Plan to award cash bonuses to teachers

Teachers in high-need schools will receive cash bonuses of $3,000 as a reward for improving their school’s academic success.
The new incentive was announced on Wednesday, October 17, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Randi Weingarten.
The incentive bonuses will be paid to teachers at 200 high-need schools during the 2007-08 school year and is expected to expand to 400 high-need schools in the next school year. The bonus program requires a school-wide improvement and would not reward individual teachers based on the success of their particular class.
“This school-wide bonus program recognizes and builds upon the UFT’s core philosophy that students learn, achieve and benefit most when all educators in a school collaborate to provide the best possible education,” Weingarten said in statement.
Once a school has demonstrated that their students have made significant academic improvements, the school will receive money amounting to $3,000 per teacher. At each school, a committee consisting of the principal, a designee of the principal and two members of the UFT will decide how the bonus money will be distributed among the teachers. The committee will have the choice to distribute the money equally or to distribute the money based on individual teacher’s contributions.
“We are rewarding our teachers who prove that they are the most successful in helping students make academic progress. This initiative will help us reward our great teachers and foster excellence in our public schools,” Bloomberg said.
For the current school year, bonuses will be drawn from private funding by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Partnership for New York City and the Robertson Foundation. During the 2008-09 school year the bonus will be publicly funded.
New progress reports, implemented by the Department of Education (DOE) in September, will measure the schools’ achievements. Schools will be graded on a scale ranging from A to F on a variety of factors including performance on standardized tests, results of student, teacher and parent surveys and student progression in reading, writing, and mathematics. The schools will also score points for student progress with English Language Learners and Special Education students.
The new bonus is expected to help attract and retain top teachers to the high-need public schools and improve city schools.
“We know from experience in other large school districts that linking performance and pay provides a powerful incentive,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.