Higher Pay to
Teach in
Neediest
Schools
Proposed
by Gil Klein, Media General
News Service
Sep 17 2007
Soldiers get combat pay,
diplomats get hardship
post pay.
Now, experienced
teachers and principals
would earn extra pay if
they work in the neediest
schools, if a House
proposal is adopted.
The House Education and
Workforce Committee proposes
to give qualifying teachers up
to $12,000 and principals
$15,000 if they agree to work at
least four years in schools that
draw most of their students
from high-poverty
neighborhoods.
George Miller, D-Calif.,
chairman of the House
Education and Workforce
Committee, said the proposal
will "bring top talent into
classrooms that need it most."
The idea is part of a proposal
the committee is considering to
renew the five-year-old No
Child Left Behind Act, which
faces a tough legislative fight.
The largest teachers union
opposes incentives.
"Teachers aren't hired by the
federal government," Reg
Weaver, president of the
National Education Association,
told the committee. Any federal
program that ties teacher pay
to student test scores "is
offensive and disrespectful to
educators," he said.
School districts have
trouble recruiting and
keeping experienced
teachers at schools with
many children from
impoverished families.
Most districts offer the
same pay to teachers
whether they work in
suburban or inner city
schools. Better teachers
tend to seek jobs in the
suburbs, leaving less
qualified teachers in
needier schools.
"For too long, we've tried to
achieve equity and close gaps
on the backs of saints," said
Amy Wilkins of the Education
Trust, a Washington think tank.
A few districts are
experimenting with teachers
incentives. Last year the Bush
administration supported them
with $99 million in grants and
asked Congress for $199
million for next year.
"We want to reward those
teachers and principals who
are able to improve student
achievement and put them in
classrooms where they can
help our highest needs
students," said Amanda Farris,
a deputy assistant education
secretary.
One grant -- for $1.8 million
--went to Guilford County, N.C.,
where Superintendent Terry
Grier had trouble attracting
experienced teachers and
principals to the district's 29
high-poverty schools.
"We went an entire year without
a single, certified math teacher
at one middle school," he said.
"We had an elementary school
with all new teachers in grades
three, four and five. We had
schools that had four different
principals in four years."
At job fairs, prospective
teachers lined up to talk
to representatives from
affluent schools, he said,
but no one visited tables
for schools in poor areas.
"We had several teachers who
said `you can't pay me enough
and I will quit and go to another
school district if you force me to
go there,'" he said.
But many experienced teachers
told him they'd go to those
schools -- if conditions were
right. They wanted strong
principals, more planning time,
smaller classes, more training,
and more money -- for salaries
and to reward them for results.
To get experienced
principals into what he
calls "Mission Possible"
schools, Grier offers an
extra $5,000 for
elementary schools,
$7,500 for middle schools
and $10,000 for high
schools. Principals earn
an additional $5,000 if
their schools meet No
Child Left Behind
progress goals.
Teachers in these
schools not only have
more planning time, but
class size is limited to 15
students from
kindergarten to third
grade, Grier said. No
middle or high school has
a math class with more
than 20 students.
Pay incentives range from
$2,500 for elementary teachers
to $10,000 for algebra teachers
in Guilford County. Bonuses for
student achievement range
from $2,500 to $4,000 a year.
And, a teacher can earn
another $4,000 by passing
a two-week special
summer math course.
"You can make an additional
$18,000, plus we give you a
free laptop computer, if you
teach math in one of our six
Mission Possible high schools,"
Grier said.
Teachers applying for the jobs
have to prove they have a
record of producing student
achievement, he said. No
novice teachers are admitted.
Each teacher is interviewed on
videotape so their responses to
questions can be reviewed.
"We've attracted teachers from
private schools, we've gotten
teachers to come back from
retirement and we've gotten
teachers to change schools,"
Grier said.
Last May, the district had 174
applicants to teach math,
compared to seven the year
before, he said. When school
started this year, all of the
Mission Possible schools were
staffed with the experienced
teachers.
