teacher performance pay

I too struggle with teacher bonuses. I totally agree with Ladner's post on Jay Greene's Blog (full disclosure that he sits on my board but that is not why I agree with him) – teachers need to be rewarded for the success of the school and for their individual contribution to that school. I saw this first hand in one of my jobs in manufacturing. We had an annual bonus that was based on how well the organization did and how well my department did.

The outlook for state budgets is not good which means teacher bonuses are going to be in trouble. I have already heard this in Minnesota and now find the same thing in Utah. Florida has cut way back eliminating the reimbursement for the cost teachers must endure to go through the program in the last round of budget cuts and this year they will have even more.

The last few months we have been working in Utah to help them develop a way to recognize great teachers. Some of their more forward thinking legislators put forth a modest bill to provide $275,000 to teachers who complete our Distinguished Teacher program. That program recognizes teachers based on student achievement through value add analysis (40%), live observation (30%), subject matter mastery (15%) and principal evaluation (15%).

It has been a while since I blogged - but it turns out that many states are looking for the solutions we offer.

In Missouri, the Senate passed a bill allowing ABCTE to recruit, prepare and certify teachers. A lot of press on this since one senator attempted to filibuster the bill that ultimately passed 25 to 5. It is now on to the Missouri House.