Elementary & Middle Teachers

Teaching Careers in Elementary and Middle Schools

Elementary schools in BC public Education are organized differently depending on the individual school district’s model. In some cases, elementary schools are organized from Kindergarten to Grade 7. Teachers in these settings are often considered “elementary generalists” and teach several subjects to one group of students.

In situations where the district has organized a middle school model, the teachers are more likely to teach specialty subject areas and may teach many individual classes of students. Each district and school will be different. In most cases, an elementary school in BC’s public education system ends in grade 7.

Within elementary schools, some specialty teachers exist, but these specialty areas vary widely. Sometimes, you may find a school with a music specialist teacher or a French specialist teacher. In other cases, the school may have a Physical Education specialist or information technology specialist.

Certification and Qualification Details

All BC Education elementary and middle school teachers must be certified to teach with the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Regulation Branch. When a certified teacher cannot be hired, a letter of permission may be obtained from the Teacher Regulation Branch to allow the employment of an uncertified teacher. These letters of permission allow an individual to teach within the system for up to one year without their certification.

Teacher Salary

BC teachers are paid an annual salary according to their assigned TQS category/level.  This category is determined by the Teacher Qualification Service, the agency responsible for evaluating a teacher’s qualifications and years of education for salary purposes.

Depending on a teacher’s level of experience, and their district of employment, their salary may fall below or above these ranges. Below is an average minimum and maximum salary range for each TQS category.

Remote and Rural Allowance

There are some additional allowances paid to some teachers in certain districts. In many districts, allowances are paid to teachers with special responsibility positions such as department head, head teacher, teacher-in-charge, or teacher coordinator.

In addition, teachers in some districts are paid a remote and rural allowance to aid in the recruiting efforts of districts in remote communities and to recognize the difficulty of working in a remote community. The allowance is approximately $2,947 per FTE annually. When paid monthly, for example, a full-time continuing employee would receive an additional allowance of $295 per month for 10 months or $246 per month for 12 months. Teachers on call (TOCs) are not eligible to receive this allowance.

To view districts’ individual salary grids, and to find out which offers these allowances, check out the Salary Finder tool.

Training and Educational Programs

To prepare teachers for the classroom, teacher education programs include theoretical coursework, and an in-school practicum experience component. The length of training to prepare a teacher for the public school system ranges from one to two years, depending on the program.

Start your elementary teaching career by enrolling in a teacher education training program at one of these BC universities.

Employment Opportunities

Find kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teacher positions on Makeafuture.ca under the ‘teachers & administrators’ position category.

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