A day as an Elementary School Teacher
You're on stage for most of the day, and your audience is seven years old. The teaching is only part of it, because you're also the nurse's first call, the person who spots a reading problem, and the one parents email at night. This page walks through a normal day in a public second-grade classroom, who tends to love the work, and how people actually get licensed and hired.
One Tuesday in a second-grade room
The quiet half hour before the bell
You get in before the kids and before the copier line. Put the day's schedule on the board, set out the math manipulatives, check your email for anything from the front office or a parent. There's usually a note that a student has a dentist appointment at ten, or that the assembly moved. This is also when you glance at your small-group plan for reading, because once the doors open you won't get another calm minute until lunch.
Morning meeting, then the reading block
Kids come in, hang backpacks, do lunch count and a warm-up while you take attendance in the student information system. Morning meeting is short, a greeting and a quick share, but it tells you who slept badly and who's upset about something at home. Then comes the long literacy block. You teach a mini-lesson to the whole class, then pull small groups to your table while everyone else rotates through independent reading and word work. You're listening to a child read aloud, noting errors on a running record, and keeping one eye on the table by the window that's gotten too loud.
Where the plan falls apart
A fire drill you weren't told about goes off in the middle of math. You grab the emergency folder and the class list, line everyone up, and count heads twice in the parking lot. Back inside, two kids are in tears about the noise and the lesson you timed carefully is gone. You cut the practice page, keep the one example that matters, and move the rest to tomorrow. This happens more weeks than it doesn't, and the teachers who last learn to let a lesson go without letting the room go with it.
Lunch, recess duty and a quick grade-level huddle
Your lunch is shorter than you'd like, and some days it's eaten at your desk while you answer a parent on the school messaging app. Once or twice a week you're on recess duty, sorting out who cut in line for the slide. On other days you meet with your grade-level team during planning time. You compare math data, agree on next week's writing unit, and decide which kids need a referral to the reading specialist or a conversation with the school counselor.
After dismissal, the second shift
Dismissal alone takes focus: car riders, bus lines, the kid whose pickup changed and nobody told you. Once the building empties you grade exit tickets, update the gradebook, and prep copies for tomorrow. Some afternoons there's a staff meeting or an IEP meeting, where you sit with the special education teacher, a parent and sometimes a speech therapist to review a student's goals. You'll probably take something home, whether it's a stack of writing to read or a newsletter to finish.
What the job asks of you that nobody mentions in college
Classroom management is the whole ballgame in your first year. You can write a beautiful lesson plan, but if you haven't taught the class how to line up, how to get a pencil and what to do when they finish early, the lesson won't survive. Spend the first few weeks on routines and it pays you back all year. The other surprise is how much of the job is communication. You'll write to parents, fill out behavior logs, document interventions for a student who may need testing, and explain report card grades. Keep short, factual notes as things happen. When a meeting comes up months later, you'll be glad you did.
How people end up in front of a class
An education degree with student teaching
This is the most common route. You finish a bachelor's in elementary education, spend a semester student teaching under a mentor, and pass your state's licensing exams (often the Praxis series, though some states run their own). Then you apply for your initial license through the state education department. Rules differ by state, so check your state's licensing board before you pick a program.
Alternative certification after another degree
If you already have a bachelor's in something else, many states offer alternative certification programs. You usually pass a content exam, take a condensed set of courses, and teach on a provisional or intern license while you finish. It's faster, but your first year is harder because you're learning the craft and running a room at the same time. Districts with shortages lean on this route most.
Starting as a paraprofessional or substitute
Plenty of teachers start as an instructional aide or a substitute in the district they want to work in. You learn the curriculum, the principals get to know you, and you find out whether you actually like being in a classroom every day. Some districts help pay for a teaching degree for aides who commit to staying. When a job opens mid-year, the sub everyone already trusts often gets the first call.
What Elementary School Teacher postings ask for
Hiring the most
- KIPP20
- "Stride, Inc"15
- Uncommon Schools4
- Democracy Prep Public Schools3
- Pharos Academy Charter School2
Remote
24% of openings are fully remote.
Posted pay
$65,000 – $103,000
Typical range in the 12 of the newest 51 postings that list pay.
Questions people ask
Do I need a license to teach elementary school?
In public schools, yes. You'll need a state teaching license or certificate, which usually means a bachelor's degree, an approved preparation program, student teaching and passing the state's exams. The details vary by state, so go to your state education department's licensing page for the exact list. Private and some charter schools set their own rules, and a few hire without a license, though a license still makes you a stronger candidate.
What grade is easiest to start with?
There isn't an easy one, just different kinds of hard. Kindergarten and first grade are heavy on routines, tying shoes and early reading, and the day is physically tiring. Upper grades bring more content, more testing pressure and more attitude. Try a few grades while student teaching or subbing, then apply for the level where you went home tired but still like yourself.
What do principals look for when hiring a new teacher?
They want proof you can manage a room, so be ready to describe your routines in detail and what you did the day a lesson flopped. They'll ask how you group kids for reading, how you use data from assessments, and how you work with parents who disagree with you. Bring a sample lesson plan and a short example of student work you moved forward. A strong reference from your mentor teacher carries real weight.
51 Elementary School Teacher jobs are open today
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