Short answer
How do Springfield Public Schools teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Springfield's 2026-27 teacher schedule has four columns: Bachelor's, Master's, Master's +30 or Specialist, and Doctorate. A teacher who holds a master's moves to Master's +30 after 30 credit hours begun after the master's, in the area of certification or related to the teaching assignment. Every other move takes a completed degree. Official transcripts filed by August 25 are paid from the first September payroll.
Source: 2026-2027 Salary Schedules and Collective Bargaining Agreement, Educators, 2026-2027, Article 22, Springfield Public Schools. Checked .
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How is the Springfield teacher salary schedule organized?
The district's 2026-2027 Salary Schedules, presented to the Board of Education for approval on September 22, 2026, print the teacher schedule on page 4. It is labeled "182 Work Days & 3 Holidays," which matches the 185 paid workdays in Article 12 of the educators' agreement. The four columns carry pay-grade codes:
- TABS: Bachelor's
- TCMS: Master's
- TESP: Master's +30 or Specialist
- TFDR: Doctorate
Each column has 30 steps, but the Bachelor's column stops rising after step 20; steps 21 to 30 repeat the step 20 figure. That is one more reason a Bachelor's-column teacher in Springfield eventually looks at a master's degree.
Steps come from the agreement. Article 22, Section 1 gives eligible teachers a one-step advance effective July 1, 2026, plus a one-time payment, with a separate one-time payment for teachers already at the end of their column. New hires are credited with up to 15 years of prior qualifying teaching experience, which places them no higher than step 16, and only experience within the previous 20 years is considered. A teacher with no qualifying experience starts on step 1. Our guide to reading a salary schedule walks through a grid like this one.
Which units count toward a Springfield column change?
Article 22, Section 2 of the 2026-2027 educators' agreement lists what places a teacher in each column, based on "educational credit/degrees received from class work at an approved institution of higher education":
- Bachelor's: currently holds a bachelor's degree.
- Master's: has earned a master's degree, when one was not previously held.
- Master's Plus 30 / Specialist: holds a master's and has earned 30 additional credit hours of coursework; or earns a specialist's degree; or earns a second master's degree of at least 30 credit hours.
- Doctorate: has earned a doctorate, when one was not previously held.
The salary schedule adds the test for the 30 hours. They "must be earned via studies begun after completing Master's Degree," and they "can be satisfied by Graduate credits in your area of certification and/or College course work which would relate directly to a teaching assignment." So hours taken as part of the master's itself do not count toward the 30, and the content has to tie to your certification area or your assignment.
For a teacher on the Bachelor's column, credits alone do not change the column; the next move is a completed master's. Our article on master's degrees versus loose credits weighs the two paths. Separately, Article 22, Section 3 pays a stipend for National Board Certification, outside the column structure.
Does Springfield require approval before you take a course?
Neither the agreement nor the salary schedule sets a pre-approval step for column credit. Article 22, Section 2 says a teacher is moved after providing "appropriate documentation to the District's Human Resources Department, consistent with its current practice." Because the 30 hours must fit your certification area or your teaching assignment, and must come from what the agreement calls "an approved institution of higher education," the safest course is to ask Human Resources in writing about a specific course before you enroll and keep the reply.
The district's college tuition discounts and partnerships page lists discount and partnership programs with several universities. A discount program is not a statement that a course counts toward a column; that is still Human Resources' decision. Our article on pre-approval forms covers what to keep on file.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
The salary schedule's "Advanced Degree" paragraph sets the dates for teachers who earn an advanced degree:
- By August 25: official transcripts submitted by this date are paid on the first September payroll.
- August 26 to September 15: processed on the next available payroll.
- After September 15: processed in January.
- Fall graduates: transcripts submitted by January 15 are prorated, effective for the second semester.
The paragraph is written for advanced degrees. It does not separately mention the 30-hour route to Master's +30, so ask Human Resources whether the same dates apply when you file hours rather than a degree. Either way, an official transcript in hand before late August is what puts the new column on the first fall paycheck. Our transcript deadlines article explains how filing dates usually control pay.
Do the same units count toward Missouri certificate renewal?
They can, under a different test. Missouri's renewal rule, 5 CSR 20-400.260, keeps a Career Continuous Professional Classification current when the employing district verifies 15 contact hours of professional development each school year, and it counts one hour of college credit as 15 contact hours. Teachers in the four-year Initial Professional Classification follow a 30-contact-hour plan approved by the district. So a single credit hour can cover a CCPC holder's year, while the same hour also counts toward the 30 for Master's +30 only if it meets Springfield's own test. The Missouri renewal section covers the exemptions and the IPC requirements, and the Missouri state guide compares Springfield with North Kansas City.
Where can Springfield teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Springfield included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Springfield's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
At Springfield, credit hours short of a degree move pay only for a teacher who already holds a master's: 30 hours begun after the master's move that teacher to the Master's +30 or Specialist column. A teacher on the Bachelor's column changes columns by finishing a master's degree (see units that count). Units can also count toward Missouri's yearly professional development hours; see the renewal section.
Before you enroll: Springfield's 2026-27 salary schedule says the 30 hours for Master's +30 "can be satisfied by Graduate credits in your area of certification and/or College course work which would relate directly to a teaching assignment," and the 2026-27 educators' agreement asks for class work "at an approved institution of higher education." Ask Human Resources whether a specific course meets both tests before you enroll.
| Question | What Springfield says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Springfield: 30 hours begun after the master's; certification area or related to the assignment | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Springfield: August 25; January 15 for fall graduates | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Springfield: None written; ask HR before you enroll | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Springfield has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Springfield salary questions teachers ask
Does Springfield pay more for credits beyond a bachelor's degree?
Not on their own. The 2026-27 schedule has no BA-plus column, so a Bachelor's-column teacher changes columns by finishing a master's. Credit hours move pay only for a teacher who already has a master's, through the Master's +30 or Specialist column.
What counts toward Springfield's Master's +30 column?
Thirty credit hours begun after the master's degree, from graduate credits in your area of certification or college coursework related directly to your teaching assignment. A specialist's degree, or a second master's of at least 30 credit hours, also qualifies.
When must Springfield teachers turn in transcripts?
For an advanced degree, by August 25 to be paid on the first September payroll. Transcripts between August 26 and September 15 go on the next available payroll, later ones are processed in January, and fall graduates who file by January 15 are paid for the second semester.
How many years of experience does Springfield credit for new teachers?
Up to 15 years of prior qualifying teaching experience within the previous 20 years, which places a new hire no higher than step 16.
Where can Springfield teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Springfield decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, PD Courses (University of La Verne), Teaching Channel, TLC Graduate Credits and Upward Teachers. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- 2026-2027 Salary Schedules (Board of Education approval recommendation, September 22, 2026), Springfield Public Schools. Checked
- Salary schedules, Springfield Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- Collective Bargaining Agreement, Educators, School Year 2026-2027, School District of Springfield R-12 and Springfield National Education Association. Checked
- Collective bargaining, Springfield Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- College tuition discounts and educational partnerships, Springfield Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- 5 CSR 20-400.260, Missouri Code of State Regulations. Checked
Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error