Governor: Raise pay for ‘All-Star’ teachers. Punish test cheats
And you thought the governor didn’t care: Just in from the governor’s office:
ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today education legislation has been introduced that would increase pay for Georgia’s top teachers and principals, and increase the integrity of Georgia’s testing system.
“Boosting pay for Georgia’s top teachers is an idea whose time has come,” said Governor Perdue. “Focusing on student improvement with other measures like peer evaluations aligns state funding with our policy priority: improving the education of our students. The new pay model will help the state attract, reward, encourage and retain top teachers.”
Sen. Don Balfour, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, is introducing SB 386, the Governor’s legislation to increase pay for high performing teachers and principals.
“This legislation rewards our All-Star teachers through higher pay,” said Senator Balfour. “These teachers go all the way for our students and should be rewarded appropriately.”
Current teachers and principals would have the choice to opt into the enhanced pay model under the proposed legislation. The legislation would require the State Board of Education to adopt a common, statewide evaluation tool that takes student improvement into account in addition to peer observation of planning and instruction when assessing teachers and leaders by July 1, 2011. Using this tool, the state will calculate an Effectiveness Measure which will allow for increased pay for the state’s most effective educators.
Already twenty-three local school districts making up 41 percent of Georgia’s public school students have committed to a similar compensation model through the state’s federal Race to the Top application. The state will implement best practices from those districts in developing and implementing the statewide system.
The Governor also announced today that State Rep. Matt Ramsey, a Floor Leader in the House, is introducing HB 1121 and HB 1111, legislation that will ensure the integrity of the state’s education data.
“We must ensure integrity in our tests. This becomes even more important when we tie teacher evaluations to student improvement,” said Governor Perdue. “Valid data is the key to making good public policy decisions and developing a credible system of rewarding our top educators.”
HB 1121 will make it unlawful for anyone to knowingly tamper with or facilitate cheating on tests required by the State Department of Education. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) will examine the results of mandated tests. GOSA may submit requests for investigation to the Professional Standards Commission and the Attorney General. Violators will be guilty of a misdemeanor and have their certification suspended or revoked. Under HB 1111, violators will also be subject to the loss of their pensions.
“We need accurate data to base policy decisions on,” said Rep. Ramsey. “This legislation will make it clear what the penalties are for tampering with tests. The ultimate victims in these cases are the students, and we must do everything we can to ensure our students receive the services they need to progress.”
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57 comments Add your comment
d2
February 8th, 2010
4:07 pm
Pay how– all-IOU’s I feel sorry those teachers who care enough to teach students with special needs. Even if it does pass, remember national certification-yanked. He needs to leave education alone. His ruined it enough. He is so hilarious—–In eight years this state has become a complete wreck. Sonny do us all a favor-go fish and leave Atlanta. Can’t he have duct tape around his mouth. The only good thing, I read in this article is about tampering with test.
john konop
February 8th, 2010
4:20 pm
How about investigating the integrity of Kathy Cox and the DOE manipulation of data and lack of response of releasing data?
Kathy Cox sets up a no win situation with her failed curriculum and instead of fixing the problem we get more garbage!
And instead of creating a bonus plan promoting teachers working together, graduation rates and college placement we are doing a plan that promotes teaching to a test with an incentive for teachers to care only about their own class that year.
Tonya
February 8th, 2010
4:46 pm
On another note, Clayton County has some of the most undisciplined students in the state of Georgia!!! Without support from parents and administrators, it is impossible to teach these children. The superintendent does not support teachers at all. He has been known to undermine teachers in the presence of parents. He has not formally introduced himself to the teachers in Clayton County yet. Tell us again why he was chosen as the superintendent. Maybe the loss of CTRAN will improve the quality of schools because the students will have to move where there is public transportation.
