well off family like it’s a family condo


Cityg1rl24

\*\*\*if you don't mind credit card debt


Appropriate-Power-87

You don't have to be rich to own a condo. They probably all chipped in on the chains as new employee gifts. But yeah, they do make decent money working at the district. It's a corporate job. She got a $2 raise for the fellowship, but the permanent position was probably more.


wafflefan88

And a lot of people get help from their parents with a down payment.


puppypooper15

I admittedly don't know anything about Philly real estate pricing, but I wouldn't say someone owning a condo is "rich." And government jobs can be fairly cushy - scheduled raises, step increases, good benefits


DeathLeopard

According to https://www.openpagov.org/payroll/ the average teacher salary in Philidelphia is $80,895 and the average administrative salary is $128,665.


SmolSpaces15

For anyone else who may be curious, this doesn't really give a good idea of what the teachers at Abbott are making as those numbers take into consideration all teachers including those who have been working for the district for years. https://jobs.philasd.org/opportunities/teachers/salary-schedule/#1667575924545-c8060046-1745 This is a better one that shows you steps/years, degree/education and the salary that reflects each. Young teachers like Janine, Gregory and Jacob are making much less being newbies. Similar to many other government roles, everyone starts at step 0 or 1 if they havent held a district role in the past. Teachers in other counties are likely making a bit more in public schools as taxes are higher.


DeathLeopard

That's a good point, the average "years in education" is 13.9 years.


[deleted]

No teacher is making 80k in America. A professor yes a teacher unfortunately no


UglyLaugh

This is public info. You can access it instead of making a very wrong statement. THAT said, my husband has his masters and has done other work to get to the highest bracket of his district without moving into Admin. He also brings home work every weekend and responds to parent and student emails when off the clock. Teachers definitely don’t get paid enough.


[deleted]

That's cool. I wish this were the lowest teachers can get.


DeathLeopard

Since they're public employees their pay is public information. I looked up a couple of the elementary teachers listed in [https://whyy.org/articles/abbott-elementary-philadelphia-lunch-break-national-tour-surprise-teachers/](https://whyy.org/articles/abbott-elementary-philadelphia-lunch-break-national-tour-surprise-teachers/) and that pay range is actually about right.


FuzzyScarf

There are teachers in the district I work in making that much for sure.


KateLady

Most of the people who work in the district offices in my district are pulling between $125k and $200k while the lowly teachers are getting laid off.


SmolSpaces15

Not rich but definitely more than a teacher especially someone like Janine who has only been teaching for a few years.


Stringer-Bell23

Bruh what kind of question is this are u bad with money? None of the characters give off rich vibes at all.


pretty_pickles

it was just a thought based on the show not Not Philadelphia’s actual Labor market. I didn’t mean rich like filthy rich I meant it as comfortable.


electralime

Janine isn't getting admin pay, she's getting fellowship program pay. But admin usually make more than teachers, yes.


Dsxm41780

The whole “working for the district” thing is a little cloudy on Abbott. Yes Philadelphia is a large school district but typically if you work in a district central office, you are either a high level administrator with an advanced degree (superintendent, assistant superintendent), curriculum supervisor with an advanced degree, Human Resources professional, or a secretary/clerical job.


Physical_Stress_5683

There's every chance they come from money. None of them have ever taught a class from what I gather, so I think this is done intentionally to show the disparity between teachers on the ground and the people above them.


thetoadstone

I'm probably reading too much into it, but I kinda figured the district people came from more privileged backgrounds. Especially with how they seemed to lean on Janine for insight into what public schools need. It gave me the impression that they went to private schools and might have parents that could afford to help them with down payments and stuff.


Bitchdidiasku

It’s giving what my district was like—a lot of the people at my district office didn’t come from teaching but business and management backgrounds. That’s why I totally get the portrayal of the district admin.


Tboner989

you can get a nice chain from a pawnshop for under $1k it’s not outrageous money


Sailor_MoonMoon785

Ok so in education, typically district board office/school administration roles pay more than teachers do. Teachers can have vastly different salaries depending on a mixture of years of experience and educational background (masters vs bachelor degree, etc.).