In my previous post, I suggested a potential model for teacher compensation that took ideas from the professional sports landscape. Before I began to put words to the digital page, I knew there would be issues with such a model because it would be a radical shift from the current model and today I want to address some of those issues. I don't necessarily have suggestions, but want to identify the holes in my thoughts and maybe there is someone else who can provide further ideas.
Funding
Under the current system of funding schools, there is no way that this system would be tenable. What a great thing though if we could forecast the actual amount of money that schools would be allocated for a period of five years. The long range planning that a school could do would allow for a true vision to take shape and allow a pool of money to be saved for those years in the future when a shortfall is envisioned.
As with "market based pay plans" funding is going to be an issue. When I hear of this market based pay in our district, I question where the money is going to come from when teachers hit the benchmarks that trigger a pay increase when there is no money in the district to begin with!
Does the proposed system potentially set up a rationed education in subject areas that aren't considered as important as another subject?
Subjective Negotiations
How we evaluate teachers would have to be reconsidered, I am not a proponent of standardized testing that suggests the effectiveness of a teacher merely upon a test(s) that students may or may not have an incentive/buy-in to perform well on. Another part of this would rely upon Admin to be very aware of their staff and perhaps bias would infiltrate this examination about the importance of one teacher versus another.
Another aspect of this that is potentially flawed is that by offering contracts to teachers is it based upon their abilities as a teacher or is it for additional credentials that they bring with them (say coaching). However, one's involvement in activities that extend beyond the school day should/could be valued under this system in that they are helping to mentor students beyond the classroom. The glaring issue with this though would be a potential loophole that leads to schools rewarding say their football coach with an excessive teaching contract that isn't necessarily "earned" for their performance between the first and last bell of the day!
Union
This might be the big obstacle, having been a member as a teacher and as a former professional lacrosse player change is always difficult. If pro sports can have differentiated salaries based upon an agreed upon pay scale system, why can't teachers? As a Social Studies teacher, I realize that I am very unlikely to ever top out with a "maximum dollar" contract in the proposed system, but feel confident in the abilities that I demonstrate that I would warrant a quality salary.
Simply put these are a few issues that I have with my own proposed system. Could it work if we really worked on ironing out the issues? Why not, however the first step is getting a funding system that doesn't limit the education that we provide our students. To remain at the top, we cannot simply rely upon a small percentage of our students to achieve, the better educated a society the more productive it can be.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Putting the Professional in Teaching Part I
Nearing the end of a fourth year of a salary free with no cost of living adjustment, while probably entering a fifth year of the freeze and hoping there are no furloughs there are many frustrations as a teacher in my school district. This issue is prevalent in many districts throughout the United States and today my teaching partner Michael (@schneidermf) re-tweeted a blog post by Justin Baeder on Ed Week which discussed the flatness of teaching whether one is in their first or thirtieth year of teaching.
As we discussed the post today, I simply asked Michael if he was trying to prompt me to blog about an idea that I have had for four or five years about revolutionizing the payment system for teachers...which he was. This idea isn't perfect and there remain flaws in this system, but here are some thoughts that use professional sports as inspiration. This first installment will outline the plan and a follow up post will address potential areas of concern.
The Entry Level aka "Rookie" Contract ($35,000-$40,000)*
Contracts for teachers with 0-3 years of experience can be renewed on an annual basis and our given a modest salary increase each year that at least reflects a cost of living adjustment and slight salary increase from the previous year. This will provide time for a young teacher to work at developing their craft with input from peers and administrators about how to improve. Part of this plan though needs to include a mentoring program from experienced teachers who are willing to work with those new to the profession and help them adjust to the ins and outs of the profession. Similar to Mario Lemieux having Sidney Crosby live with him and his family for the first few years in the National Hockey League as he learned the ropes.
*These numbers are just hypothetical for the sake of having a specific dollar amount to look at.
Years 4-10 ($40,000-$60,000)
Upon entering the fourth year of employment, teachers would be able to negotiate with their school administration a contract extension that would last for x number of years at salary x, with an annual raise of x. In this time period there would be a range of salaries that can be earned and it would be up to administration to determine the value of a teacher to their building, thus a teacher entering year four could make less, the same or more as a teacher in year ten based upon the perceived value of them to the school, similar to the way a professional team does with players on their roster.
Teachers that are considered strong might be offered longer contracts to keep them part of the school, while others could be offered shorter term contracts.
The caveat to this era of a teaching career is that it would be the start of a teacher's "free agency" other schools both in and out of the district could make offers to teachers that they want to join their staff. If a school or district presents an "offer sheet" to a perspective teacher, the current school of that candidate can offer a matching or better contract offer in order to retain their services.
Years 11+ ($50,000-?)
