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Improving Islamic Schools:

Attracting and Retaining Qualified Teachers in U.S. Full-Time Islamic Schools Through Analysis of Compensation

This report explores the landscape of teacher compensation, position vacancies, and teacher retention in full-time Islamic schools in the United States. It aims to understand the factors that contribute to attracting and retaining qualified teachers in these schools, which play a crucial role in providing Muslim students with an educational alternative to U.S. public schools. The report also offers recommendations informed by the research to school administrators, teachers, and others working to ensure the success and development of full-time Islamic schools.

Report Partner

This report is co-published by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and the Islamic Schools League of America (ISLA). ISLA administered the Islamic School Profile Survey, which is part of the ISLA Database Project, aimed at exploring and gaining a deeper understanding of the landscape and trends of full-time Islamic schools in the U.S. The data analysis and report writing was led by ISPU in collaboration with ISLA. This publication was made possible by generous support from the Rostom Fund.

The Islamic Schools League of America works in partnership with educators, organizations, and universities to foster the development, growth, and quality of Islamic education primarily by establishing networks, providing resources, disseminating knowledge, nurturing leadership, and carrying out critical and foundational research on Islamic education and full time schools.
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Improving Islamic Schools: Report Downloads

Full Report

  • This report explores the landscape of teacher compensation, filling position vacancies, and retaining teaching staff in full-time Islamic schools in the United States.

    Author ImageSarah Baker
    25 June, 2024

Supplementary Documents

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Infographics

Graphs for Improving Islamic Schools

Click here to download all 22 graphs.

Compensation

Benefits

Retention

Graphs for Improving Islamic Schools

Click here to download all 22 graphs.

  • A horizontal stacked bar graph showing the percentage of schools, by grade and overall, paying low salaries, mid-range salaries, and high salaries.
  • A table showing the average regional and national annual wages of teachers by grade and overall.
  • A horizontal stacked bar graph showing percentage of the annual average wages that Islamic school teachers are making by grade and overall.
  • A table showing the average teacher salary for high financially resourced schools vs. mid-range and low financially resourced schools by operating budget, revenue, and tuition.
  • A horizontal bar graph describing the proportion of Islamic schools at low, mid-range, and high salaries based on the number of full-time teachers at the school.
  • A horizontal bar graph describing the proportion of Islamic schools at low, mid-range, and high salaries based on the ratio of full-time to part-time teachers on staff.
  • A column graph describing the average elementary school teacher salary by the percentage of elementary teachers with a bachelor’s degree in education.
  • A column graph describing the average elementary school teacher salary by the percentage of elementary school teachers with any additional credentials.
  • A column graph describing the average middle school teacher salary by the percentage of elementary school teachers with the following specified credentials: state certification, bachelor’s degree in education, and master’s degree.
  • A bar graph describing the proportion of Islamic schools in our study offering each of the specified types of benefits.
  • A horizontal stacked bar graph showing the percentage of schools offering a low number of benefits, a mid-range number of benefits, and a high number of benefits by overall teacher salary level (low, mid-range, high).
  • A clustered column graph showing the proportion of schools with health insurance and retirement plans (separately) by the overall level of teacher pay (low, mid-range, and high) provided by those schools.
  • A clustered column graph showing the proportion of schools with health insurance, retirement plans, paid sick leave, and employee tuition discount (separately) by the annual operating budgets (low, mid-range, and high) of those schools.
  • A clustered column graph showing the proportion of schools with health insurance, retirement plans, paid sick leave, and employee tuition discount (separately) by the annual revenue (low, mid-range, and high) of those schools.
  • A clustered column graph showing the proportion of schools with health insurance and retirement plans (separately) by the overall level of teacher pay (low, mid-range, and high) provided by those schools.
  • A stacked bar chart that shows the proportion of schools that report the various levels of ease or difficulty (Easy, Difficult, Very Difficult) of filling various teaching positions for the most recent school year.
  • A bar graph that describes the proportion of schools that experienced various retention rates between the past academic year and the current one.
  • A horizontal stacked bar chart showing the percentage of schools filling English/Language Arts teacher vacancies at each level of ease/difficulty (Easy, Difficult, Very Difficult) by the level of teacher pay (low, mid-range, high).
  • A horizontal stacked bar chart showing the percentage of schools filling English/Language Arts teacher vacancies at each level of ease/difficulty (Easy, Difficult, Very Difficult) by the number of available benefits (low, mid-range, high).
  • A bar chart showing the relationship between teacher pay and the percentage of schools that have a teacher retention rate between 76% and 100%.
  • A bar chart showing the relationship between teacher pay and the percentage of schools that have a teacher retention rate between 76% and 100%.
  • A bar chart comparing the ease of filling Elementary Lead vacancies based on the percentage of elementary school teachers in the school with additional credentialing.

Research Team

Nicole Steward-Streng

Analyst and Report Co-Author 

Dr. Shaza Khan

Report Co-Author and Executive Director

Islamic Schools League of America

Dr. Samar Al-Majaideh

Report Co-Author and Research Project Manager

Islamic Schools League of America

Saher Selod, PhD

Director of Research

Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Sarah Baker

Research Project Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Communications Team

Katherine Coplen

Director of Communications, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Rebecka Green

Communications and Creative Media Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Tahirah Blanding

Communications Campaigns Specialist, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Advisor

Seema Imam

EdD, Curriculum and Social Inquiry, National Louis University; EdD, Islamic Theology, Graduate Theological Foundation; Professor of Elementary and Middle Level Teacher Education, National Louis University

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