Tony
February 8th, 2010
4:48 pm
Speaking of penalties, shouldn’t we have penalties for elected officials that have not paid their taxes? Shouldn’t we have penalties for elected officials who get retroactive tax breaks on real estate deals? Shouldn’t we have penalties for elected officials who promise teachers bonus pay for earning National Board certification then renig on the promise?
There are already sufficient penalties in place for cheaters on testing. Perhaps we should create a system that relied less on high stakes, multiple choice, low quality tests. There are better assessment options and our students deserve to be judged in more fair ways.
Perhaps we should work more on creating real learning environments that promoted teamwork amongst the professionals instead of one that is more competetive. Perhaps we should pay more attention to the research about how kids truly learn. Perhaps we should stop pretending that poverty doesn’t affect student achievment.
Now let’s talk numbers. What kind of incentive pay are we talking about? How much more will “effective” teachers be paid? How will you guarantee these payments will be fair? and that they will not be cut from the budget on a whim? How are you going to assure that rosters of classes are not manipulated to favor certain teachers? How are you going to gather achievement data for teachers that do not teach classes that are tested?
So many questions.
Wounded Warrior
February 8th, 2010
5:31 pm
Simple plan. Fire all of the cheaters. Give a 10% pay increase to all of the STAR teachers. Of course, there will be 30 furlough days next year on top of that.
catlady
February 8th, 2010
5:47 pm
How will we pay for it? We will raid TRS or cut health benefits more or demand bigger kickbacks from the testing companies.
RJ
February 8th, 2010
5:53 pm
I will always ask the same question – how do I fit into this equation? As a non-core teacher, that still works with QCC’s because GPS hasn’t been approved, how will I be able to earn this bonus. Also, I teach in a school system that has little respect for non-core teachers. We are forced to teach outside of our content area daily (please see yesterday’s article regarding Kennedy Middle School. The principal stated that connections teachers had to teach core subjects). So, if I’m not able to do the job in which I’m certified, how will I be evaluated. Surely I won’t be evaluated on teaching a subject that I have no college courses on, and no desire to teach at all. In the end, teachers at the top schools will receive the money and those of us teaching kids that come to school hungry, lacking basic skills, we won’t be rewarded at all. Someone please tell me why I would want to stay in this profession once the economy gets better.
RJ
February 8th, 2010
5:54 pm
Maureen please check filter…
Sam
February 8th, 2010
6:38 pm
And then there is the blatantly discriminatory HB1100 to force distribute schools by letter grades “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” so as to funnel money in the form of bonuses to “A” and “B” schools. http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/fulltext/hb1100.htm
chuck
February 8th, 2010
7:05 pm
Anybody that thinks the governor is looking for a way to INCREASE teacher pay is an politically illiterate. I am a conservative republican who voted for Purdue. For the most part he has done a decent job as governor, but his agenda, and indeed the republican agenda is to DO AWAY WITH public education. I am also a public school teacher who believes that public education is a necessary evil. What I mean by that, is that the system is too big and too complex to eliminate. There are too many people who believe themselves to be experts. Splintering public education into a mishmash of charter and private schools will result in as many failing schools as we have now. Those schools will end up closing as they lose funding and the kids will just have to start over with a different program, losing 2-3 years of progress in the meantime.
We had a system for effectively delivering a quality education to the masses. We need to get back to that. I can’t possibly cover everything we NEED to do to fix schools, but here are a couple of things:
First, Parents can’t run the schools. Public education is NOT Burger King. You can’t have it your way. We can’t do things the way 800 different parents want us to. Get with the program. Tell your kid that the rules apply to them and you will not be running up to the school to try to get them out of every stupid thing they do. Tell them there will be consequences at school and that there will also be consequences when they get home. Don’t talk down your kids teachers at home or in the community. Remember that unless you have actually been in the classroom, your ideas about the teacher are just based on what your kid told you. WAKE UP.That’s how they manipulate you.