Grier said he won't know until
next year whether this has paid
off in higher student test scores.
Teach in
Neediest
Schools
Proposed
by Gil Klein, Media General
News Service
Sep 17 2007
Soldiers get combat pay,
diplomats get hardship
post pay.
Now, experienced
teachers and principals
would earn extra pay if
they work in the neediest
schools, if a House
proposal is adopted.
The House Education and
Workforce Committee proposes
to give qualifying teachers up
to $12,000 and principals
$15,000 if they agree to work at
least four years in schools that
draw most of their students
from high-poverty
neighborhoods.
George Miller, D-Calif.,
chairman of the House
Education and Workforce
Committee, said the proposal
will "bring top talent into
classrooms that need it most."
The idea is part of a proposal
the committee is considering to
renew the five-year-old No
Child Left Behind Act, which
faces a tough legislative fight.
The largest teachers union
opposes incentives.
"Teachers aren't hired by the
federal government," Reg
Weaver, president of the
National Education Association,
told the committee. Any federal
program that ties teacher pay
to student test scores "is
offensive and disrespectful to
educators," he said.
School districts have
trouble recruiting and
keeping experienced
teachers at schools with
many children from
impoverished families.
Most districts offer the
same pay to teachers
whether they work in
suburban or inner city
schools. Better teachers
tend to seek jobs in the
suburbs, leaving less
qualified teachers in
needier schools.
"For too long, we've tried to
achieve equity and close gaps
on the backs of saints," said
Amy Wilkins of the Education
Trust, a Washington think tank.
A few districts are
experimenting with teachers
incentives. Last year the Bush
administration supported them
with $99 million in grants and
asked Congress for $199
million for next year.
"We want to reward those
teachers and principals who
are able to improve student
achievement and put them in
classrooms where they can
help our highest needs
students," said Amanda Farris,
a deputy assistant education
secretary.
One grant -- for $1.8 million
--went to Guilford County, N.C.,
where Superintendent Terry
Grier had trouble attracting
experienced teachers and
principals to the district's 29
high-poverty schools.
"We went an entire year without
a single, certified math teacher
at one middle school," he said.
"We had an elementary school
with all new teachers in grades
three, four and five. We had
schools that had four different
principals in four years."
At job fairs, prospective
teachers lined up to talk
to representatives from
affluent schools, he said,
but no one visited tables
for schools in poor areas.
"We had several teachers who
said `you can't pay me enough
and I will quit and go to another
school district if you force me to
go there,'" he said.
But many experienced teachers
told him they'd go to those
schools -- if conditions were
right. They wanted strong
principals, more planning time,
smaller classes, more training,
and more money -- for salaries
and to reward them for results.
To get experienced
principals into what he
calls "Mission Possible"
schools, Grier offers an
extra $5,000 for
elementary schools,
$7,500 for middle schools
and $10,000 for high
schools. Principals earn
an additional $5,000 if
their schools meet No
Child Left Behind
progress goals.
Teachers in these
schools not only have
more planning time, but
class size is limited to 15
students from
kindergarten to third
grade, Grier said. No
middle or high school has
a math class with more
than 20 students.
Pay incentives range from
$2,500 for elementary teachers
to $10,000 for algebra teachers
in Guilford County. Bonuses for
student achievement range
from $2,500 to $4,000 a year.
And, a teacher can earn
another $4,000 by passing
a two-week special
summer math course.
"You can make an additional
$18,000, plus we give you a
free laptop computer, if you
teach math in one of our six
Mission Possible high schools,"
Grier said.
Teachers applying for the jobs
have to prove they have a
record of producing student
achievement, he said. No
novice teachers are admitted.
Each teacher is interviewed on
videotape so their responses to
questions can be reviewed.
"We've attracted teachers from
private schools, we've gotten
teachers to come back from
retirement and we've gotten
teachers to change schools,"
Grier said.
