Investment in People

At KIPP NYC, we invest in your career as much as we invest in you as a person. Work-life balance is extremely important to us. We offer Wellness Wednesdays throughout the year, where teachers and students have a half day of school and get to enjoy activities that bring them joy. We also acknowledge our staff members with rewards for their time with us, including: 

• Longevity Compensation. After three years with KIPP NYC, teachers earn additional compensation in their annual salary. 
• All of Us Will Learn Award. Staff members have the opportunity to take a class or gain greater knowledge in an area of interest and get reimbursed up to $300, after completing three years at KIPP NYC.
• We Remember, We Appreciate Sabbatical. After completing 10 continuous years at KIPP NYC, staff are eligible for an eight-week paid sabbatical.

Sustainable Work Hours

As an organization, we are committed to striking a balance between the needs of our students, families, and staff. The feedback we received in focus groups with our school communities compelled us to re-evaluate how to make a school day more sustainable for students and teachers. Thus, we adjusted our schedule so that the school day starts between 7:45-8:00am and ends between 3:15-3:30pm. We will continue to have a longer school year than traditional public schools; however, the shorter day will give students more opportunities to engage in afterschool activities. It will also give staff more time at the end of the day for personal or work time.

Competitive Compensation

KIPP NYC offers pay and benefits that reflect our appreciation for the invaluable role our educators play in lighting paths to opportunity for our students:

• Generous Paid Time Off. Our staff enjoy 7-9 weeks of PTO depending on the role each calendar year! This includes a full week for the Thanksgiving holiday, winter holidays, and typical school breaks throughout the year.
• Full Benefits. KIPP NYC provides full-time staff members with generous benefits along with multiple “Team and Family Rewards” based on longevity in the organization, including medical, dental coverage & vision benefits; mental health coverage; 403(b) employee match for eligible employees; gym reimbursement (inclusive of home workouts); and graduate school reimbursement 
• Competitive Salary:  Our staff are compensated on an equitable salary scale that values experience in the classroom and New York State certification. All certified teachers receive an additional $8,250 yearly on top of their base salary to demonstrate KIPP NYC’s commitment to teachers who invest in honing their craft. To honor our teachers who continue to work diligently with our schools year over year, our compensation also includes a longevity component. For staff who are actively working on their certification, KIPP NYC is proud to offer up to $5,000 in tuition reimbursement for graduate programs that lead to teacher or social work certification. For context, please see below comparison of a teacher with three years of lead teaching experience on our salary scale:

Voice & Professional Development

We honor the innate talent and hard-earned skill our teachers bring to KIPP NYC. Our leadership both listens to and advocates for teacher perspectives. We support educators with curriculum by content area and grade level; however, teachers have the freedom to design and tailor lesson plans for their students. Additionally, our school leaders are committed to being responsive to their teachers’ perspectives on individual student needs.  

KIPP NYC prides itself on providing growth opportunities for every staff member. We have established programs like Teacher in Residence (TIR) where we offer two career options that lead to full-time teaching roles and New York State certification. As a TIR, you’ll work with KIPP’s highest performing mentor teachers who consistently observe and provide actionable feedback to develop your teaching practice and nurture a growth mindset. 

We also offer Emerging Leaders, Leaders Fellows, and Principals In Residence Leadership Development Programs to assist staff members in reaching their career aspirations. In these programs, participants develop leadership skills and competencies to continue in a leadership position or progress to the next step in their journey, including preparing to become a school principal.

Equity

At KIPP NYC, we are committed to building strategically diverse teams to serve our students, families, and staff. We recognize that we are better together and having both teachers and leaders that reflect our school communities results in better outcomes for students. Our Talent team ensures that there are equitable promotion processes in place for all leadership positions. Additionally, we’ve built out pipelines such as Emerging Leaders, Leader Fellows, and Principal In Residence to ensure that a diverse set of staff have opportunities to grow and succeed. 

On each of our campuses, as well as within our central office staff, we prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion training. This comes to life through targeted book studies and affinity group discussions. Our schools actively coach and train on culturally responsive teaching and restorative practices. 

Social-Emotional Learning

At KIPP NYC, we know that social-emotional learning is an important component of every child’s education. To better help us meet the unique needs of each of our students, we employ a tiered approach to Social Work services. This includes weekly Advisory Group and daily grade-level community meetings, targeted affinity groups to help address shared needs, parent support groups, and individually tailored counseling for students.