Second, every time you add a person to the central office staff, you add more garbage for teachers to have to do. It would be lovely to just have to PLAN and TEACH, but NOOOOOO, we have to do all of these NON-TEACHING things so that someone can come in and check them off of their list. It’s crazy. We could just about do away with central offices. The only thing that most of us would notice is less incessant buzzing around our ears. If you let us make decisions about how to teach our curriculum then you can hold us accountable for the results, but don’t tell us we have to do it YOUR way and then blame us when it doesn’t work.
Third, as wonderful as it is to have community interest in education, we don’t need a different program from every stinkin organization in the community. As good as these things are, we just don’t have time. Here’s a better idea. Why don’t you do these things yourselves on YOUR TIME after school hours. Don’t expect us to do it and don’t expect us to give you our class time to do it. For instance, the DARE and GREAT programs are worthwhile, but wouldn’t it make more sense to do those programs in housing projects and neighborhoods in after school hours rather than taking up class time? It would give the kids something to do after school to keep them out of trouble, it would increase police presence in the community, and it would be easier to involve parents.
Fourth, Hire EDUCATORS to run schools, not egotistical, self PROMOTERS who are just in it to make themselves look good. Principals should be FILTERS. They should be working to keep the garbage from getting to teachers. They should SUPPORT teachers, not dictate to them. They should work to make teachers BETTER at what they do. Systems spend a lot of money to put a teacher into a classroom. If they are having problems, we should help them fix those problems QUICKLY, not just encourage them to transfer to another school and be a problem for some other school. If they are incapable of improvement then we have to make tough decisions to cut them loose. That doesn’t mean teachers who don’t teach the way some principal wants them to, or teachers that the parents don’t like.It means teachers who are ineffective based on REAL measurements.
These are just a few ideas from someone who has been around this game for awhile.
LizzieTish
February 8th, 2010
7:10 pm
So is the next step going to be no pay supplements for master’s degrees or doctorates? Wonder how universities will enjoy a loss of tuition money when teachers don’t feel an advanced degree will help move them up the pay scale. Perdue is a train wreck.
Oh sure
February 8th, 2010
7:30 pm
Who would believe Sonny on anything at this point? And the criteria for this performance based BS?
ScienceTeacher671
February 8th, 2010
8:20 pm
What happened to the Georgia Master Teacher program they were trying to get us all to sign up for earlier this year?
dbow
February 8th, 2010
8:24 pm
Why is everyone losing their minds over this? How long have you people been in the education field? I have heard this garbage come up so many times over my career that it’s laughable. What always cracks me up is the teachers of the gifted that complain about their students grades falling below a 98% and then losing their shot at a bonus. Or better yet, the electives teachers complaining that they’ll be left out of the bonus equation altogether because they’re in a non tested subject. To the teachers of the gifted, I say shut up. You already teach the best and brightest and least likely to cause disturbances and make your teaching easy. To the electives teachers, I also say shut up. Be glad you teach a non tested subject where you don’t have constant pressure form administrators and parents to improve test scores. I would switch to an elective course in a heart beat if I could ever get out math. The problem is that I’m a darn good teacher and I care about more than test scores. Anybody hiring a shop teacher?
Perdue? Are you kidding me?
February 8th, 2010
8:26 pm
Sonny needs to leave education alone! This pay proposal negatively affects so many people from teachers to colleges and universities. GO AWAY SONNY!
Joy in Teaching
February 8th, 2010
8:28 pm
Oh gosh…”All Star Teachers.” Whatever happened to “Master Teachers”? Haven’t heard much about that lately. And what about teachers who are Nationally Certified? Oh yes…they got kicked under the bus this year with the rest of us.
It’s just a scam that Perdue is running to make the gullible to think that he is trying to improve education when all he is doing is slapping a new label on an old concept.