Last May, the district had 174
applicants to teach math,
compared to seven the year
before, he said. When school
started this year, all of the
Mission Possible schools were
staffed with the experienced
teachers.
Grier said he won't know until
next year whether this has paid
off in higher student test scores.
| Terry Grier Superintendent, San Diego Unified School District |
NBC News
January 18, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- City school trustees are expected to announce the hiring of
a new superintendent on Saturday.
The school board scheduled a special meeting for noon Friday, raising
expectations that a new superintendent would be named, but that didn’t
happen. The word on the Saturday announcement came late on Friday
after a day of intrigue.
After adjourning the meeting Friday, the board went behind closed doors,
saying that there would be another open session on Saturday. The
weekend meeting evoked a Saturday meeting in mid-2005 when the board
announced the hiring of Carl Cohn, who stepped down on New Year's Eve.
Speculation about who would get the nod centers on a well-regarded
administrator from North Carolina, NBC 7/39 reported on Friday. North
Carolina's Superintendent of the Year Terry Grier heads the Guilford
County school system, which is based in Greensboro.
SDUSD's blue-collar union told NBC 7/39 that Grier outsourced
school-support jobs, then had to backpedal. Meanwhile, a
spokesman for San Diego's teachers' union told the station that
Grier's experience in a "right to work: state won't help much at the
bargaining table in San Diego."
"He's coming in at probably the worst time in school history that I
could think of, with the budget crisis we're having now," San
Diego Education Association spokesman Marc Capitelli said. "So
he's going to have his hands full from the get-go."
The district will make it official Saturday at 1 p.m.
January 18, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- City school trustees are expected to announce the hiring of
a new superintendent on Saturday.
The school board scheduled a special meeting for noon Friday, raising
expectations that a new superintendent would be named, but that didn’t
happen. The word on the Saturday announcement came late on Friday
after a day of intrigue.
After adjourning the meeting Friday, the board went behind closed doors,
saying that there would be another open session on Saturday. The
weekend meeting evoked a Saturday meeting in mid-2005 when the board
announced the hiring of Carl Cohn, who stepped down on New Year's Eve.
Speculation about who would get the nod centers on a well-regarded
administrator from North Carolina, NBC 7/39 reported on Friday. North
Carolina's Superintendent of the Year Terry Grier heads the Guilford
County school system, which is based in Greensboro.
SDUSD's blue-collar union told NBC 7/39 that Grier outsourced
school-support jobs, then had to backpedal. Meanwhile, a
spokesman for San Diego's teachers' union told the station that
Grier's experience in a "right to work: state won't help much at the
bargaining table in San Diego."
"He's coming in at probably the worst time in school history that I
could think of, with the budget crisis we're having now," San
Diego Education Association spokesman Marc Capitelli said. "So
he's going to have his hands full from the get-go."
The district will make it official Saturday at 1 p.m.
NBC News in San Diego reports:
"...A spokesman for San Diego's teachers' union told the [NBC TV]
station that Grier's experience in a 'right to work' state won't help
much at the bargaining table in San Diego."
"He's coming in at probably the worst time in school history that I
could think of, with the budget crisis we're having now," San Diego
Education Association spokesman Marc Capitelli said. "So he's
going to have his hands full from the get-go."
"...A spokesman for San Diego's teachers' union told the [NBC TV]
station that Grier's experience in a 'right to work' state won't help
much at the bargaining table in San Diego."
"He's coming in at probably the worst time in school history that I
could think of, with the budget crisis we're having now," San Diego
Education Association spokesman Marc Capitelli said. "So he's
going to have his hands full from the get-go."
Too much math?
..."a teacher can earn
another $4,000 by
passing a two-week
special summer math
course..."
..."a teacher can earn
another $4,000 by
passing a two-week
special summer math
course..."
Why doesn't
California Teachers
Association like
Terry Grier?
California Teachers
Association like
Terry Grier?
Or is this the
problem?
problem?
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report