I am interested in teaching classes at Michael's but I am a little leary as I understand from my old instructor that they are not reimbursed for the supplies they use in the classes or when they do demos. Wilton teachers: Is this true? Or is my teacher just getting ripped off by my local Michael's...is the policy different across the country? Please advise. I don't want to go into this to loose money!
There is a page on the Wilton website about teaching opportunities. I am not a Wilton teacher, there are several in CC who are, so they are in a better position to advise. But, I inquired last year, and was contacted by a Wilton Rep and was told [ to the best of my memory], that I had to bring a cake, icing, and mixer to the first class---on me. She also recommended that I make display cakes to advertise the classes--also on me. Still I would have done it, but the times they needed a teacher were inflexible and just didn't fit into my schedule. You are an independant contractor and the arrangement is between you and the shop.
If the Wilton thing doesn't work out why not try your adult ed classes or extension classes?
Samsgranny,
WMI x8 yrs here. It is true, you don't get supplied nor reimbursed for your supplies. This includes the cake and icing and stuff that goes into the cake you bring on the first night of Course 1, nor the sugar & meringue powder you use when you make your students a batch of royal icing so they can see how to do it on the first night of Course 2, nor the cake and fondant you use on the 2nd night of Course 3.
The supplies definitely add up. I always give each of my students a parchment triangle on the 1st night of C1 so we all make a parchment bag together. Over the course of a year, that's a whole package of them.
Plus, Wilton does not pay us in cash for the demos. They do send the product but we get "paid" in Wilton gift certs. SO, we are working to buy their products and pay their outrageous shipping plus tax in every state. I have long since registered my displeasure at THAT crap, and the last mailing I got from Wilton now says that we can trade in our WIlton gift certs for a Visa gift card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. Hah, it's about time.
The pay works out to about $15 an hour, not including drive time, prep time, bake & make time, nor clean up time. And as I said, all supplies purchased are solely our own expense.
You have to want to do it for the love of the work and teaching, not to make any money at it. 
~ Sherri
Maybe that's why our instructor didn't bring alot of that stuff to each class! She would use one of ours to demonstrate things, and I never even thought anything of it until reading this! If someones was to thick she would let them know, or to thin lol, but she would use what the students brought, demonstrate whatever it was, then give it back to you to use. But I guess it helped us more that way to though when you think about it, because she always knew if our icing was right or not so then we knew next time what we did wrong and had to fix. Thats funny, but she was a great instructor!!
I think alot of instructors do their students a disservice by not showing them in advance how to do things, such as torte, fill, and smoothly ice a cake on the very first night. There are times when I didn't make royal icing in Course 2, and I always felt badly about that because that's a tricky icing to master!
All other nights, though, instructors should use their students' icing to demonstrate the techniques being taught, so that they can offer advice on how to tweak it to its best consistency for that technique.
I'm glad to hear that your going to be getting something besides gift certificates for your pay! So before, all you were getting paid in was wilton products more or less? I had thought about trying it also because I thought that somewhere I had read that if you become an instructor you would get additional training, is that true?
No, demos aren't paid for in product; we use the product they send us in the demo.
There are bi-annual meetings that are also training sessions for instructors for teaching Courses 1, 2, and 3, but as far as getting additional training in other classes that are Wilton-sanctioned "project classes" such as gumpaste or gingerbread houses, you're on your own for that.
Wilton instructors also get 40% off all Wilton product when ordered directly through Wilton, and there are other little incentives they provide throughout the year to encourage you to register & teach as many students as possible as well as get your paperwork in on time.
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