By the way? My principal is always holding up one particular teacher in my building as being a “stellar teacher.” This woman comes in 15-20 minutes EVERY day and leaves 10-15 minutes early EVERY day. Does not appear to have afternoon duty like the rest of us and she doesn’t come to afterschool functions like games, PTO, etc that the rest of us are required to attend. One of her classes of advanced students has 14 students in it. My class that meets that same period has 33. She has few discipline problems in her class. Mine is chock full of Tier 2 students, DEES, and “high maintaince” children. Hmmm. I wonder why the test scores in her class are better than mine?
By Sonny’s standards, this teacher would be an “All Star” teacher because her few students excel at testing, because she has few discipline problems, and because she is buddies with the principal so additional duties get conveniently ignored when it comes to end of the year evaluations. Rubbish.
dbow
February 8th, 2010
8:32 pm
Joy in teaching, you echoed my point exactly. One of the merit pay scams in Florida was to allow principal input into who got the bonuses. Can you imagine the shear amount of butt kissing that would have resulted if that nonsense had passed?
Tonya
February 8th, 2010
8:36 pm
Georgia should not be on the minds of future educators.
dogmom
February 8th, 2010
8:50 pm
They can’t pay the bonuses promised to top tier teachers (National Board Certified is the gold standard across the country whether Sonny and his cronies like it or not). Why on earth should we have any faith in the moronic legislators that they’re going to find the money to pay bonuses to the average teacher out there? This is all a joke, right?
Launching that small business I’ve been seriously considering is looking better & better every day.
Classic
February 8th, 2010
9:03 pm
Are you kidding me!!!!! Some teachers teach nothing but Honors and AP kids while some teacher teach the bottom of the barrell. He is a clown.
Ole Guy
February 8th, 2010
9:25 pm
Centuries ago, while playing Little League, the members of each team, who were to be on the All Star Team, were in the selection process; my team mate, Micky, couldn’t understand why, despite good averages, he couldn’t be an All Star. “Micky”, coach consoled, “We can’t all be All Stars, but we can be good ball players”.
So, Coach Perdue, how do you justify ignoring the good “ball players” and rewarding the relative few who make the All Star cut? Your “well-meaning” scheme will only create divisiveness within the team of Georgia’s teacher corps. WAY TO GO, COACH! Any more good sound leadership ideas?
Husband of Kindergarten Teacher
February 8th, 2010
9:36 pm
My wife works 50-60 hours per week. She also spends a lot of our money on things the local school system does not buy. My wife is an excellent teacher and is very dedicated and motivated to teach. How does the VILLAGE IDIOT (Sonny) propose paying her. The teachers need to join a union or file a complaint under the Fair Labor Standards Act to really get paid for the long hours they work.
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February 8th, 2010
9:37 pm
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Michael
February 8th, 2010
9:37 pm
Since I am a male teacher I am given all the “bad apples”. Since my scores are lower for helping others out I should take a pay cut? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
elementary teacher
February 8th, 2010
9:39 pm
Has anyone pointed out the fact that along with this legislation, they are taking AWAY any pay increases associated with higher education as well? So Masters Degrees, Specialist Degrees, you get nothing. I am currently getting my masters in education and have really learned alot from it, and feel that it will make me a better teacher. But would I have done it if I knew I wouldn’t be getting the pay increase? NO!! No one will want to pursue higher education, which means that Georgia won’t have the highest quality teachers that Purdue is going on about.
For all other points I wanted to make… see CHUCK’s post… he made all of them for me. Especially the Burger King reference. LOVE IT!!!
catlady
February 8th, 2010
9:41 pm
Amen, Joy. Add in the administrators’ , school board members’ and CO staff’s children, and the coaches who get special assignments that require them to teach little but pull full time salaries plus coaching supplements.
The gov wants to waste more money on “accountability”, keeping folks at the DOE designing and redesigning ways of counting teacher beans to justify their $100,000+ jobs. Case in point: Class Keys, designed by the GADOE.
