Gwinnett school leaders explore performance bonuses for teachers
Gwinnett County school system leaders are working on a plan that will pay some teachers additional money for what it believes is superb work.
Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks recently outlined in a video what criteria they’ll use to determine who gets “performance-based awards.”
The categories they plan to consider, Wilbanks said, are:
- professional growth
- student growth
- weighed school assessment
- the annual teacher evaluation
Wilbanks said in the video the district has not finalized details on how they’ll measure effectiveness in those categories.
Teacher groups have been worried about school districts using standardized test data as a basis for measuring teacher performance.
The school district hopes to implement the awards by the 2018-19 school year.
Gwinnett is also working on a plan it hopes to begin in August that would give teachers a "step", or pay grade increase, based on how they're rated on their evaluation, not on current factors such as longevity in the school district.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
