Senators Push to Fund Increased Performance Pay for Teachers
Congressional Desk
August 08, 2009
Say current compensation systems "shortchange our children"
Washington – As President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan unveil guidelines for states to apply for Race to the Top education funding, ten senators urged leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund President Barack Obama´s $487.3 million request for pay-for-performance teacher incentives in the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.
In a letter organized by Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), seven Democratic moderates and three Republicans said full funding for the Teacher Incentive Fund is "a critical component of the overall strategy to transform our future teacher workforce, improve teacher quality and raise student achievement."
"Most professions recognize and reward better performance with better pay," the senators wrote. "However, teacher compensation is based almost exclusively on degree attainment and years of service and does not take student achievement into account. It is long past time that we reformed this antiquated system. It is unfair to teachers who set high expectations, engage their students and raise achievement. It represents a breach of faith with taxpayers who expect their tax dollars to be spent efficiently and effectively. Most importantly, it shortchanges our children by reducing the likelihood that they will have a high-quality teacher in their classroom."
The Teacher Incentive Fund supports performance-based compensation incentives for outstanding teachers and principals in high-need schools. The program is aimed at increasing the number of highly qualified teachers working with poor, minority, or disadvantaged students in hard-to-staff subjects. It funds local compensation systems that improve student academic achievement and that encourage educators to assume additional responsibilities and leadership roles.
Lead signatories on the letter were Senators Bayh, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Other signers included Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), John Thune (R-SD), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Last month, Bayh and nine of his moderate Democratic colleagues sent a letter to the White House supporting the president´s call for education reform, endorsing pay-for-performance teacher incentives, the expansion of effective public charter schools, extended student learning time and investments in state-of-the-art data systems for school systems to track student performance.
Washington – As President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan unveil guidelines for states to apply for Race to the Top education funding, ten senators urged leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund President Barack Obama´s $487.3 million request for pay-for-performance teacher incentives in the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.
In a letter organized by Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), seven Democratic moderates and three Republicans said full funding for the Teacher Incentive Fund is "a critical component of the overall strategy to transform our future teacher workforce, improve teacher quality and raise student achievement."
"Most professions recognize and reward better performance with better pay," the senators wrote. "However, teacher compensation is based almost exclusively on degree attainment and years of service and does not take student achievement into account. It is long past time that we reformed this antiquated system. It is unfair to teachers who set high expectations, engage their students and raise achievement. It represents a breach of faith with taxpayers who expect their tax dollars to be spent efficiently and effectively. Most importantly, it shortchanges our children by reducing the likelihood that they will have a high-quality teacher in their classroom."
The Teacher Incentive Fund supports performance-based compensation incentives for outstanding teachers and principals in high-need schools. The program is aimed at increasing the number of highly qualified teachers working with poor, minority, or disadvantaged students in hard-to-staff subjects. It funds local compensation systems that improve student academic achievement and that encourage educators to assume additional responsibilities and leadership roles.
Lead signatories on the letter were Senators Bayh, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Other signers included Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), John Thune (R-SD), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Last month, Bayh and nine of his moderate Democratic colleagues sent a letter to the White House supporting the president´s call for education reform, endorsing pay-for-performance teacher incentives, the expansion of effective public charter schools, extended student learning time and investments in state-of-the-art data systems for school systems to track student performance.
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