Building a Sustainable Approach to Higher Educator Compensation
A financial strategy enabled Newtowne School to increase annual base salaries by more than 20% on average across all educators, bringing base pay in line with Cambridge Public Schools. At the same time, the school expanded financial aid for families and built the financial foundation needed to sustain both commitments over time.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Service areas: Educator Compensation & Workforce; Financial Sustainability & Planning
The Situation
Newtowne School is a cooperative, Reggio-inspired preschool where educators play a central role in the experience of children and families. To address workforce challenges and deepen its commitment to high-quality early education, the school sought to make a substantial and lasting investment in its educators.
Newtowne wanted to bring base educator salaries in line with Cambridge Public Schools. Leadership also wanted to remain thoughtful about tuition and preserve access for families. Moving beyond year-to-year budgeting was essential to understanding how the school could support these priorities over time.
This project reflects work Jay led as a Newtowne Board member and Treasurer before founding BeyondCare Consulting.
The Work
Jay worked closely with Newtowne’s Executive Director and Board to develop a financial strategy for educator compensation and the school’s long-term sustainability. The work examined how tuition, public funding, grants, and investment income from reserves could be brought together to support higher salaries. Financial modeling assessed the cost of the proposed investment, its implications for other priorities, and how higher salaries could be sustained under different future funding scenarios. This helped the Board align around a long-term approach.
Affordability remained central. The strategy paired a tuition increase with an expansion of need-based financial aid, using the additional tuition revenue to support both higher educator salaries and greater assistance for families. This allowed Newtowne to improve educator compensation while preserving and expanding access for lower-income families.
Jay developed an investment policy designed to generate additional income from the school’s reserves and strengthened how the school managed its cash and working capital. The work also produced a simpler salary rubric informed by market benchmarks, the roles and operating context at Newtowne, and the school’s vision and priorities for its educators and staff.
What Changed
Once the plan was approved, Newtowne immediately increased annual base salaries by more than 20% on average across all educators, bringing base pay in line with Cambridge Public Schools. The school also expanded need-based financial aid for lower-income families while managing tuition thoughtfully.
The compensation increases have proven sustainable over time. Newtowne continues to fund higher educator salaries alongside need-based financial aid and investments in staffing, program quality, and innovation.
Educator retention has improved substantially, with annual attrition falling to a single-digit rate. This is particularly notable in a field where turnover is often high. Newtowne has attracted highly qualified educators when positions have opened.
Client Perspective
“Jay brought an unusual combination of financial expertise, creative strategic thinking, and genuine commitment to Newtowne’s mission. He took the time to deeply understand both the early childhood education landscape and what makes Newtowne distinctive, including the values and commitments at the heart of our mission. That understanding allowed him to help us move beyond year-to-year budgeting and think much more strategically about how we could braid together tuition, public funding, grants, reserves, and other resources. He helped us understand the risks and uncertainties, while also pushing us to think more expansively about what was possible.
That work was instrumental in enabling Newtowne to significantly increase educator salaries, bringing our base salaries in line with Cambridge Public Schools. Years later, we have maintained that higher level of educator compensation while continuing to support financial aid and invest in the staffing, quality, and innovation that are central to the school.”
Caitlin Malloy
Executive Director, Newtowne School
What This Work Illustrates
Organizations can make substantial improvements in educator pay when leadership and the Board align around a clear strategy. Sustaining those increases requires connecting compensation to the organization’s full financial picture, including tuition, public funding, grants, capital reserve, staffing, and other operating costs. This broader approach can improve retention, support educator well-being, help attract qualified educators, lower hiring costs, and strengthen program quality.
Exploring Higher Educator Compensation?
BeyondCare helps early childhood education providers and sector partners develop practical approaches to improving educator compensation and building the financial foundation needed to sustain them.
