State and municipal high schools competing for new teachers in Tallinn

Tallinn's expanding state high schools are set to begin a new wave of teacher recruitment this February. The City of Tallinn has the same plan for its municipal high schools, as they also require new teachers.
Tallinn Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin(Eesti 200), said cooperation between the city and the state-run high schools is very good.
"We are aware of the fact that our partners and friends in the state high schools as well as our municipal schools are recruiting in parallel. Our attitude to this is that these are our Tallinn and Estonian children and they need to be taught no matter what, be that in a state high school or municipal high school," said Jašin.
"Every person that we can attract to become a teacher, either after graduation or as a career changer, is a win-win," the deputy mayor added.
While Tallinn's state secondary schools are looking for 50 new teachers, the City of Tallinn needs far more – over 200 in total – by September.
In order to find them, Tallinn will continue its ongoing recruitment campaign. However, if some teachers go to work in state high schools instead, the city will also be happy.
"Of course, above all, we need to fill the posts in the municipal schools. We have a pay rise coming up for qualified teachers – €100 a month in September. Given that context, I am not concerned. I don't know if we will be able to find every last teacher we need, but in terms of the bigger picture, we will get as many as we require, regardless of the competition," said Jašin.
According to Jašin, salaries in state and municipal high schools are different – while the state school is run centrally, for municipal schools, local authorities have a greater say.
"Some put more money into the salary fund, set a minimum salary or offer other benefits to teachers," Jašin explained.
"I can't confirm that the city will pay more than state high schools, but I can say that from September 1 we will pay all qualified teachers in schools a minimum of €1,920 a month – no one will receive less than that. In addition to this, schools have a differentiation fund from both the state and the city," said Jašin.
According to Jašin, Tallinn is trying to use its own resources to improve salaries, as it is competing for teachers not only with state-run high schools, but also with neighboring municipalities, which have already raised their salaries in the past.
State high school: Our salary is €2,000 a month
State high schools currently offer a salary of €2,000 per month for qualified teachers.
"It is possible to increase this to some extent by taking on additional responsibilities, such as mentoring or supervising studies as well as practical work," said Alo Savi, director of Tõnismäe State High School.
At the same time, state high schools are also attracting potential teachers with all sorts of additional benefits, such as promises to allow them to experiment with newer teaching methods, to let them have an increased say in the running of schools and the ability to work exclusively with high school students.
"No state high school in Tallinn has been operating for more than two years – there's a lot of novelty and freshness there, and anyone who wants to have a say, can do that," said Savi.
"In our schools, we take into account that you can't teach the same way you did 40 or 50 years ago, because young people, teaching and science have changed. We are looking for teachers who want to teach in a different way," said Savi.
Tõnismäe State High School offers teachers the opportunity to teach only high school students, rather than having to spend some of the time teaching younger pupils, which is not an option at most other schools.
"We also have a learning support curriculum – three periods and slightly longer lessons of 70 minutes," said Savi.
"This gives school life a calmer pace and the opportunity to delve deeper into subjects," said Savi.
Three of Tallinn's stat high will start recruiting new teachers again in early February.
This fall, three state schools in Tallinn will reach full capacity, making this the third and final major recruitment drive to attract teachers of different subjects.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Michael Cole