David Plank and Jeff Camp made a presentation to the annual meeting of the California School Boards Association in San Diego on December 4, 2009. Their session was entitled "Teacher Pay Reform: Are you ready to innovate?"

1. Thanks for being here today.
When we arranged, nearly a year ago, to speak here on the subject of Teacher Pay Reform,
we had no idea that the timing would be so urgent or the opportunity so large. School
boards typically operate within a certain defined range of influence, and it’s tough to
change things in a really fundamental way. This year is different.
1

2. [Jeff]
Moments like this don’t come every day, year or decade.
Teacher pay is changing in America.
You ran for school board to make change happen.
YOU are the person to bring this change to your district.
2

3. The research is in. Teachers matter more than anything else in a child’s education. Good
learning outcomes come first and foremost from effective teaching.
As a school board leader focused on making better life outcomes for kids, your challenge,
and your opportunity, is how to maximize the effectiveness of your teachers.
This means a different mindset than business as usual. If the effectiveness of teachers
really matters, what will you do differently to bring out the best in every teacher?
4

4. How many of you feel that teachers are primarily motivated by money?
5

5. 6

6. Changing pay is not a magic answer.
Anybody who claims otherwise isn’t paying attention.
7

7. Still… money matters to people. If you change pay, you WILL have their attention. What
you do with that is very much a question of leadership.
8

8. 9

9. BIG STATES, SMALL STATES
NORTHERN STATES, SOUTHERN STATES
URBAN DISTRICTS, RURAL DISTRICTS
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
NEW YORK, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, MINNESOTA, NORTH
CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, TEXAS, COLORADO, ARIZONA
AND EVEN CALIFORNIA!
10

10. In the literature about differentiation of compensation in schools, these are the four
“elements” that are usually described.
I’m going to use a few slides to shine light on each of these areas. Where I can, I intend to
frame this part of my presentation in terms of questions.
11

11. District level program begun in 2004
Cooperative effort of Denver Public Schools and Denver Classroom Teachers Association
Designed to link teacher pay to district mission and attract/retain high quality teachers in
DPS
Teachers paid on the basis of : 1) knowledge and skills; 2) teaching in hard-to-staff school
and subjects; 3) good evaluations; 4) improved student scores on Colorado’s standardized
test
Depending on option, payments range from $400/year-$2,500/year
All ProComp payments pensionable
Teachers hired after 1/06 must be in ProComp
Program funded by voter-approved local property tax
Money set aside in trust jointly administered by district and union
12

12. District level program begun in 2007
Cooperative agreement between the NYC DOE and the United Federation of Teachers
Participating schools must be designated “high need” and have approval of 55% of school
faculty
$3,000 per teacher group performance awards to schools that show growth on NY’s
standardized test
Money distributed by school-based Compensation Committee: 2 teachers, the principal,
1 principal designee
13

13. Nationwide program funded by participating districts
Launched in 1999 by Milken Foundation; now part of National Institute for Excellence in
Education
Organized around 4 elements:
1. Multiple career paths (career teacher, master and mentor teachers)
2. Ongoing professional growth
3. Accountability through evaluation
4. Performance-based compensation
14

14. District level program funded by parcel tax (2008)
Cooperative effort of the SFUSD and the UESF
Program will: 1) raise beginning teachers’ salaries to nearly $50,000 per year; 2) raise all
teachers salaries by $4,000-$6,000; 3) provide teachers in hard-to-staff schools ($2,000)
and subjects ($1,000); 4)give one-time bonus of $2,500 and $3,000 after 4th and 8th years
to stem attrition; 5) add 50 master teachers for $2,500 a year; 6) increase the number of
PAR coaches; 7) give 20 schools that make the most progress a block grant of $30,000
15

15. 16

16. 17

17. Race To The Top
Teacher quality and teacher distribution are key issues
State grants
MOUs with participating districts
Teacher Incentive Fund
Federally funded program begun in 2006
Funded at $99m annually through 2009
In 2010 budget, could be funded as high as $446m
Competitive grant process for states and districts
Program goals: 1) improve student achievement by improving principal and teacher
effectiveness, and 2) increase the number of effective teachers in hard-to-staff schools
RFP to be released soon
18

18. 19

19. 20

20. 21

21. 22

22. [Jeff]
Moments like this don’t come every day, year or decade.
Teacher pay is changing in America.
You ran for school board to make change happen.
YOU are the person to bring this change to your district.
23

23. 24

24. 25

25. Mostly, those who have taken the plunge say the water’s fine.
26