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Pay and Benefits
Salary
LACOSS uses a seven step salary schedule, ranging from
$567.50 to $725 per week. Most newly hired outdoor science
teachers are placed on Step 1 with a salary of $567.50 per
week, or $1,135 paid biweekly. This should total about
$21,565 for the nine months of the school year. All
returning staff jump to the next step on the salary schedule
each subsequent year.
Most outdoor education programs do not offer paid vacations, nor provide a consistent salary. This can make it difficult to compare our pay to that offered by other jobs. If we were paying you the way most outdoor schools do (i.e. - for time worked instead of a consistent salary), at Step 1 you would be making $645.60 per week, $129.12 per day, or $16.14 per hour. Hopefully, those numbers will help you do an "apples to apples" pay comparison as you look at other outdoor education jobs. More Details
Benefits
Medical, dental and vision benefits are provided. Room
and partial board is provided during the weeks of your
employment.
Housing
The housing situation is quite different at each of our
three locations. Wrightwood has very limited on-site housing
during the week, and none on weekends. But they have
abundant off-site housing nearby in the town of Wrightwood.
Malibu has on-site housing available for all staff, both
during the week (free) and on weekends (for a nominal fee).
Off-site housing is available in the surrounding
communities. Blue Sky Meadow is a bit of a blend. Some full
time housing is available at the Blue Sky Meadow site, and
there is a town about 10 miles away providing off-site
housing options. All staff living off-site receive a small
housing stipend.
Meals
Most outdoor science teachers choose to prepare their
own meals, but if you wish, you can eat in the dining hall
for a small fee ($3/meal).
Vacation
Full-year staff receive 21 paid vacation days. There is one
week off for both Thanksgiving and Spring Break, two weeks
off for winter break, and five long weekends due to Monday
holidays. In addition, you are paid for 4 discretionary
professional development days. Currently, our program does
not operate during the summer, giving you three months to
pursue a summer job, or just to travel and play.
- Duties of a Outdoor Science Teacher/Instructor
- Qualifications
- Pay and Benefits
- Length of Contract
- Application Procedures
- Gauging Your Qualifications (Should you apply?)
© LACOSS, 2009
Last Revised: April 8, 2009
Comments or Questions? webmaster@OutdoorScienceSchool.org