Here is an idea: Give teachers the goals, and let them get there! Forget all this malarkey about nitpicking and overmanaging every word said in the classroom, every curricular map to tell you what week to teach what skill (never mind that your class hasn’t gotten last week’s objectives because they were passed up to the grade 2 years or more behind on skills!) You can remediate that in 20 minutes a day, dontcha know, in needs-based! Meanwhile, in the grade-level part of the class, the kids don’t get it because they don’t have the basic skills. And don’t count on behavior problems being addressed, either.
38 years ago I was a much better teacher because I didn’t need so much “help’ to teach successfully!
Veteran teacher, 2
February 8th, 2010
9:49 pm
Does anyone really think that the best teachers will work harder just because they can make more money?????
Dr. John Trotter
February 8th, 2010
10:13 pm
Why did I think that Sonny Perdue might be able to go eight years without beating up on teachers? No one wants to admit to what the problems are in public education…(1) Defiant & Disruptive Students; (2) Irate & Irresponsible Parents; (3) Angry & Abustive Administrators; (4) Widespread, Systematic Cheating; and (5) Naive & Spineless Educational Policymakers (including legislators, school board members, and even the current governor) in the State.
If the authority of teachers were subtantively and substantially restored and if the teachers were fully supported in the area of student discipline, then the State would see measurable changes after some time. Until then, all of this Race To The Top (Obama’s) or All Star Teachers (Perdue’s) is like p_ssing in a tsunami! Things will only get worse! Mark my words…things will only get worse! As we always say at MACE: You cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.
Oh, by the way, please tell your representatives and senators to vote a big “No” to Sonny’s attempt to take away the people’s right to elect their own Constitutional Officers. On this, I agree with Cathy Cox! When is it good to downsize democracy and put the positions in the hands of the Oligarchy? Pretty soon, we will be letting the Gridiron Wannabes actually run the State. (In their minds, some already imagine that they do.) I actually have more faith in the “peasants” and their “pitchforks.” Those who toil the soil and engage in trade. Not the sophists but the honest. I trust the “unsophisticated,” not the self-inflated gnotics. (c) MACE, February 8, 2010.
Dr. John Trotter
February 8th, 2010
10:18 pm
Why did I think that Sonny Perdue might be able to go a full two terms without beating up on teachers? No one wants to admit to what the problems are in public education…(1) Defiant & Disruptive Students; (2) Irate & Irresponsible Parents; (3) Angry & Abustive Administrators; (4) Widespread, Systematic Cheating; and (5) Naive & Spineless Educational Policymakers (including legislators, school board members, and even the current governor) in the State.
If the authority of teachers were subtantively and substantially restored and if the teachers were fully supported in the area of student discipline, then the State would see measurable changes after some time. Until then, all of this Race To The Top (Obama’s) or All Star Teachers (Perdue’s) is like p_ssing in a tsunami! Things will only get worse! Mark my words…things will only get worse! As we always say at MACE: You cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.
Oh, by the way, please tell your representatives and senators to vote a big “No” to Sonny’s attempt to take away the people’s right to elect their own Constitutional Officers. On this, I agree with Cathy Cox! When is it good to downsize democracy and put the positions in the hands of the Oligarchy? Pretty soon, we will be letting the Gridiron Wannabes actually run the State. (In their minds, some already imagine that they do.) I actually have more faith in the “peasants” and their “pitchforks.” Those who toil the soil and engage in trade. Not the sophists but the honest. I trust the “unsophisticated,” not the self-inflated gnotics. (c) MACE, February 8, 2010.
oldandntheway
February 8th, 2010
10:21 pm
Chuck, you better sit down and shut up, you’re from the party of “No”. It doesn’t matter how much sense you make, the powers that be, will never hear it.
historydawg
February 8th, 2010
11:06 pm
Maybe we should consider the important tasks/subjects that the “all-star” teachers of Perdue will not be responsible for, as the current tests do not measure–reading, writing, fine arts, p.e., critical thinking, career education, chemistry, world history, government, non-American literature. It is shameful that the multiple-choice question has so much power, and the governor has so little sense.
historydawg
February 8th, 2010
11:09 pm
Please feel free to add to this list above and forward them to your congressperson as things that most undoubtedly find little home in Georgia’s educational future if the dismantling of the Republic and its essential foundation (public education) continues.
