Teacher and Admins please share ideas to have merit based pay work

[Anonymous]

Most parents and I suspect tadmins can agree who the outstanding teachers are and they deserve way more pay. We also need to find a way to provide better remediation for struggling teachers and if the remediation fails there needs to be a way to encourage them exit door left.

I have proposed on DCUM before a multimodal assessment from a variety of levels. You factor in subjective and objective and you get feedback from peers, subordinates (e.g. aides who come into the classroom where applicable), parents and the administrator. Test scores would be a small part of the assessment, maybe 5% of what goes into the equation. Anytime this discussion comes up a raise to all teachers when there are some teachers who clearly deserve to go up 5 steps and some who don't belong in the field. How do we retain the talented teachers and remediate and if needed let go the problematic ones?

To be clear, I am not looking to justify my suggestion for assessment. I have already learned a slew of people find it outrageous. I am looking from solutions from those who are in the system. I would gladly pay more taxes if we could keep and reward talented teachers and have more in place to ensure poor teachers get the help they need so it isn't the same story year after year.

What do you propose?

[Anonymous]

Administrator here: If I could wave my magic wand, I'd put my efforts into what happens before candidates even cross the threshold of my school. The teacher training programs in this country are abysmal. Don't even get me started on online programs.

Take a look at Finland where first university is accessible to all. Second, the hoops to get into teaching programs are rigorous and many. If we can up the ante at the college level and ensure rigorous training, we will not have to engage in the remediation.

[Anonymous]

My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a lot of work to complete all of what you suggest and then to ensure fairness and equity... seems like it would be a distraction and diversion of funding from instruction, etc.

There are so many variables in teaching that any bonus structure comes with inherent inequity issues. You would need to find a similar field with a successful bonus structure and model it off of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Do teachers that coach sports get paid for the coaching? I thought they did so I don't understand why team leads and curriculum leads don't.

[Anonymous]

I think teachers are reasonably paid given them make more than many other gov't employees, like social workers and many others especially given they make a higher salary with summers off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Agree, we were supposed to have the best teacher and if she's the best, I am missing something. I don't want popular, I want someone who understands my child and can teach well.

[Anonymous]

they should be paid like this. Some of the teachers can't even teach.......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Agree, we were supposed to have the best teacher and if she's the best, I am missing something. I don't want popular, I want someone who understands my child and can teach well.

Stay in your lane. Do what you need to do at home to support education and all teachers will look like rock stars.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, I left the public school system for private. Throwing more money at me wouldn't have kept me there. I would have liked more autonomy, less overall acceptance of mediocrity, and less infighting among my colleagues. Much happier (but not richer) now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Most parents and I suspect tadmins can agree who the outstanding teachers are and they deserve way more pay. We also need to find a way to provide better remediation for struggling teachers and if the remediation fails there needs to be a way to encourage them exit door left.

I have proposed on DCUM before a multimodal assessment from a variety of levels. You factor in subjective and objective and you get feedback from peers, subordinates (e.g. aides who come into the classroom where applicable), parents and the administrator. Test scores would be a small part of the assessment, maybe 5% of what goes into the equation. Anytime this discussion comes up a raise to all teachers when there are some teachers who clearly deserve to go up 5 steps and some who don't belong in the field. How do we retain the talented teachers and remediate and if needed let go the problematic ones?

To be clear, I am not looking to justify my suggestion for assessment. I have already learned a slew of people find it outrageous. I am looking from solutions from those who are in the system. I would gladly pay more taxes if we could keep and reward talented teachers and have more in place to ensure poor teachers get the help they need so it isn't the same story year after year.

What do you propose?

Just leave it alone. If you were so willing to see your tax dollars going towards increasing teachers' pay, I would hope that you voted FOR the meal tax that failed.

Will you make a similar proposal to hospitals regarding doctors? To social service agencies regarding social workers? the government regarding politicians???

What makes everybody believe they know what good teaching and teachers look like??

Sure you went to school from pre-k to 12th grade but that doesn't make you an expert on teaching and learning---anymore than being a patient pre-birth till now makes me an expert in the medical field.

Focus on your family and improving your workplace whatever that may be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Agree, we were supposed to have the best teacher and if she's the best, I am missing something. I don't want popular, I want someone who understands my child and can teach well.

Stay in your lane. Do what you need to do at home to support education and all teachers will look like rock stars.

I am not trying to make a marginal teacher look like a rock star. That is their job, not mine. Mine is to make sure my child is getting a good education and treated decently. Ours will not work with us on what she is doing in the classroom when we asked as we do heavily supplement at home. She even told us to stop supplementing. She barely spends time with our child or she'd know his reading and math skills were much higher than she gives him credit for. Except for socialization, school the past few years has been a joke. I'd love just once for a teacher who teachers and has regular group communication with parents to let them know what's going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think teachers are reasonably paid given them make more than many other gov't employees, like social workers and many others especially given they make a higher salary with summers off.

Teachers are not reasonably paid given the amount of education they are required to have before becoming one. Compared to other similarly degreed professionals, teachers are paid horribly. You do not have to go to college to be a gov't employee. My DH works for the gov't after the military. The amount of money he makes compared to me-a teacher with a masters is unbelievable. His bonuses are the likes of which I would NEVER see as a teacher. The most I can expect a $2,500 raise--spread out over 10-12 months, while it's not unusual for him to receive a $25,000 LUMP sum bonus each year! He left one gov't job for another one year to the tune of a $30,000 raise--no additional education required. A teacher will never transfer to a new school system and see that type of salary increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Agree, we were supposed to have the best teacher and if she's the best, I am missing something. I don't want popular, I want someone who understands my child and can teach well.

Stay in your lane. Do what you need to do at home to support education and all teachers will look like rock stars.

I am not trying to make a marginal teacher look like a rock star. That is their job, not mine. Mine is to make sure my child is getting a good education and treated decently. Ours will not work with us on what she is doing in the classroom when we asked as we do heavily supplement at home. She even told us to stop supplementing. She barely spends time with our child or she'd know his reading and math skills were much higher than she gives him credit for. Except for socialization, school the past few years has been a joke. I'd love just once for a teacher who teachers and has regular group communication with parents to let them know what's going on.

Well if their job is to teach and your child is advanced in math and reading, sounds like teachers are doing their job!

If you want to know what your child is working on, why not ask your child?

And creating a Facebook page for parents does not make one a good teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I teach in elementary schools. Some of the most popular teachers are not necessarily the best in our eyes, so we would have to examine the suggestion of input from peers and parents.

Pay a stipend to those who take on extra duties such as team lead or curriculum lead positions.

Agree, we were supposed to have the best teacher and if she's the best, I am missing something. I don't want popular, I want someone who understands my child and can teach well.

Stay in your lane. Do what you need to do at home to support education and all teachers will look like rock stars.

I am not trying to make a marginal teacher look like a rock star. That is their job, not mine. Mine is to make sure my child is getting a good education and treated decently. Ours will not work with us on what she is doing in the classroom when we asked as we do heavily supplement at home. She even told us to stop supplementing. She barely spends time with our child or she'd know his reading and math skills were much higher than she gives him credit for. Except for socialization, school the past few years has been a joke. I'd love just once for a teacher who teachers and has regular group communication with parents to let them know what's going on.

Yup! THAT'S your job. Not regulating teacher pay.