Boston teachers receive pay for excellence awards for work in underperforming schools

For the first time more than 700 Boston Public Schools (BPS) teachers and more than 150 paraprofessionals will receive “pay for excellence” awards in their paychecks issued today. The awards are the result of an agreement made in June 2010 between the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) and BPS. Educators who worked in any of the city’s turnaround schools last school year are eligible for the award.

“We know that our teachers work incredibly hard and we believe teachers who help students succeed should be recognized and rewarded,” said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “These educators have brought a new sense of vitality to these schools and it is clear that because of their hard work our students are benefitting. This is just the type of improvement we envisioned when we laid out the Acceleration Agenda, our five year strategic plan.”

The city’s 11 Level Four schools (schools designated as underperforming last year) made noteworthy gains in both subject areas according to MCAS results released in September. In Math, every Turnaround School grew at a pace equal to or exceeding levels typical for a year’s worth of instruction. In English Language Arts, the majority of schools made similar progress.

Awards are made to a school staff based on the school-wide performance of the entire student body on five indicators of success, including growth on MCAS, student attendance, and graduation rates for high schools.

This year, teachers were eligible to earn up to $750. Paraprofessionals were eligible to earn up to $225. All of the city’s turnaround schools made progress in the 2010-2011 school year.  In total, more than $374,000 will be distributed among the more than 700 teachers, and more than $29,000 will be distributed among the more than 150 paraprofessionals.

Currently, BPS is negotiating with the BTU for the ability to provide educators district wide with similar incentives and awards for improved student outcomes.

BPS and the BTU are scheduled to return to the negotiating table on December 15th.