This paper sheds light on previously unresearched dimensions in the private-parochial school environment, which help account for the willingness of private school teachers to accept salaries inferior to those offered in public (state) schools. In-depth biographical interviews with a group of 18 Canadian university graduates, qualified to teach in both public schools and private Jewish schools, reveal four aspects of parochial school life whose special influence on teachers' satisfactions and dissatisfactions have not previously been described. These aspects relate to the collegiality, culture and language of schools, as well as the schools' special position at the intersection of teachers' personal and professional commitments.