Performance Pay
Comments and Development Process
Not
only is Douglas County's Performance Pay system the most
comprehensive in the nation, but it continues to attract the
attention of a wide range of local, national and even international
audiences. The plan has been heralded as "trail blazing"
and "unprecedented" by various Colorado newspapers.
Colorado Lieutenant Governor Gail Schoettler described the school
district's plan as "precedent-setting reform," in a Denver
Business Journal article.
In 1997, Assistant Superintendent
Ellen Bartlett and Douglas County Federation of Teachers' President
Rob Weil presented to the Consortium for Policy Research in
Education (University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Stanford
University, University of Michigan and the University of
Wisconsin-Madison). This top-notch group of higher educators was
among many other organizations that have requested information and
presentations since 1994. "What I am seeing is a continued high
level of interest in what we are doing," said Bartlett.
"Performance pay is a big step in the right direction-our
compensation system absolutely supports better instruction in the
classroom."
Before the plan could become a
reality, it was essential to put together a group that would ensure
the efforts would be tailor made to the needs of Douglas County
School District. In July, 1993, a task force of 30 individuals-20
teachers and 10 Board of Education appointees, including several
community members and business people - put in more than 6,000 hours
designing this compensation system. Two neutral facilitators helped
manage this intensive, far-reaching effort to arrive at consensus on
the details of this new teacher pay plan.
Adopted in the summer of 1994 by the
Board of Education and the Douglas County Federation of Teachers
(DCFT), the plan is now into its fourth year of implementation. Each
year since its inception, committees have continued to refine,
evaluate, modify and expand each of the plan's components. Teachers
have demonstrated their support for the plan by voting
overwhelmingly to continue its implementation each year.
The major philosophical shift of
performance pay is clear: no longer will all teachers be awarded
longevity raises without regard to performance. The integration
of successful private sector approaches has helped this plan gain
wide credibility among various school district constituencies. |