As a people first organization, we are deeply committed to valuing you as much as we possibly can. Compensation is one way we value you, and an important one as many of you have shared this fall. As a result, we are going to make our largest investment EVER in DSST history in teacher and staff compensation for the 2022-23 school year.    

There are two ways that we are increasing base salaries: an annual raise and a salary adjustment for teachers. With both, we looked hard at pay equity to guide our decision-making. 

1. A raise grid for all staff where our lowest earners get the highest percent raises with an average of 6%
2. A salary adjustment for teachers who fall below our new starting salary scale. These adjustments average an increase of 6%.

These compensation changes result in a 12% average total increase for teachers and an all staff average of 10% (with the median increase at 8%). 

Why a teacher adjustment? We review compensation for roles every 3-5 years, and teacher salaries were due for review this year. We know an effective teacher is the most important school-based determinant of student learning. Our teachers are so important to us. As a result, we have increased our teacher starting salary range, starting with moving our first year teacher salaries to $50,000 (a $4,000 increase) and then corresponding changes with years of experience. As mentioned above, we will do a pay adjustment for those teachers making below the new starting scale, resulting in a 6% average increase for current teachers (impacting 7 out of 8 teachers). To be clear, existing teachers will get the salary adjustment and then the raise applied to that new base salary. Here are some graphics to help explain.

Teachers making below new starting salary for their current year of experience:

Teachers making above the new starting salary for their current year of experience:

School Staff (front office, paras, school mental health & college success teams, athletic directors, school leadership and community engagement managers):

School leaders will be sharing detailed compensation information with each team member after break. Please know this investment reflects a commitment to make future budget adjustments so that we can put every available dollar into base salaries. We hope that this supports the incredible work you have done this year and demonstrates how much we value each one of you. 

Below are more graphs and some FAQs:

FAQs:

• When will my salary change?
• July 1, 2022, and you will see the increase in your July 15, 2022 paycheck.
• How do I figure out what my 2022-23 school year pay will be?
• If you are a teacher:
• First, compare your current salary to the new starting salary grid using your current year of experience (YOE) (example if you are in your second year of teaching then you have 1 YOE, if you make below $52,000 then your salary would first increase to $52,000). If you make at or above the new starting salary grid skip to step 2. 
• Second, add the raise for your new (or current) salary on top (so $52,000 x 6.85%=$55,562).
• If you are not a teacher:
• Find your current salary on the raise grid above & multiply by the percent raise to find your new SY22-23 salary.
• I’m a teacher and am getting below the 12% raise mentioned in Bill’s email, why?
• Individuals receiving both the salary benchmark adjustment (because they currently make less than the new starting salaries) will make at or above the 12% average. Individuals who already make at or above the new starting teacher salaries will likely make below a 12% raise. This approach represents our commitment to pay equity.
• Where can I see my year of experience in Workday?
• From your Workday homepage:
• Click on the cloud icon/your picture in the upper right corner and then select “View Profile.” Then on the left-hand blue pane on the very bottom click “more” then select the second from the last option “personal”
• From the “Personal” info page select the third tab called “additional data”
• Scroll down & you will see your “Current Role Years of Experience” listed
• What if my year of experience is wrong in Workday?
• From your Workday homepage:
• First, go to the “requests” icon (icon looks like an envelope with a checklist sticking out:)
• Second, on the left-hand side of the page under “actions” click “create request”
• Third, in the pop up window click in the text field then select “all” & “review years of experience” from the drop down.
• Finally, enter details around why you believe your years of experience is incorrect in the open text field & hit submit at the bottom.

• Where can I find my current compensation?
• From your Workday homepage, click on the cloud in the upper right corner and then “View Profile.” Then click on the Compensation icon on the left side of the screen.