Research Summary. Here are some key facts to know if you're looking to hire a preschool teachers in the United States:
There are different types of costs for hiring preschool teachers. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new preschool teacher employee.
Preschool teachers earn a median yearly salary is $33,582 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find preschool teachers for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $11 and $22.
To hire a preschool teacher, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a preschool teacher:
Before you get started with hiring a preschool teacher, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.
A preschool teacher's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, preschool teachers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.
This list presents the salaries of various preschool teacher positions.
Type Of Preschool Teacher | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Preschool Teacher | Preschool teachers educate and care for children younger than age 5 who have not yet entered kindergarten. They teach reading, writing, science, and other subjects in a way that young children can understand. | $11-22 |
Teacher Internship | Teaching interns are individuals who assist teachers and educators in the classroom. The interns are instructed to fulfill the tasks set out and provided by the supervisors for them... Show More | $16-32 |
Teacher Aide | Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities... Show More | $11-17 |
Before you draft a preschool teacher job description, imagine the ideal employee for the role and begin creating a profile. What are they proficient in and what sort of background do they have?
Preschool teachers typically have the following skills:
Here is a list of common responsibilities that preschool teachers may be expected to fulfill:
Beyond the basics, you should also consider how well a candidate fits into your company culture. In other words, you should think about how your ideal preschool teacher will live by the company's mission statement and contribute to the team dynamic you already have in place.
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Illinois | 1,856 | 14% | $31,892 |
2 | New Jersey | 1,235 | 14% | $37,409 |
3 | Arizona | 1,081 | 15% | $34,075 |
4 | Maryland | 958 | 16% | $33,939 |
5 | Colorado | 930 | 17% | $34,889 |
Including a salary range in your job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A preschool teacher salary can vary based on several factors:
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | California | $41,428 | $20 | 21 |
2 | New York | $40,635 | $20 | 24 |
3 | District of Columbia | $38,892 | $19 | 2 |
4 | Minnesota | $37,714 | $18 | 4 |
5 | Massachusetts | $35,996 | $17 | 14 |
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kings Canyon Unified School District | $63,800 | $30.67 | 19 |
2 | Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles | $59,286 | $28.50 | |
3 | West Contra Costa Unified School District | $57,016 | $27.41 | |
4 | Siemens Enterprise Communications Inc | $56,172 | $27.01 | |
5 | Stratford Board Of Education | $55,935 | $26.89 | |
6 | Presidio Knolls School | $55,575 | $26.72 | |
7 | Hall & Evans | $55,288 | $26.58 | |
8 | Merritt Academy | $55,251 | $26.56 | 3 |
9 | Lake Elsinore Unified School District | $55,208 | $26.54 | |
10 | Puget Sound ESD | $55,020 | $26.45 | |
11 | Cypress Fairbanks Isd | $53,823 | $25.88 | 3 |
12 | Council Bluffs Community School District | $53,539 | $25.74 | 22 |
13 | San Jacinto Unified School District | $52,769 | $25.37 | |
14 | Pine Crest School | $52,124 | $25.06 | 1 |
15 | Stanford University | $51,739 | $24.87 | 4 |
16 | Broward County Public Schools | $51,674 | $24.84 | 68 |
17 | Leman Academy of Excellence, Inc. | $51,633 | $24.82 | 11 |
18 | Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.c. Or Aza | $51,583 | $24.80 | |
19 | Goleta Union School District | $51,572 | $24.79 | 3 |
20 | Skyline Education, Inc | $51,449 | $24.74 | 9 |
A job description for a preschool teacher role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a preschool teacher job description:
To find the right preschool teacher for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
To find preschool teacher candidates, you can consider the following options:
To successfully recruit preschool teachers, your first interview needs to be all about engaging with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' special skills and talents to see if they match with the ideal candidate profile you came up with earlier. Candidates who are good enough for the next step can then move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Once you've selected the best preschool teacher candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks that you're offering the candidate. It's essential to ensure that your offer is competitive, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it's important to be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
To prepare for the new preschool teacher first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources needs to make sure that a new employee file is created for internal recordkeeping.