Newark Public Schools salary guide: how teachers move to a higher column

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How is the Newark teacher salary guide organized?

Appendix 1 of the NTU agreement prints a combined Teacher/CST salary guide for each school year from 2024–25 through 2028–29. Each has a BA column, an MA column and a PhD column, with 16 steps: lettered A through P in the 2024–25 guide and numbered 1 through 16 from 2025–26 on. Article XIV.D says that, effective July 1, 2024, teachers who had been paid on the Traditional Master's and Traditional Doctorate guides, now called Legacy guides, moved to the combined guide.

Steps are not automatic. Article XIV.A says increments may be withheld for performance or disciplinary reasons under N.J.S.A. 18A:29-14, and Article XIV.B.2 says step advancement "is not automatic and is contingent upon effective performance." The same section sets hire-date rules: staff hired between July 1 and October 15 advance one step on July 1 or September 1 of the next school year, staff hired between October 16 and the end of February advance the next school year, and staff hired on or after March 1 stay on their hiring step. Under XIV.B.3, ten-month staff must work at least 91 days in the year to be eligible to advance.

The agreement also pays longevity increments beginning in the 15th year (Article XIV.F), though employees hired after May 15, 2017 are not eligible for longevity. For a refresher on reading a grid like this, see our guide to reading a salary schedule.

Which units count toward a Newark column change?

For new movement, none on their own. The combined guide has no BA+ or MA+ columns, so graduate-level credit earned outside a degree does not change a Newark teacher's column. What moves a teacher from BA to MA, or from MA to PhD, is the degree itself. Article XIV.E of the agreement sets three conditions:

• Proof: the teacher submits verification, such as official transcripts, that the degree was awarded before July 1 of the school year.
• Institution: the degree must come from "a duly authorized institution of higher education as defined in N.J.S.A. 18A:3-15.3."
• Field: the degree must be "related to the teacher's current or future aspiring teaching responsibilities or educational leadership as defined in N.J.S.A. 18A:6-5."

Credit-based columns are a closed history in Newark. Article XIV, Section 15 says teachers who moved above the Bachelor's column before June 30, 2019 on "equivalency credits" stay on that legacy column for the rest of their Newark employment, or until they move from the legacy Master's guide to the legacy Doctoral guide. The tuition article adds that "Undergraduate courses will not be considered for horizontal advancement for employees hired on or after July 1, 2001." Our article on master's degrees versus loose credits covers why a degree plan matters in a district like this.

Does Newark require approval before you take a course?

For the column change, the agreement asks only for proof of the awarded degree. For tuition reimbursement, approval comes first. Article XX, Section 1 of the agreement sets these rules:

• Prior approval: written approval from the District must be received before registration, on a prescribed form.
• How many: up to two courses per session, with fall, winter, spring, summer 1 and summer 2 as the sessions.
• What qualifies: courses that are part of a matriculated graduate program in the present teaching field, or in a field to which the teacher may be assigned. Courses for credit must be offered by an accredited college or university and listed in its catalogue.
• Approved topics: teaching skills, learning theory, writing across content areas, critical thinking, curriculum development, classroom management and subject courses in the teacher's certification areas, among others.
• Grades: a B or better is reimbursed in full and a C at half, paid within 45 days of official evidence of completion.
• Priority: approvals go first come, first served until the year's allocation is committed, with preference for teachers certified, or seeking certification, in mathematics, science, special education and English.
• Service: a reimbursed teacher must stay three years after the coursework or repay a prorated share.

Section 2 of the same article adds an enhanced rate for teachers matriculated in a degree program leading to certification in a hard-to-fill area on the district's yearly list; to stay in it, a teacher must complete 12 credits per school year. Our article on pre-approval forms covers what to keep from each approval.

When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?

Article XIV.E of the agreement ties column movement to the school year: the degree must be awarded before July 1 for movement that year, and the teacher must submit verification such as official transcripts. A degree conferred after July 1 counts toward the following school year. The agreement does not print a separate filing date for the degree paperwork, so send transcripts to Human Resources as soon as the degree posts.

Tuition reimbursement has its own calendar. Article XX, Section 1.A says applications are due no later than 45 days before the college term begins, and Section 1.B says written approval must arrive before you register. Our transcript deadlines article has tips for getting degree posting dates in writing.

Do the same units count toward New Jersey license renewal?

The New Jersey Department of Education's professional development FAQ says that, beginning July 1, 2013, teachers "must earn at least 20 hours of professional development each year" under N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-3.4, guided by an individualized Professional Development Plan written with their supervisor. It adds that a teacher "will typically earn 45 professional development hours" for a 3-credit college course. For Newark teachers this is where stand-alone coursework can matter, even though it does not move a pay column. The New Jersey renewal section has the state rules and sources, and the New Jersey state guide compares other districts' columns.

Where can Newark teachers earn graduate-level units?

Every district, Newark included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: license renewal, an added endorsement or a degree program. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Newark's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.

Newark pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a Newark salary on their own (see units that count). Where graduate-level units still help is license renewal, explained in the renewal section, and any other purpose Newark or New Jersey names in writing.

Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts

For renewal, or for a future move to a district that pays for units, many providers issue graduate-level units through accredited universities. 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)
• Fresno Pacific University CE: self-paced, up to 1 year, units through Fresno Pacific University; ≈$475 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Graduate Credit Courses: self-paced, units through Cal Poly Humboldt; $570 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Model Teaching: self-paced, 1 year, units through a choice of six universities, including University of the Pacific; $359 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)

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 Newark has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.

Sources

1. Agreement between the Newark Board of Education and the Newark Teachers Union, July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029, including Appendix 1 salary guides, Newark Teachers Union. Checked November 12, 2026
2. NTU Contract 2024–2029, Newark Teachers Union. Checked November 12, 2026
3. Professional development FAQ, New Jersey Department of Education. Checked November 12, 2026

Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error