Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for March 28, 2009 COMBAT PAY

Had to pass this article along...

There are actual acknowledgments that "environment" might be a big factor in determining the success of teachers...

• A "good teacher" stating that she would not want to go to a tough school unless she could take her environment - "that same latitude and support" - with her.

• A "good teacher" stating that "she believes low-performing schools already have some first-rate teachers."

HISD offering ‘combat pay’ for tough schools

By ERICKA MELLON

A $20,000 check could buy you a new car or dozens of round-trip flights to Hawaii. But is it enough money to lure a successful teacher to a struggling school?

That’s what education researchers are hoping to find out, and they plan to use the Houston Independent School District as a test site. The federally funded study also seeks to answer another pressing question: Can a good teacher in a top-notch school get the same results anywhere, even with students from more troubled families?

As part of the experiment, HISD is offering $20,000 — $10,000 annually over the next two years — to some of its most effective teachers if they commit to a two-year stint at a struggling campus. The pilot program will start small, with about 20 teachers switching schools; only math and English teachers in grades 4-8 are eligible.

“I’m most excited about the potential for increased student achievement,” said Ann Best, who oversees human resources in HISD.

To apply for the $20,000 incentive, HISD teachers must have a two-year track record of improving student scores on standardized tests. The district will use the same formula it uses to calculate performance pay bonuses to rank teachers whose students made the most growth. Those in the top 10 percent or so can apply for the Talent Transfer Initiative program.

Patricia McNeil, a top-rated math teacher at Johnston Middle School, said the promise of more money alone wouldn’t tempt her to leave for another campus.

“If I’m proven to be an effective teacher somewhere, then I want that same latitude and support given to me in another place,” she said.

The 30-year teaching veteran said she’s unsure if she could get the same results at a different school, especially if the student absenteeism rate were high.

“I don’t think it’s a question of just moving one teacher to another building and thinking that’s going to be a solution,” she said, adding that she believes low-performing schools already have some first-rate teachers.

Highly ranked teachers who already work in high-need schools would receive $10,000 retention stipends, or $5,000 a year.

The district’s selection process is drawing criticism from the largest teachers’ union.

“They’re basing their selection on flawed data,” Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said of the bonus pay formula.

The Houston Chronicle requested a list of the teachers ranked in the top 10 percent, but HISD has asked the Texas attorney general for permission to keep it private.

The concept of enticing teachers to troubled schools — often called “combat pay” — is not new, but districts traditionally have offered the incentive to all teachers willing to work in tough schools, no matter how their students performed.

Success not assured

Other school districts have tried offering “combat pay,” but not all with great results. The Palm Beach County school district in Florida, for example, dropped its program in 2004 after few eligible teachers accepted a $7,500 incentive to transfer to a low-performing school. Those who transferred got $2,500 more if test scores grew.

Wallis Sherman, a human-resources specialist for Palm Beach, said the district didn’t have time to market the program and the top-rated teachers were comfortable where they were. “They didn’t want to go to another school and be seen as, ‘Why are you worth $10,000?’ ” she said.

In the Dallas school district, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said the incentive program there failed to draw enough “superstar teachers.” Now, he wants to up the stipend from $6,000 a year to $10,000, plus offer the teachers more job security.

Education researchers haven’t agreed on a magic number that will lure good teachers to troubled schools, which often have less parental support and more discipline problems.

The leader of the HISD study, which also includes six other districts nationwide, said researchers agreed on a $10,000 annual incentive in hopes the payouts could be sustained after the project.

Steven Glazerman of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., said the program is not just about money. “The message to a high-performing teacher is that you are among the best teachers, and there are students who need your skills the most,” he said.

Ed Fuller, an education researcher at the University of Texas, said parents at high-performing schools often have unfounded fears that such transfer programs will drain their schools of talent.

“It’s not going to be enough teachers to decimate any schools,” he said. “I would predict that no school is harmed by this program.”

COMMENTS:

teddy72483 wrote:
I don't care if its a good teacher, bad teacher, or OK teacher, without parental involvement, its all useless!

JustMandy wrote:
Great! Let's take our best teachers away from our successful children and put them elsewhere, which, in turn, will mean we will get the bottom of the barrell teachers for our thriving kids, which will, in turn, hurt them! Education starts at HOME! Get the parents involved. Bet if they offered the families of the lower performing students money they'd see an increase in test scores! Call me crazy, but these "trouble schools" are in lower income neighborhoods statistically speaking. Let's stop blaming the low performance solely on the teachers and place some of the blame on the FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!

Aggieannette wrote:
Depends on administration and support also. Sometimes, it's not the teachers that are the fault of the struggling school

useton wrote:
The blame does seem to go to the teachers of low performing schools. High performing school teachers get a lot of credit. Although, in some cases, the teacher might be to blame/responsible, the real factor is the student, their attitude and their work ethic. It also falls on the family to instill that work ethic in their children and be supportive of the student and the teacher in the classroom. Help them with homework. Make sure they are doing their assignments and getting them in on time. And just as important, make sure that they are well behaved and not a disruption for the teacher and the rest of the class. If they are not, they must back the teacher and quit acting like their kid is being picked on. My feeling is, they won't see much of an improvement unless things are changed on the home front as well.

KingOfDirk wrote:
Good luck to the teachers who attempt this difficult feat. I think you'll find the money is the worst reason to take these assignments, but for those who can tough it out and keep their heads up, this could be a wonderful contribution to make.