Alabama First Class Pre-K teachers have a published state pay schedule: Appendix A of the state's 2023 First Class Pre-K guidelines — the most recent version our research found — lists a base salary of $44,226 for lead teachers and $22,440 for auxiliary teachers, and requires programs to pay auxiliary teachers at least the CDA salary.
Here is what those figures cover and what moves them.
The current salary scale
Pay in Alabama's First Class Pre-K classrooms starts from a published state schedule.
The guidelines carry an Appendix A salary schedule, and the version our sources captured is dated June 2023 — the most recent published.
It sets one base salary line for each of the two teaching roles on the schedule:
| Role on the schedule | Base salary (June 2023 guidelines) |
|---|---|
| Lead teacher | $44,226 |
| Auxiliary teacher | $22,440 |
Both lines are base salaries, and the guidelines write a floor into the auxiliary role: programs must pay auxiliary teachers at least the CDA salary.
What the Appendix A figures we read do not include is how pay moves above those bases — no step amounts by years or credential appear in the material our sources captured.
For context on the program's home state: Alabama is one of six states that met all 10 NIEER quality benchmarks in 2024-25.
Dated figures — confirm before you rely on them
Lead vs assistant pay
The schedule names two teaching roles and gives each its own base line: a lead teacher base of $44,226 and an auxiliary teacher base of $22,440 in the June 2023 guidelines.
Which line a posting fills is the first thing to check when you compare First Class offers, because the two roles start from different bases.
The lines also work differently.
The lead figure is a base salary for the role.
The auxiliary figure comes with an explicit floor: the guidelines require programs to pay auxiliary teachers at least the CDA salary — a floor written in credential terms, though the sources we read do not publish the CDA salary line's own amount.
The pre-K teacher career guide covers what separates the lead and assistant roles in the classroom, and how the auxiliary position fits a pre-K staffing team.
How credentials and years change pay
Credentials enter the scale in one place our sources show clearly: the auxiliary floor.
Programs must pay auxiliary teachers at least the CDA salary — the CDA being the credential the Council for Professional Recognition awards — so the floor is written in credential terms.
The guidelines we read do not publish the CDA salary's amount, and they do not say whether holding a CDA changes where an individual auxiliary teacher lands on pay.
That credential has upkeep: BLS notes the CDA must be renewed every 3 years, and that it is the credential states most often require of childcare workers who need a national credential.
There is also scholarship help for the credential route.
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Alabama, run by the Alabama Partnership for Children, offers three scholarships: CDA Assessment Fee, Associate Degree and Bachelor Degree.
Eligibility for the CDA and associate scholarships includes working in a DHR-licensed facility or First Class Pre-K classroom at least 30 hours/week while earning $18/hour or less as a teacher.
The associate and bachelor's scholarships cover 80% of tuition and 80% of books plus an $80 travel stipend, and the CDA scholarship covers 85% of the assessment fee and pays a $200 bonus when the credential is earned.
Years of experience are the open question.
The Appendix A figures we read publish the two base lines and stop there; they do not lay out step amounts by years of service.
Ask the hiring program where a candidate with your years lands on its pay, and get that number into the offer itself.
School-site vs private-site pay
The Appendix A figures we read set one base for each role and do not break amounts out by the kind of site a classroom sits in.
The schedule alone will not tell you whether a school-based classroom and a private-site classroom pay the same — the employer behind the classroom sets the rest of the package, so ask the hiring program.
Why setting matters is visible in federal data.
In May 2025, BLS OEWS reports a median of $27.29/hour ($56,750/year) for preschool teachers (SOC 25-2011) in elementary and secondary schools, versus $17.72/hour ($36,850/year) in child care services.
By ownership, preschool teachers employed by local-government schools earned a median of $61,300/year, versus $44,290 in private elementary/secondary schools and $36,850 in child care services.
The calendar differs by setting as well: BLS says many public-school preschool teachers work the traditional 10-month school year with a 2-month summer break, while those in daycare settings may work year-round with longer hours.
An annual figure can cover a different number of working months depending on the setting.
One caution when you compare a pre-K teacher salary in Alabama: these BLS medians are national occupational survey figures, while the First Class schedule is a program pay scale.
They measure different things, so do not set one against the other as if they were the same series.
The same holds for our page on pre-K salary in this state, which reports federal BLS wage data in Alabama for preschool teachers: a statewide occupation wage, not the First Class schedule.
Our pre-K pay parity guide covers the school-vs-center pay gap and where parity rules actually exist.
How to find these jobs
The titles you are matching against are the schedule's: lead teacher and auxiliary teacher.
Before you apply, work out which line you are being hired for and what the site adds to the base:
- Which role the posting fills — lead teacher or auxiliary teacher — and which schedule line it pays
- For an auxiliary role, what the program pays as the CDA salary floor, since the guidelines we read do not publish that amount
- The site's calendar — a school-year or year-round schedule changes what the annual figure covers
- What the employer adds to the base: benefits, paid time off and any pay above the schedule line
When you are ready to look, our pre-K teacher jobs board lists open pre-K positions across settings, including school-based and center-based classrooms.
Career information, not licensing or legal advice. The pay figures here come from the Alabama First Class Pre-K Appendix A salary schedule in the June 2023 guidelines — the most recent version our research found — and from BLS OEWS May 2025. Confirm the schedule in force today with the state office that publishes the First Class Pre-K guidelines.