Douglas County Schools
Colorado
A Strategic Approach to
Teacher Compensation &
Appraisal
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Performance Pay is a comprehensive
system that aligns teacher appraisal
and compensation with the school
district’s strategic goals.
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Positive relationship between the
district and the teachers
Leadership and stability on Board of
Education and in central office
Union leadership is collaborative,
flexible, and believes in taking risks
A tremendous sense of TRUST
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 Diverse
committee (1993-94)
 Completely separate from negotiations
 Very, very slow
 At times deliberate
 Sometimes unplanned
 Often surprising
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Align Teacher Compensation and Appraisal with the
District’s Strategic Goals by:
� supporting the district’s mission and core values
� attracting, retaining and motivating the highest
qualified teachers while competing in the employment
market
� rewarding growth, development and skill and
knowledge acquisition
� providing a degree of predictability and stability
� ensuring teacher involvement in the development,
evaluation and reward process
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Evaluation Credit
Outstanding
Teacher
Must apply and
provide evidence
Professional
Base Pay
Proficient
Evaluation
Evidence of
proficiency in
the classroom
Unsatisfactory
Evaluation
Teachers with an
unsatisfactory evalua-tion will not be
eligible for any
salary increases
Skills
Knowledge
Advanced
Coursework
and degrees
Acquired,
applied and
demonstrated
skills that
support the
goals of the
school district
Total
General
Master
Teacher Compensation
+
Responsibility
Pay
(District & Site-based)
Group
Incentive
=
Total
Teacher
Salary
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Proficient




Unsatisfactory



Unsatisfactory in any single
criterion
No evaluation credit or
salary increase
Remediation program
Classroom performance
Evaluation criteria based on
job description
Must be satisfactory in all
criteria
Increase in base salary
Outstanding




Must be proficient
Application process
Additional criteria
Proficient salary increase
plus bonus
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Four Program Options:
 Type
“A” - District Developed Criteria
 Type “B” - Standards Based Instruction
 Type “C” - National Board Applicants
 Type “D” - Student Achievement Growth
Decision by Principal*
*Type D decision is not currently being made by principals
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National Board Standards
Major Areas of Emphasis:
 Assessment
& Instruction
 Content & Pedagogy
 Collaboration & Partnership
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Standards Based Instruction
Major Areas of Emphasis:
 Adjustment
of Instruction
 Feedback on Student Progress
 Professional Collaboration
 Role of Assessments
 Student Ownership and Understanding
 Timing of Assessments
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National Board Certification
Candidates may use the same
portfolio as for National Board
certification - with minor
modifications
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Student Achievement Growth
Goals are Tied to:
 District Strategic Plan
 Feeder System Objectives
 Building Objectives
 Content Standards
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Skills must be:
Newly acquired, applied and
demonstrated
 Supportive of district’s strategic plan
 District/Teacher-selected
 Taught by highly skilled teachers
 Measured by authentic assessment

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


Student Growth
National Board or
Twice Outstanding
Two additional



Leadership/Expertise
Recognition
Creativity/Innovation
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
PREVIOUSLY




Special assignment pay
Secondary school activities
Elementary school activities
NEW CONCEPT


Site-based responsibility
pay - governed by the site
District responsibility pay
Examples:
Beyond the scope of the typical
job description
Committee work
Curriculum work
Ongoing commitments
Positively impacts/affects
students
Mentor role for colleagues
Draws upon professional skills
and knowledge
Additional responsibility during
the school day
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Work supported:









PPIC - the umbrella group
Group Incentive Board
Outstanding Teacher
Health Insurance Committee
Skill Blocks Development
Transfer Committee
Evaluation Committee
Professional Development
21st Century Partnership
DETERMINING
FACTORS




Number of meetings
Time of meetings
Difficulty of tasks
Time required outside
meetings
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Purpose:
 Reward
teachers for outstanding student
performance -Tied to measurable gains in
student achievement
 Enhance collegiality
 Encourage positive school and community
relations
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Process:
 Establish
group
 Determine goal
 Determine measurement ( pre & post)
 Define activities, responsibilities & timeline
 Submit plan for approval
 Work the plan
 Submit report & results
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Sample Goals:
 Reading
&writing skills
90% of Goals
 Mathematics proficiency
 Conflict management/problem-solving skills
 Computer/technology skills
 Individual learning plans
 Content-specific vocabulary
 Most are tied to building accountability plans
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








General Salary
Evaluation* (SG)*
Knowledge**
Outstanding Teacher (SG)
Master Teacher
(SG)
Group Incentive (SG)
Skill Block***
(CD)
Site Responsibility***
District Responsibility***
SG - Student Growth
CD - Classroom Demonstration
$39,000
$ 1,188
$ 1,000
$ 1,250
$ 2,500
$ 437
$ 425
$ 225
$ 500
$46,525
General
Pay
Incentive
Bonuses
Average
$819
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Douglas County Schools
Colorado
A Strategic Approach to
Teacher Appraisal
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The Teacher Evaluation Pendulum
Focusing on
Achievement
Alone
Focusing on
Teacher Behavior
Alone
Input
Output
??
A Balance
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Growth
Achievement
K
12
Achievement refers to what a
student knows at a place in
time
Aug.
May
Growth refers to what a
student has learned during
a particular period of time
Teachers must feel they have a large causative
effect on the results of whatever measurement is
being used.
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Student
Growth
Teacher
Appraisal
Teacher
Compensation
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 Each site will have an action plan that is
linked to the strategic directions of student
achievement growth and effective use of
resources.
 Individual appraisals will include the use
of data aligned with the strategic
directions of student achievement growth
and the building actions plans.
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



Measurable increases in student performance as
demonstrated on standardized tests & other district
assessments (We must be very cautious with these
results)
Teachers are more able to qualify and quantify
what they do
Increased collaboration and focus on goals and
student performance measures
Entire system has increased knowledge of
developing and using data
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



Greater buy-in by all constituencies because of
increased input
Observed increases in teacher skill level and
changes in teacher behavior
Greater focus on all aspects of teacher evaluation
Program choice has increased the feeling of
professionalism among teachers
 Enhanced
public image and support
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
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

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

Communication systems
Ambiguity tolerance until “bugs” worked out
Time and attention - lots of both!!!!!
Implementation committee
Payroll system modifications
Ability to deal quickly with unforeseen issues
Training
Trust
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






Additional funding required to launch program
Cannot reward by “taking away”
Some increases applied to base
Some payments made in bonus format - easier to
fund and to budget
Do not set quotas!!!
Prediction difficult until track record set
Basic salaries must remain competitive in market
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 Ellen Bartlett, Assistant Superintendent, Human
Resources
(303) 814-5253
Fax: (303) 814-5308
e-mail: ellen_bartlett@ceo.cudenver.edu
 Rob Weil, President
Douglas County Federation of Teachers
(303) 688-3381
e-mail: DCFT@aol.com
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