Your school district’s health plan will typically cover medical, dental, vision and other insurance for you and your family.

Vacation days will depend on your district, but in general you can expect: 

• Spring break
• December holiday break
• Mid-winter break in many districts
• National holidays off
• Paid personal & sick days during the school year

As you probably know, teachers also get a long summer break. Teachers use this time to travel, explore professional development, relax or work elsewhere. Some districts offer summer positions for teachers, such as summer school classes or curriculum development jobs.

In New York, you’ll receive retirement funds through the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. The longer you’ve worked in the school system, the more you’ll receive in retirement.

Stepping into a classroom could mean stepping out of debt. Teachers qualify for several loan forgiveness opportunities—meaning you might not have to pay your student loans back!

New York State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

The New York State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program offers loan forgiveness for teachers who work in shortage area subjects, or who teach in hard-to-staff districts.

You could receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness per year for four years! To qualify, you'll need to:

• Be certified as a teacher in New York.
• Be employed full-time in an elementary or secondary school in New York.
• Teach in either a shortage area subject or a hard-to-staff district.
• Be a New York State resident for 12 continuous months before you apply for loan forgiveness.
• Have an outstanding balance on an eligible student loan debt.

Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

The Federal Student Aid Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program helps public school teachers with federal student loans.

Teachers in certain shortage areas, including math, science and special education can receive up to $17,500 in forgiven loans. If you teach a different subject, you can still get up to $5,000! To qualify, you’ll need to:

• Have a federal Direct Loan or Stafford Loan.
• Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
• Teach full-time for five consecutive academic years.
• Have taken out your loans before the end of your five years of service.

Perkins Loan Forgiveness

You can get 100% of your Perkins loans forgiven if you teach for five years!

You’ll need to:

• Have a federal Perkins loan.
• Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
• Teach in a state-designated shortage area.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you work full-time in a public service field (like teaching!) for 10 years, you can get your remaining student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

To qualify, you’ll need to:

• Have a federal Direct Loan, or consolidate your other federal loans into a Direct Loan.
• Work full-time (at least 30 hours a week).
• Make 120 on-time payments while you’re employed full-time.

Owning a home or renting an apartment in New York is expensive, but there are resources to help teachers find a home in the community where they teach. 

Check out the Good Neighbor Next Door program and the New York Teacher Next Door program for starters!

Building your skills can increase your knowledge and your pay. Many New York school districts provide funds for tuition reimbursement and opportunities like conferences or training.