The Governor's Plan for Merit Pay

In order to compete for some of the Race to the Top federal education dollars, Governor Perdue has developed a plan to "develop, compensate and retain quality teachers". He is proposing legislation introducing a compensation system that encompasses a statewide teacher evaluation tool that determines a teacher's effectiveness by evaluating "observation of planning and instruction and the degree to which teachers help students grow academically." Perdue's legislation will "enhance the current salary structure by adding a performance-based compensation system for all new teachers and for existing teachers who choose this option." These initiatives will go into effect in 2014. Teachers have apparently been very involved in developing this program and Perdue hopes that this plan will not only bring RTTT dollars to the state, but will focus on student achievement.

Click on the photo of the letter from Perdue to see a large version.

U.S. schools chief stops in Atlanta on 'listening and learning' tour

As reported in today's AJC, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stopped here as part of his “listening and learning” tour undertaken in anticipation of an effort next year to reauthorize the nation's education law.

Duncan repeatedly stressed Monday the "competitive" spirit he wanted to see in schools moving forward. He noted the administration's new "Race to the Top" program, in which roughly $5 billion in competitively awarded grants will be available to schools willing to raise their academic standards, improve teacher quality and allow more innovation. He said he supported ongoing work to develop common national academic standards in English, language arts and mathematics for grades k-12. Georgia is among 48 states that have signed on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Drafts of those standards are expected to be made public sometime next year.

Duncan also spoke encouragingly about some school choice efforts, particularly charter schools. His first stop Monday was at Tech High School, an independent charter high school in Atlanta that has a 97 percent graduation rate. The city system's average rate is 69 percent. He also toured the city's Grady High School in Midtown and attended a discussion about a White House initiative to prevent youth violence.

The Race to the Top

We have discussed President Obama's education initiative called "The Race to the Top" before. "The Race" is "a competition that is parceling out $4.35 billion in new education funding to states that are committed to real reform." States must submit proposals for the competition by mid-January. I stumbled upon this recent opinion column in the Wall Street Journal online by Harold E. Ford Jr., Louis V. Gerstner Jr., and Eli Broad. Please click the link to read the whole column, however I will pull out a few key paragraphs that caught my eye and made me wonder how Georgia and DeKalb schools will fare in this competition.

...President Barack Obama has launched "Race to the Top," a competition that is parceling out $4.35 billion in new education funding to states that are committed to real reform. This program offers us an opportunity to finally move the ball forward.

To that end Mr. Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are pushing states toward meaningful change. Mr. Duncan has even stumped for reform alongside former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Yet the administration must continue to hang tough on two critical issues: performance standards and competition. ...

Race to the Top funds will not serve their purpose if they are awarded based on good intentions and promises. Instead, the administration is right to look at results. Has a state embraced rigorous standards? Has it welcomed charter schools? Has it turned around low-performing schools and held teachers accountable? ...

If the administration were to simply spread the funds around, Race to the Top would end up supporting incremental, not transformational, change. The time is right for bold, comprehensive reform—even if only in a handful of states. This is why it is important to consider a state's record. Is the governor a true change agent, someone who is willing to withstand pressure in order to implement difficult reforms? If so, it may be right to award funding to his state. ...

For decades, adult interests have been at the forefront of public education. Reform has been derailed by adults who wanted to protect the status quo and enjoy lifelong benefits. This time the focus will be on learning in the classroom. What's important is that the administration is demanding that every child receive an education that prepares him or her for college or for work. Without that we will continue to be sidetracked by insignificant issues.

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For more enlightenment on the "Race to the Top" and the history of educational reforms, please watch this PBS "News Hour" report from Jim Lehrer.