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Discovery Canyon doling out dollars to quality teachers
Danny Smith
Teacher retention and performance-based pay have been long-time issues in the education system and a local school has been trying a creative way to address both while bolstering student achievement.
Discovery Canyon Campus is the only school in the state participating in the Teacher Advancement Program developed by the national education research organization The Milken Foundation.
All teachers at the school will participate in the program and eventually be eligible to receive a monetary reward for their teaching performance and their students’ achievement; this year 44 teachers each received an average of $1,585 through the Teacher Advancement Program which DCC implemented in the 2006-2007 school year.
DCC’s Teacher Advancement Program Coordinator Kris Maletsky said the program offers opportunities for teachers to work together to achieve goals set forth at the beginning of the school year.
Teachers are compensated based on teacher evaluation and student Colorado Student Assessment Test scores depending on what course they teach. Teachers that instruct courses with state standards like math get evaluated 50 percent on teacher observation, 30 percent on CSAP scores and 20 percent on a school-wide improvement goal. Teachers not instructing CSAP classes split their evaluation between teaching observation and the school-wide goal.
The rewards are funded by the school but it is not competitive between teachers who work cooperatively to come up with teaching strategies led by master and mentor teachers.
"The doors are always open and the walls are always down at a Teacher Advancement School because we all work together," Maletsky said and DCC gets consulting help from the national Teacher Advancement Program. Participants in the program are evaluated by an extensive rubric put out by the program according Melesky. Teachers certified as mentor and master teachers observe and support other instructors and help identify strategies to improve instruction.
Executive principal Gary Batsell implemented the program after learning about it at a conference and he said it allows teachers to have another option in taking on leadership positions without moving into administration by having the option of moving into a master or mentor teacher role.
"It doesn’t make sense to have your very best teachers become administrators because now they are not teaching kids," Batsell said. "We affectionately call it ganging up on the kids because all the teachers are emphasizing similar strategies."
Teachers meet regularly to discuss new teaching tactics and evaluate ones that have been tested in the classroom.
The highest amount that teachers can receive through the program is $2,500 and this school year there are 88 participants that will be eligible for reward. According to Batsell the school allocates enough every year to provide the maximum amount to every participant.
Maletsky said the program is a win-win for students and teachers.
"You support teachers to help make students more successful."
Teacher retention and performance-based pay have been long-time issues in the education system and a local school has been trying a creative way to address both while bolstering student achievement.
Discovery Canyon Campus is the only school in the state participating in the Teacher Advancement Program developed by the national education research organization The Milken Foundation.
All teachers at the school will participate in the program and eventually be eligible to receive a monetary reward for their teaching performance and their students’ achievement; this year 44 teachers each received an average of $1,585 through the Teacher Advancement Program which DCC implemented in the 2006-2007 school year.
DCC’s Teacher Advancement Program Coordinator Kris Maletsky said the program offers opportunities for teachers to work together to achieve goals set forth at the beginning of the school year.
Teachers are compensated based on teacher evaluation and student Colorado Student Assessment Test scores depending on what course they teach. Teachers that instruct courses with state standards like math get evaluated 50 percent on teacher observation, 30 percent on CSAP scores and 20 percent on a school-wide improvement goal. Teachers not instructing CSAP classes split their evaluation between teaching observation and the school-wide goal.
The rewards are funded by the school but it is not competitive between teachers who work cooperatively to come up with teaching strategies led by master and mentor teachers.
"The doors are always open and the walls are always down at a Teacher Advancement School because we all work together," Maletsky said and DCC gets consulting help from the national Teacher Advancement Program. Participants in the program are evaluated by an extensive rubric put out by the program according Melesky. Teachers certified as mentor and master teachers observe and support other instructors and help identify strategies to improve instruction.
Executive principal Gary Batsell implemented the program after learning about it at a conference and he said it allows teachers to have another option in taking on leadership positions without moving into administration by having the option of moving into a master or mentor teacher role.
"It doesn’t make sense to have your very best teachers become administrators because now they are not teaching kids," Batsell said. "We affectionately call it ganging up on the kids because all the teachers are emphasizing similar strategies."
Teachers meet regularly to discuss new teaching tactics and evaluate ones that have been tested in the classroom.
The highest amount that teachers can receive through the program is $2,500 and this school year there are 88 participants that will be eligible for reward. According to Batsell the school allocates enough every year to provide the maximum amount to every participant.
Maletsky said the program is a win-win for students and teachers.
"You support teachers to help make students more successful."
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