LAST WEEK: SHOULD BEST TEACHERS GET PAID EXTRA FOR WORKING AT WORSE SCHOOLS?
Fulton County has a pilot program in place that will pay its best teachers a $20,000 stipend if they’ll work at the lowest performing schools.
School systems across Georgia are closely watching to see if Fulton’s model is successful, amid talks at the state level about changing teachers’ compensation.
But the experiment is getting much mileage. Even with the added pay incentive, Fulton leaders are finding it hard to entice teachers to give a go. Although 375 were eligible to participate, only 32 applied.
We asked readers what they thought about the plan.
Here’s what some had to say:
I think the problem with offering stipends to teachers for working in low-performing schools is that it is still based on test scores. When will this country understand that test scores are NOT an accurate measure of how good a teacher is.
It judges how well a teacher can teach to the test and how well a teacher can sacrifice other curricular and social-development content - but NOT how well they can teach.
Teachers aren't taking the bait because we're smart enough to understand what a bad idea this is. — Melinda Nguyen
With the student behavior issues at low performing schools Fulton County would have to increase the stipend to $100,000 to attract enough teachers and the county doesn't have that much money. — Bruce Kasch
As a parent and a Fulton County homeowner, I agree wholeheartedly with the decision to give top teachers more money to work in the lowest performing schools. It is time that our best teachers are rewarded. I hope our superintendent will look for more ways to reward them without having them leave the schools they currently work in.
All students deserve to have teachers who enjoy what they do, feel appreciated, and do their best. — Rachel Broach
Following Fulton County's model, of recruiting the best educators to teach at the lowest performing schools, is a great approach to solving student achievement issues. However, a good representative sample of school districts in Georgia must be chosen to participate in the program. This is the best approach. The Fulton County model is an acceptable approach to determine if educators identified as the best can make a difference in low performing schools. These are the schools where teachers are challenged with many other issues besides preparing lessons plans and teaching. — Edwin Jeter
This makes so much sense; and it is remarkable that it has not become a universal business model.
Firstly, it allows for the best teachers to go where they are needed and to be compensated for their work. It is exactly like private industry where those that do the toughest jobs receive higher compensation.
Secondly, it eliminates the deplorable practice of shuffling kids around by busing or redistributing them. The latter creates immeasurable stress on the children and families, wasted time and results in higher transportation cost.
Thirdly, by increasing the quality of classes and teaching, you enhance the value of the school and ultimately the neighborhood. — Brandt Ross
Dionne Kinch for the AJC
There’s no question that incorporated Sandy Springs is a different animal today than the gaggle of northside neighborhoods it consisted of prior to the lopsided 2005 vote endorsing cityhood. The next, looming question is: what will the NEXT decade bring?
In a newspaper commentary published last month, Mayor Rusty Paul touted both the tangible and the intangible, citing dozens of miles of streets and sidewalks paved and/or constructed , new parks and well-staffed police and fire departments replacing the scantier manpower Fulton County had allotted.
And don’t forget about the City Springs project literally rising out of the ground now, featuring a city hall and performing arts center as well as retail and residential development.
In the non brick-and-mortar category, city leaders talk of a heightened sense of community pride and involvement.
Now, city planning officials have embarked on an update of their Comprehensive Plan, an effort dubbed “The Next Ten.” A Jan. 27 meeting has been set for discussion of vision and goals, presentation of some preliminary ideas and analyses of economic development and transportation. A city workshop will follow.
We’ll lay the question on the table as well. What should the city do in the decade? Improve such basic services as police, fire and streets? Embrace transit? Work to attract more high-profile businesses? Upgrade housing stock? Create more walkable communities? As a corollary, how will what Sandy Springs does in coming months influence other, newer north side breakaways?
Send your comments to communitynews@ajc.com. They may be published in a future issue.
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