When Michelle Rhee resigned as chancellor of the D.C. Schools after her supporter Mayor Adrian Fenty lost in the mayoral primary, I posited that the new mayor would appoint either a union candidate who would wipe out any reforms she had made, or a moderate who would more diplomatically institute many of those reforms.Apparently the latter is true and last Monday’s New York Times featured an article on teacher pay increases for some D.C. teachers.“Under the system, known as Impact Plus, teachers rated “highly effective” earn bonuses ranging from $2,400 to $25,000. Teachers who get that rating two years in a row are eligible for a large permanent pay increase to make their salary equivalent to that of a colleague with five more years of experience and a more advanced degree.”
This approach was to be used to attract and keep good teachers in the system who might see the long road of seniority and advanced degrees as a turn off ro staying in the profession.
What I found interesting was that an article on merit pay did not belabor the use of student test scores on the process but rather highlighted the teachers themselves and their reaction to the increase in salary.
Tiffany Johnson didn’t focus on the money or what she might now be able to do but rather that she felt appreciated.
Tiffany Johnson got a series of small raises that brought her annual salary to $63,000, from about $50,000. This year, her seventh, Ms. Johnson earns $87,000.
That latest 38 percent jump, unheard of in public education, came after Ms. Johnson was rated “highly effective” two years in a row under Washington’s new teacher evaluation system. Those ratings also netted her back-to-back bonuses totaling $30,000. “I know they value me.”
Karen Sutton, who teaches honors English at a Miami high school, was one of the 12 (who received the bonus.) She too was more interested in being appreciated than thinking about the money.
“To have somebody say you’ve done a great job, that feels wonderful,” said Ms. Sutton, 56, who is in her 23rd year of teaching in Miami and has a salary of about $55,000. “But does it affect how I teach or whether I keep teaching? No. I’ve never thought, ‘If I get a bonus, I’ll stick this out.’
Jimmy Roberts acknowledges how the money helps with student loans but equally appreciates the recognition of his work.
Jimmie Roberts, who is 28 and tutors slow readers, saw his salary increase to about $75,000 in 2011-12, from about $52,000 last year, in addition to receiving $30,000 in bonuses over two years. The money and recognition, he said, helped dispel the discouragement he had felt having to work a second job, as a greeter in a wine bar on nights and weekends, to pay off college loans.
As I read through the article I was reminded how teachers’ feelings about themselves are often tied to evaluations and in this case positive evaluations were backed by significant bonuses and salary increases with resulting teachers” positive attitudes about themselves in the profession.
One recipient while pleased was still cautious about the profession.
Marta Maria Arrocha, who is 47 and teaches reading to fourth graders, was another $25,000 winner, which she described as exhilarating. Still, Ms. Arrocha, who has been teaching nine years, said she “would tend to discourage students who say they want to go into teaching.”
“I try to nitpick — is this really what you want to do?” she said. “A lot of people look down on this profession.”