Jonathan
February 9th, 2010
12:26 am
I will agree with Mr. Purdue on attaching a teacher’s pay to a students test performance when he agrees to:
attach the pay of every State Official, State Senator and State Representative to unemployment rate, the crime rates, and the economic growth of the state. When those numbers improve so does their pay too.
Allows each teacher to hand pick his/her students, create his/her discipline structure, and have a small amount of personal control in the process.
But really cmon, this is a stupid and completely unfair idea. Can we attach the pay of a policeman to the number of breakins in a community. How about the pay of a garbage collector to the amount of litter we see on the street. Oh maybe we can attach the pay of our commissioners or school board members to the test scores too. Why because we all have a part in it. So why should one group or person be held solely financially responsible for the entire result.
d
February 9th, 2010
12:26 am
Gotta love good ol’ Sonny…. He’s trying to make us believe that the Race to the Top application requires merit pay. It does not. He’s trying to make us think that because Georgia is a Right-To-Work state, that he could leave the teachers’ associations out of the process….. points come off right there. He’s trying to bring in people to be principals right off of the street — with no more than bachelor’s degrees to top it. I’m not saying these people can’t be great leaders, but seriously, a principal with no experience in education at all? That won’t work. He’s trying to make us think that teacher evaluations have to be tied to test scores. Test scores don’t show growth.
Oh, Sam @6:38…. I looked up that bill you posted. I love how they quote No Child Left Behind when that term is about to be thrown out the window by the administration since the law was and continues to be a complete flop. I can’t wait if somehow the ESEA renewal isn’t passed by 2014 and a single student’s failure on CRCT or GHSGT (or EOCT if that bill passes) will cause an entire school to be labeled as needs improvement. 100% doesn’t mean 99.9999%.
Lee
February 9th, 2010
5:34 am
ZERO TOLERANCE on test cheats I say! Lock’em all up. Who cares if a few innocents get caught up in the melee.
Okay, enough sarcasm.
There are plenty of administrative penalties for those teachers and administrators who get caught cheating or manipulating on test data. The PSB can already pull the certificate. The system can terminate the offender. Why do we need a new law?
Three guys sit down at the lunch table in prison. What are you in for? Murder. Armed robbery. Changing answers on a bubble sheet.
Ok. A little more sarcasm.
Ole Guy
February 9th, 2010
5:55 am
Doc Trot, your description of the current state of education, though I’m quite certain accurate, is, nonetheless, a rather frieghtening picture of what might be disfunctional family relationships. Some of us may have 1st-hand experience in the terrible effects these type relationships have in any organization, family, business, or otherwise. During my military career, the operational stand-down was (probably still is) a management tool, employed by the Commander, during periods of unmanaged catastrophy. A series of unexplained crashes, for example, within a short period of time, might lead to this type of action, where “all hands”…command, line-level supervision, and troops in the trenches might step back, as it were, and attempt to acquire re-focus. Unfortunately, during hi-tempo operations, this luxury is not always available…everyone simply pushes through, licks their wounds, and awaits attitude adjustments at the bar.
Now, of course, the same process is not going to easily replicate within the educational environment. However, there may be an element or two which, modified somewhat, may lead to organizational healing (this healing process most-certainly will not be all smiley faces and “We Are The World” song fests).
Inasmuch as leadership, at all levels, has, historically, experienced difficulty in acquiring focus on reality, both within and outside the classroom, a teacher stand down would appear to be the best way to help our leaders, at all levels, acquire that re-focus, that appreciation for the realities of the operation (did I hear STRIKE, SICKOUT, or any of those rather unpleasant things which civilized people only whisper in small groups?).
