Teacher Perceptions about Alternative
Compensation:
Evidence from the DPS/DCTA
ProComp Project
Brad Jupp, Teacher Coordinator, DPS/DCTA ProComp Project
ProComp is a Radical Departure from the
Single Salary Schedule
• Replaces a capped system of entitlements with an uncapped system of earned increases, including increases for measured student growth
• Allows teachers to build a professional compensation package based on a wider range of choices
• Requires a $25 million property tax increase to be fully funded
Teachers Are More Open-Minded About Changes to
Their Compensation Systems than You Might Think
• DCTA survey data has consistently shown that two thirds or more of our members favor market incentives for working in hard to staff assignments and hard to serve schools
• DCTA survey data shows slightly more than 50% of our members believe that some portion of their pay should be based on accurately measured student growth
• Research by McREL and Douglas County Schools shows that teachers like having a range of compensation options
The Denver Experience Exposes Some
Basic Myths about Alternative Compensation
• Surveys and focus groups conducted during the Pay for Performance Pilot, a precursor to ProComp, showed consistently that individual teacher incentives based on measured student results did not harm collegial relations among teachers in a school
• Polling data from the ProComp ratification campaign showed that secondary teachers, especially those with more than 15 years experience were more interested in ProComp
Quick and Dirty Conclusions
• Teachers are not collectively committed to the single salary schedule
• An alternative compensation system must create real opportunities for teachers if they are to be expected to be supportive of it They want the system to be fair, manageable, sustainable,
and good for them and kids
They are right to be opposed to punitive systems or systems that conceal perverse incentives
• Overcoming the worst fears of teachers and their unions is hard work, in part because their worst fears are warranted
Thank You
DPS/DCTA ProComp Project
http://DenverProComp.org
720.423.3629
Denver Public Schools -- A
Snapshot
• Denver Public Schools serves over 72,489 students in 143 schools and programs.
• The student population is highly diverse: 57% are Hispanic
18.9% are African American
19.7% are white
3.1% are Asian American
1.2% are American Indian.
Sixty-three (63) percent receive free or reduced-price lunch.
• There are about 4250 teachers and student service professionals
The ProComp “Menu” Is Composed of Ten
Elements Summary of Basic Facts, Components and Elements of the Professional Compensation System for Teachers
Basic Facts District Entry Salary $32,971 Index $32,971
ComponentsKnowledge and Ski lls Professional Evaluation Market Incentives Student Growth
Elements Salaryincrease of 2%Index forcompletingProfessionalDevelopment
Units
Salaryincrease of 9%of Index fo rcompletingdegrees orholding a
nationallicense
$1000 fortuitionreimbursement
Salaryincrease of 1%of index whenratedsatisfactory asprobationary
teacher
Salaryincrease of 3%of index whenratedsatisfactoryas non-
probationaryteacher
Bonus of3% of indexfor servingin a hard-to-staffassignment
Bonus of 3%of index forserving in ahard-to-serveassignment
SalaryIncrease of 1%of Index fo rMeet ing BothAnnualStudent
GrowthObjectives.Bonus of 1% ofIndex forMeet ing Oneof two AnnualStudentGrowthObjectives. NoIncrease forMeet ingNeitherObjective
Sustainableincrease of 3%of Index fo rexceedingexpectationson the CSAP
Test Noincrease formeetingexpectations.Sustainabledecrease of3% of index forfalling belowexpectationson the CSAPonly if apreviousincrease hasbeen earned.
Bonus of 2% ofIndex forserving in adistinguishedschool basedon multiple
measures ofstudentperformance.
Dollar Value ofIncrease WhenIndex is
$32,971
$659 $2,967 $1,000 $330 $989 $989 $989 $330 $989 $659
Does theIncrease Build
Pension andFinal AverageSalary Under
PERA?
Yes Yes No Yes Yes
No, but DPS andDCTA will seek tomake this element
bui ld pension by the0506 SY.
Yes Yes Yes
In what schoolyear will thiselement begin
operating?
2006-2007 2006-2007 2005-2006 2006-2007 2006-2007 2005-2006 2006-2007 2006-2007 2005-2006
ProComp Redefines a Teacher’s Career
Earnings Pattern
ProComp Rethinks and Expands How DPS
Spends Its Teacher Payroll
$0
$50,000,000
$100,000,000
$150,000,000
$200,000,000
$250,000,000
Current Pay Proposed Pay, 50 Year
Market Incentives
Student Growth
Knowledge & Skills
Professional Evaluation
Experience
Base Salary
71%
18%
9%
2%
59%
8%
8%
23%
2%
What’s Masked by this Summary?
• Transition Team a collaborative body established to govern the policy set forth in the
ProComp Agreement
• Transition Plan a comprehensive project plan that integrates ProComp in the
broader picture of instructional and systems reform in Denver
• The extraordinary hard work needed to pull this planning process off
• This is largely administrative work that we in the union dismiss as “their job.”
• Documentation, training and support The arduous task of building capacity and changing culture
The ProComp fiscal model
• Political campaign
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