During this portion of a career teachers would once again be working within a set salary range and contracts would be negotiated for a specific time period. This system would retain some aspects of the current system in that the pay scale does rely upon longevity to some extent, but would put a responsibility upon building administration to be in touch with the work of their staff as it related to negotiating. Again, "free agency" would play a role with other schools/districts being able to find those shining stars that they feel would be a solid addition to their staff. What the metrics are that determine one's value aren't exact as I don't believe that bubbling a test on one day provides a true representation of a teacher's "value or worth". Thus measurement of teachers would be a mixture of objective and subjective evaluation, similar to that of a general manager deciding the value of player at the professional sports level.
The Fine Print
This system could provide incentives in contracts that would include providing funding for graduate programs and PhD studies, Professional Development funding for conferences, release time to pursue school related matters in exchange for a commitment from that teacher for a specified amount of time.
Moving to such a system though would require a consistent source of funding for schools that would provide them with an ability to budget for an extended period of time (say five year increments) to ensure that they remain fiscally sound.
Separation clauses would need to be developed for instances in which a teacher decides to leave prior to a contract being up (spouse changes jobs, change in career, retirement) if schools were to cover the cost of a Master's program and the teacher leaves prior to fulfilling their obligations.
Throwing It Out There
Thus is my loose idea about how to put the professional in teaching, there are some new concepts presented and the preservation of traditional pieces in the way that teachers are compensated. In no way is this plan without flaws as mentioned above, hopefully though it provides some food for thought. In the sequel post to this topic, I will address the some of limitations that I potentially see and offer some thought about how to shorten gaps that are present.
As we discussed the post today, I simply asked Michael if he was trying to prompt me to blog about an idea that I have had for four or five years about revolutionizing the payment system for teachers...which he was. This idea isn't perfect and there remain flaws in this system, but here are some thoughts that use professional sports as inspiration. This first installment will outline the plan and a follow up post will address potential areas of concern.
The Entry Level aka "Rookie" Contract ($35,000-$40,000)*
Contracts for teachers with 0-3 years of experience can be renewed on an annual basis and our given a modest salary increase each year that at least reflects a cost of living adjustment and slight salary increase from the previous year. This will provide time for a young teacher to work at developing their craft with input from peers and administrators about how to improve. Part of this plan though needs to include a mentoring program from experienced teachers who are willing to work with those new to the profession and help them adjust to the ins and outs of the profession. Similar to Mario Lemieux having Sidney Crosby live with him and his family for the first few years in the National Hockey League as he learned the ropes.
*These numbers are just hypothetical for the sake of having a specific dollar amount to look at.
Years 4-10 ($40,000-$60,000)
Upon entering the fourth year of employment, teachers would be able to negotiate with their school administration a contract extension that would last for x number of years at salary x, with an annual raise of x. In this time period there would be a range of salaries that can be earned and it would be up to administration to determine the value of a teacher to their building, thus a teacher entering year four could make less, the same or more as a teacher in year ten based upon the perceived value of them to the school, similar to the way a professional team does with players on their roster.
Teachers that are considered strong might be offered longer contracts to keep them part of the school, while others could be offered shorter term contracts.
The caveat to this era of a teaching career is that it would be the start of a teacher's "free agency" other schools both in and out of the district could make offers to teachers that they want to join their staff. If a school or district presents an "offer sheet" to a perspective teacher, the current school of that candidate can offer a matching or better contract offer in order to retain their services.
Years 11+ ($50,000-?)
During this portion of a career teachers would once again be working within a set salary range and contracts would be negotiated for a specific time period. This system would retain some aspects of the current system in that the pay scale does rely upon longevity to some extent, but would put a responsibility upon building administration to be in touch with the work of their staff as it related to negotiating. Again, "free agency" would play a role with other schools/districts being able to find those shining stars that they feel would be a solid addition to their staff. What the metrics are that determine one's value aren't exact as I don't believe that bubbling a test on one day provides a true representation of a teacher's "value or worth". Thus measurement of teachers would be a mixture of objective and subjective evaluation, similar to that of a general manager deciding the value of player at the professional sports level.
The Fine Print
This system could provide incentives in contracts that would include providing funding for graduate programs and PhD studies, Professional Development funding for conferences, release time to pursue school related matters in exchange for a commitment from that teacher for a specified amount of time.
Moving to such a system though would require a consistent source of funding for schools that would provide them with an ability to budget for an extended period of time (say five year increments) to ensure that they remain fiscally sound.
Separation clauses would need to be developed for instances in which a teacher decides to leave prior to a contract being up (spouse changes jobs, change in career, retirement) if schools were to cover the cost of a Master's program and the teacher leaves prior to fulfilling their obligations.
Throwing It Out There
Thus is my loose idea about how to put the professional in teaching, there are some new concepts presented and the preservation of traditional pieces in the way that teachers are compensated. In no way is this plan without flaws as mentioned above, hopefully though it provides some food for thought. In the sequel post to this topic, I will address the some of limitations that I potentially see and offer some thought about how to shorten gaps that are present.
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