Teachers, I may be beating the dead horse here…UNION…UNION…UNION. It sickens me, and I am certain many others with no direct affiliation to the ed operations, to see you’re profession kicked around like so many hired hands at the circus. As merely a concerned citizen, I read, and comment upon many of the concerns you express. FOR TOO LONG, YOU’RE LEADERSHIP HAS ALLOWED YOU TO FALL INTO DISFUNCTIONALISM…You (all) know what to do.
RJ
February 9th, 2010
8:17 am
“To the electives teachers, I also say shut up. Be glad you teach a non tested subject where you don’t have constant pressure form administrators and parents to improve test scores.”
@dbow, you CHOSE to become a math teacher, I didn’t. But I am teaching math every day in my school for 90 minutes. I also didn’t CHOOSE to be a reading teacher, yet I teach reading everyday for 90 minutes as well. I am held accountable for the students I teach. There is an expectation that my students will improve on the CRCT. I am also forced to tutor after school when I’d much rather have rehearsals. The majority of my day is spent teaching other subjects. I would LOVE to get back to doing what I was hired and trained to do. Schools are able to take advantage of teachers due to the economy, however once the economy improves, I see many schools having a plethora of positions that can’t be filled.
Mac
February 9th, 2010
8:22 am
I would like to know the names and positions of each of the people who drafted the Race to the Top document. http://gov.georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_79369762/155733684Race%20to%20the%20Top%20App.pdf
If we are going to wind up being held to this in some form or the other then the very least we deserve is to know who drafted it and what their backgrounds are.
Ms. Downey, can you or anyone at the AJC get this info? All I have been able to get is ‘committee members’ as an answer so far.
Tonya T
February 9th, 2010
9:00 am
Hehe, so how would he grade my husband who is a special ed teacher for severely EBD? He, like another male teacher who posted, gets the worst of the worst. How would his gains be measured? By the CRCT scores which his students regularly Christmas tree, or by the scores on IEP testing which shows grade level progression?
Hmmm, when Boss Hogg runs state government this is what we get…
RJ
February 9th, 2010
9:49 am
filter…
Elizabeth
February 9th, 2010
9:59 am
Why is it that in every other profession people are rewarded for advanc d studies, degrees, and years of expereience while thoe opposite is true in education? In my system 4 superb principals with years of expereince are being “encouraged” to retire because they mkae too much money? Doctoes frquently take advanced training, as do other prog=fessionals, yet teacher degrees are seen as worthlesss. I learned so much from my Master’s program and even more from my Specialist program. I am a much better qualified teacher. Yet without the pay incentive, I would not have gotten these degrees. I would also point out that I got these degreses ON MY OWN TIME, on nights and weekends in between raising my family and planning lessons, grading papers, etc.I was not compensated for any of the money I spent.
As for the merit pay, Until there is a way to equalize gifted and EBD and all the kids in between, the idea is ridiculous.
what's right for kids???
February 9th, 2010
10:08 am
I urge you all to really look at the people running for office this election year.
We have got to change the path of education, and we have to do it now.
Maureen Downey
February 9th, 2010
10:58 am
Elizabeth, I wrote about this a few years ago and found very few fields outside of academia where advance degrees led to an immediate salary increase.
Maureen
Batgirl
February 9th, 2010
11:01 am
Someone stated earlier that those of us who don’t teach core classes should be grateful that we won’t be judged on test scores. Maybe so, but we will also be the first to go as cuts continue. My system has already cut out middle school chorus and family and consumer studies. I don’t know what the elementary and high schools have lost. I am in the library, and many of our legislators see very little value in having a qualified librarian/media specialist in each school; some believe the library can be run by parapros or parent volunteers.
Also, as mentioned above, the governor seems to want to do away with extra pay for advanced degrees. My job as well as others such as that of the counselor require master’s degrees. How does the old boy propose to address this?
schlmarm
February 9th, 2010
11:17 am
Perhaps, Maureen. However, the “immediate” salary degree that teachers earn for their advanced degrees don’t exactly put them in the “wealthy” bracket.
schlmarm
February 9th, 2010
11:18 am
that should read “immediate salary INCREASE.”
