First grade teacher vs head teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and head teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a head teacher has an average salary of $51,715, which is higher than the $49,757 average annual salary of a first grade teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a head teacher are classroom management, child care, and creative curriculum.

First grade teacher vs head teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Head Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$51,715
Hourly rate	$23.92	$24.86
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	70,517	73,756
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a first grade teacher do?

First-grade teachers are the first instructors of children after they finished the kindergarten level. They play an essential role as children aged six to seven move to more structured learning. Generally, they set an exciting tone of learning for the fundamental skills in writing, reading, and math. These teachers create and give effective learning activities to the children to enhance their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. They have to effectively manage the classroom and ensure that all students are safe. Also, they give regular assessments to children to evaluate if their teaching method is effective and to determine the learning style of each child. Additionally, they need to communicate with parents, guardians, and principals on the progress of the children.

What does a head teacher do?

A headteacher is responsible for monitoring the students' overall learning process, managing and evaluating the performance of school staff, implementing effective learning strategies for the students, encouraging them to reach their maximum potential, and gain self-confidence. Headteachers often lead meetings, especially discussing school activities and the child's performance to their parents, implementing safety policies, and enforcing disciplinary actions for policy violations. A headteacher must have excellent leadership and communication skills to handle the students' needs and support their high-quality performance.

First grade teacher vs head teacher salary

First grade teachers and head teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Grade Teacher	Head Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$51,715
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $32,000 And $83,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	Grand View Health
Best paying industry	Education	Retail

Differences between first grade teacher and head teacher education

There are a few differences between a first grade teacher and a head teacher in terms of educational background:

	First Grade Teacher	Head Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Early Childhood Education
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

First grade teacher vs head teacher demographics

Here are the differences between first grade teachers' and head teachers' demographics:

	First Grade Teacher	Head Teacher
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 13.8% Female, 86.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between first grade teacher and head teacher duties and responsibilities

First grade teacher example responsibilities.

Used technology such as scanning documents, creating hyperlinks and PowerPoint to document student progress for student lead conferences.
Prepare and plan literacy and math centers daily to encourage student achievement and socialization skills.
Develop standards-based curricula including a balance literacy program, math and writers' workshops and after school intervention program.
Implement the PBIS social emotional development program.
Employ PBIS to reenforce positive behavior among students.
Focuse on ESL students using methodical scaffolding, with an emphasis on citizenship and literacy.

Head teacher example responsibilities.

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Plan and implement cohesive, age-appropriate curriculum for severely disable children in Pre-K program.
Develop and implement age-appropriate curriculum for toddler program, ensuring that appropriate opportunities are provided in order to maximize learning potential.
Set up the physical environment to meet the changing needs of infants and toddlers in accordance with ECERS and ITERS-R assessments.

First grade teacher vs head teacher skills

Common first grade teacher skills

Classroom Management, 29%
Math, 13%
Social Studies, 5%
Professional Development, 4%
Classroom Environment, 4%
Language Arts, 3%

Common head teacher skills

Classroom Management, 26%
Child Care, 13%
Creative Curriculum, 5%
Language Arts, 5%
Pre-K, 5%
Mathematics, 5%

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First Grade Teacher vs Head Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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