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New Teacher FAQ

Answers to some commonly asked questions from new Outschool teachers.

Updated over 4 months ago

Congratulations on being approved to teach on Outschool!  You made it through the teacher application, but now you may be wondering what’s next.  We put together a few commonly asked questions from new teachers below:

How do I list my first class?

Now that you are approved, visit your classes page to work on your first listing.  You can start with the class you submitted with your application, or create a new class from scratch.  

Once your listing is ready to go and aligned with our standards for class listings, click the purple, “request listing” button on the bottom of the class Edit page to send it to our team for review. We typically review submissions within 1-3 business days.  It is not uncommon for first submissions to need editing.  If your class is not published, please follow the feedback provided by our class approvals team and we will work with you to get it listed.  We want to help you make your class listing the best that it can be!

There are a few restrictions on your first Outschool class:

  • To start, you can only submit 1 class for review.  We have this restriction so that you can learn our standards and approval process.  Once that class is published, you can request publication for as many classes as you like.  The only limit is your imagination!

  • Please familiarize yourself with our class content policy and ensure that your class is objective, secular, and age-appropriate. 

How should I price my class and how will I be paid?

Teachers set their own class prices from the class edit page.  Please note that the price on this page is for the full course, regardless of length, and parents pay per learner.  The only exception to this is ongoing classes, which are paid for as a weekly subscription.  You can learn more about ongoing classes here.

We typically recommend a price of $18-21 per learner, per hour spent in class. That being said, this is a marketplace! Feel free to explore different prices to find the model that works best for your teaching business.

You will be paid the full amount for the class 7-10 days after the start date for fixed-duration classes or on Sunday approximately 2 weeks after the meeting for ongoing classes.  Outschool takes a 30% service fee, so you will receive 70% of enrollment fees based on the number of learners enrolled.  We will pay you via Paypal; don’t forget to add a valid Paypal account in your teacher profile under “Payout email”.  

How will families enroll in my classes?

Once your class is listed, you will need to create sections in order for parents to enroll.  A class is a course, curriculum, or program advertised by a class listing.  A section is a group of learners that take the class at a specific time.  Each individual time that a section is scheduled for is called a meeting.  If a class has a duration of 4 weeks, each section should have 4 meetings.  For a one-time class, each section should only have one meeting.  If you would like to offer a class multiple times, you will need to create multiple sections.  

For example, the 4-week class below has 2 sections with 4 meetings each that parents can choose from: 

Once families enroll in your classes, you will be able to manage any transfers, refunds, and withdrawals. Learn more about managing sections and enrollments here.

When should I teach?

Outschool has learners all over the world, so teachers are able to get enrollments at various times.  The most popular times tend to be Monday-Friday from 4am to 6pm Pacific.  We would recommend experimenting with times and duration to find the best times for your teaching business!  If you have an open schedule, you may also consider using auto-scheduled sections to meet parent availability automatically. 

What should I teach?

Outschool offers classes on a variety of topics!  You should teach something that you are passionate about and in which you have expertise.  Use your teacher profile and the “Teacher expertise” section of your class listings to communicate to families why you are a great teacher for these topics.  

Too many topics to choose from?  Check the weekly emails for up-to-date parent topic requests and highest-requested search terms.  We provide these terms to help you pinpoint parent and learner demand.  This can be a great place to start building your teaching business!  

How do online classes work?

Outschool classes take place over Zoom.  Outschool provides you with the Zoom account and connects families to the meeting, so there is no 40-minute time limit and no need to share a meeting ID.  All you need to worry about is providing a great class experience!  Zoom also comes with many helpful classroom management tools to keep your class running smoothly. 

Where can I learn more?

Watch a short video with tips for your first class:

Visit our Educator Events Calendar to sign up for live professional learning opportunities hosted by Outschool.

Check out our Educator Library and the rest of our help center for articles, blog posts, and more!

Consider joining our Teacher Facebook Group to connect with fellow Outschool teachers.

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