Elizabeth
February 9th, 2010
11:31 am
Perhaps, Maureen, but other professionals can count on their earnings increasing over time as they become more experienced and move up,by means of promotions in their chosen fields. The two highest pay raises I got came from my adnaced degrews, NOT from the state legislature on whose mercy my salary depends. After 28 yearsa as a professional in education I , who am not an administrator, am still where I was in the beginning of my career– in the classroom. If administration is not your goal, you have no other place to go in education. After 28 years, with 2 advanced degrees, my yearly salary is $74,000. How many other professionals with these advanced degrees are making such a low salary after 28 years in their chosen fields? The raises may not come at once as the teaching raise does, but over the span of years the earnings of other professionals are far more than those of teachers. I do not expect to be rich in education but I do expect to have a salary commensurate with my education, experience, and years of service. AND THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN.
TAKE ACTION! E-mail our State Senators
February 9th, 2010
12:37 pm
SB 386 should not pass! If passed, your pay would likely decrease. Copy and paste the e-mail addresses below. Your State Senators need to hear your voice!
david.adelman@senate.ga.gov; robert.brown@senate.ga.gov; gail.buckner@senate.ga.gov; john.bulloch@senate.ga.gov; gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov; buddy.carter@senate.ga.gov; ronnie.chance@senate.ga.gov; jeff.chapman@senate.ga.gov; john.crosby@senate.ga.gov; hardie.davis@senate.ga.gov; john.douglas@senate.ga.gov; vincent.fort@senate.ga.gov; greg.goggans@senate.ga.gov; tim.golden@senate.ga.gov; johnny.grant@senate.ga.gov; bill.hamrick@senate.ga.gov; ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov; seth.harp@senate.ga.gov; lee.hawkins@senate.ga.gov; steve.henson@senate.ga.gov; jack.hill@senate.ga.gov; judson.hill@senate.ga.gov; george.hooks@senate.ga.gov; ralph.hudgens@senate.ga.gov; bill.jackson@senate.ga.gov; lester.jackson@senate.ga.gov; donzella.james@senate.ga.gov; emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov; jeff.mullis@senate.ga.gov; jack.murphy@senate.ga.gov; nan.orrock@senate.ga.gov; chip.pearson@senate.ga.gov; jb.powell@senate.ga.gov; ronald.ramsey@senate.ga.gov; chip.rogers@senate.ga.gov; mail@mitchseabaugh.com; valencia.seay@senate.ga.gov; david.shafer@senate.ga.gov; freddie.sims@senate.ga.gov; preston.smith@senate.ga.gov; cecil.staton@senate.ga.gov; doug.stoner@senate.ga.gov; ed.tarver@senate.ga.gov; horacena.tate@senate.ga.gov; don.thomas@senate.ga.gov; curt.thompson@senate.ga.gov; steve.thompson@senate.ga.gov; ross.tolleson@senate.ga.gov; renee.unterman@senate.ga.gov; john.wiles@senate.ga.gov; tommie@tommiewilliams.com; don.balfour@senate.ga.gov; jim.butterworth@senate.ga.gov; bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov; dan.moody@senate.ga.gov; dan.weber@senate.ga.gov; billheath@billheath.net
linda
February 10th, 2010
5:20 pm
In Douglas County, teachers not receiving advanced degrees by 2014 will not be paid more for their degree. Now, we will really be able to attract the best teachers! …….. NOT!
Silly Sonny
February 10th, 2010
6:53 pm
Doesn’t he know that he created an oxymoron? You cannot give and take during the same turn? In this economy, or even on a good day, you create a monster by attaching money to test performance in education. “All Star” teachers have high test scores. Proof does not come in the daily or semester grades, it comes with the standardized test scores.