Denver Public Schools received a $22.6 million federal grant Wednesday that will help pay principals based on how much they boost student achievement in their schools.
This principal incentive-pay program follows a similar program already in place for the city’s teachers: a bonus system that rewards teachers, in part, based on what subjects they teach, which schools they teach in, and how well their students do on state assessment tests.
“Our work is just beginning,” said DPS Superintendent Mi chael Bennet. “Creativity will be rewarded, and transformation will be required.”
Bennet said nearly all principals indicated an interest in such a system before the grant application was submitted earlier this year.
A portion of the $22 million, to be paid out over five years, will pay for principal salary bonuses. The rest will fund the setting up of a sophisticated system to evaluate the performance of principals and teachers.
The DPS grant is part of $42 million given out this fall by the U.S. Department of Education to 16 school districts across the country.
Though DPS’s grant is one of three in Colorado, the district received slightly more than half of what was given out nationwide.
Eagle County received $6.7 million. Fort Lupton will also receive a grant, with the amount to be announced this week.
“Denver was the big star,” said Patricia Chlouber, regional representative for the U.S. Department of Education. “It can be a model program for other districts.”
Unique plan in Denver
A year ago, Denver voters approved an annual $25 million tax increase to fund ProComp, a unique salary plan that, among other things, rewards teachers for how well students do on state assessment tests.
Bonuses are also given for teaching in designated high-poverty schools, and taking on “hard to teach” subjects, such as middle school math.
As of Tuesday, 1,693 teachers were enrolled in the plan, out of 4,200 citywide. Enrollment is optional for teachers who were hired before January of this year. None of the ProComp mill-levy money can go toward principal salaries.
DPS administrators will work to set up a system for evaluating principals. This could include how to measure student academic growth and a school’s enrollment increase. Administrators will also look at how to credit principals who take over low-performing schools, which take more work to improve.
Principals laud opportunity
University of Colorado education professor Edward Wiley will help evaluate whether the teacher – and now principal – pay-for-performance plans actually boost student achievement.
Wiley said he will also look at whether more experienced or more talented people are drawn to DPS because of the incentive systems.
Bruce Randolph Middle School principal Kristin Waters said an incentive pay system would “help us focus on the work we need to do.”
Student attendance, enrollment and academic growth “all impact student achievement and administrators are responsible for that,” she said.
Charles Babb, principal at Philips Elementary, also welcomed the idea. Babb has gone door to door to boost enrollment at his small Park Hill neighborhood school.
“Obviously we get compensated for what we do,” he said, “but when we go beyond the call of duty, I am in favor of this.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
