DEARBORN, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Dearborn Public Schools recently approved the hiring of an “instructional coach” at the salary of $101,322 as well as a teacher with 12 years experience at $94,105.

The details of the salaries and positions were released by the district in documents and provides an insight into teachers compensation in this state. Teacher salaries can vary greatly within a single district with variables such as experience and level of education coming into pay that can greatly impact total compensation for teachers.

MORE NEWS: Oxford Families Split on $500K Settlement After Court Shields School District

At Dearborn, they don’t make newly hired teachers come in at the low end of the teachers pay scale. The newly hired instructional coach had 12 years of teaching experience in California and came in at the top of the teachers pay scale. The district also hired new teachers with no experience at a starting salary of $55,468.

WXYZ ran a story this month about a study conducted on teachers salaries in Michigan. The study claimed teacher salaries were hurting recruiting and teacher retention.

But teachers salaries in Michigan can vary greatly from district to district.

The average salary of Dearborn teachers was $79,716 in 2023-24. The average teacher salary in the state was $69,068.

Teachers are allowed to take on extra responsibilities to make more money and get bonuses, too.

For example, teachers in Dearborn get longevity bonuses that range from $2,500 at five years to $10,000 at the 22nd year, according to the union contract.

MORE NEWS: Smoke Signals: Michigan Has a New Resource for Tracking Wildfire Smoke and Alerts

Teachers have dozens of ways to earn extra money in the district. In Dearborn, if a teacher wants to help students deal with car traffic while arriving and leaving school, that teacher would earn a 9.5% bonus to their base salary. For a teacher making the average salary in the district, that would be an extra $7,573.

The salaries posted by the Dearborn district show that teachers can see fast growth in their pay in just a few years. The key is getting a Master’s degree.

First year teachers were hired at $55,468 with a bachelor’s degree.

According to the district, a teacher with three years of experience and a bachelor’s degree made $69,378. Another teacher with two years of experience and a Master’s degree made $71,003.