| Basing someone’s salary on workplace results may be nothing new for the private sector. In the world of public education, however, it’s revolutionary. But if improving the quality of education is truly the best investment we can make in our future, and we believe it’s time to reform the system and try new programs.
There’s no better place to start than in the classroom with our teachers.
This Nov. 1, Denver voters will be asked to approve ProComp – shorthand for Professional Compensation System for Teachers – as ballot question 3A. ProComp will give Denver Public Schools’ talented teachers a chance to increase their salaries based on four performance criteria:
--Teaching in one of 28 hard-to-serve schools or in one of five hard-to-fill staff assignments such as math, science, or special ed. Hard-to-serve does not mean poorly performing. Five factors determine whether a school is deemed difficult to serve, such as the percentage of students who: are English-language learners; qualify for free or reduced lunch; are eligible for Medicaid; live in high-crime neighborhoods; have significant special-ed needs. Bottom line: ProComp will help get our best teachers in the schools that need them most.
--Improving student achievement, as defined in numerous ways, with the CSAP standardized test being just a small portion of that. The end result: ProComp provides teachers with a financial incentive to give our children a more rigorous education.
--Increasing their own skills and knowledge by obtaining and maintaining teaching licenses, credentials, professional development units, and advanced degrees in fields relevant to the subjects they teach.
--Receiving positive performance evaluations.
For those who opt into the program, the advantages of moving away from a traditional salary schedule based largely on years of service are many.
First, ProComp takes the district’s No. 1 expense – salaries – and directly aligns it with the district’s No. 1 priority – student learning – so that we can get the very best from our teachers and our students.
Second, it offers teachers a significant financial incentive to improve the quality of our children’s education. | | Third, it will help us recruit and retain the highest-caliber teachers and keep them from leaving DPS for suburban school districts.
A strong coalition of teachers, district leaders, and citizens has spent the last six years researching and developing ProComp. Various components have been piloted in schools around the district. A half-dozen private foundations have contributed more than $6 million to fund development of the system.
Now we need your help. To implement ProComp and put it in place starting on Jan. 1, we are asking voters to approve a $25 million annual mill levy increase. What does that mean to you? About $2 per month for every $100,000 of actual home value.
By law, the money can only be spent on ProComp, and an eight-member board of trustees would oversee the funds: three members appointed by the school district; three by the Teachers’ Association; and the other two would be citizen appointees agreed upon by the other six members.
It’s never easy to ask voters to increase taxes by any amount. But the DPS mill levy is lower than the statewide average. It’s also lower than those of most Front Range school districts _ and it will remain lower than many of those districts’ rates if ProComp passes.
Perhaps one of the best things about ProComp is the groundbreaking cooperation that has gone into it by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the Board of Education, and district staff. Denver truly is at the forefront of public education reform in this regard. Educators, academics, and policy experts around the country are watching to see whether voters approve ProComp.
Support is widespread and includes Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Public Education and Business Coalition, and Great Education Colorado.
ProComp is not the answer to all of the district’s challenges. We understand that. But it’s a crucial and bold step in the overall reform process. It’s a step we must take for our teachers, for our children, for our future.
Editor’s note: Kim Ursetta is the new president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. |
