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The differences between day care teachers and head start teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a head start teacher has an average salary of $33,865, which is higher than the $31,231 average annual salary of a day care teacher.
The top three skills for a day care teacher include kids, child care and CPR. The most important skills for a head start teacher are kids, math, and CPR.
| Day Care Teacher | Head Start Teacher | |
| Yearly salary | $31,231 | $33,865 |
| Hourly rate | $15.01 | $16.28 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 15% |
| Number of jobs | 138,110 | 67,747 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
A Daycare Teacher is an individual who educates young children and toddlers with lessons and daily activities. Daycare Teachers perform various tasks that include grading student assignments and worksheets, encouraging good manners and positive behavior, and stimulating students intellectually using different learning methods such as games and stories. They will communicate with parents and provide them updates on their children's progress. They will also identify behavioral issues and create strategies to resolve them.
A head start teacher is responsible for organizing lectures and monitoring classroom operations for students with financial difficulties. Head start teachers have the same roles as regular teachers, such as preparing lesson plans, conducting assessments to test the students' knowledge, documenting their progress, and planning group activities to observe their personal and social behaviors. They also coordinate with the students' parents to share the child's difficulties and strategize methods to enhance capabilities. A head start teacher must have excellent communication skills, especially in attending to students for their needs and encouraging them to reach their maximum potentials.
Day care teachers and head start teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Day Care Teacher | Head Start Teacher | |
| Average salary | $31,231 | $33,865 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $42,000 | Between $23,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cambridge, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy | Topeka Public Schools |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a day care teacher and a head start teacher in terms of educational background:
| Day Care Teacher | Head Start Teacher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Elementary Education | Early Childhood Education |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between day care teachers' and head start teachers' demographics:
| Day Care Teacher | Head Start Teacher | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.3% Female, 89.7% | Male, 7.9% Female, 92.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 9.0% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |