The School Administrator

March 2010 Number 3, Vol. 67Incentives-Based CompensationHow and where performance pay is working

Features

Compensation Reform in the Schools
by SABRINA LAINE, AMY POTEMSKI AND CORTNEY ROWLAND
Representatives of National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality detail the burgeoning interest in using teacher pay strategically for competitive recruitment and retention of talented teachers.
Similar Reading: Strategies for effective educator compensation and Importance of terminology and AASA's snapshot study of pay
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Reforming Teacher Pay
by SUSAN FREEMAN BURNS AND CATHERINE D. GARDNER
While effective practices are emerging, researchers with the National Center on Performance Incentives find even the best-designed plans linking teacher performance to compensation can be undermined.
Similar Reading: Guilford County's compensation experiences and Randy Mohundro on a small district's pay plan and Additional Resources
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Expecting Too Much of Performance Pay?
by SUSAN MOORE JOHNSON AND JOHN P. PAPAY
The authors at Harvard studied four school districts’ performance pay programs in all their messy reality. The pay plans differ in how they assess teachers’ performance and how they award the bonus money.
Similar Reading: Jack Dale on collective rewards for extended roles
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Rewards and Supports
by THEODORE HERSHBERG AND CLAIRE ROBERTSON-KRAFT
Fair and accurate teacher evaluations for performance pay decisions should take a balanced approach, using multiple data sources to gauge teacher effectiveness. The authors suggest the use of both outputs and inputs in the process.
Similar Reading: Additional resources
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Profile

A Financial Analyst Follows His Heart by PAUL RIEDE

Financial analysis was the life for John Welch until a superintendent with a nontraditional background gave him a taste of executive leadership.

Departments

Board-Savvy Superintendent

Beyond a Guided Tour: Orienting New Board Members by MICHAEL T. ADAMSON

Board members need to be acquainted at the outset with information that positions them to be effective in the boardroom. A useful orientation builds trust from the get-go by covering core values, agenda setting and rules of decorum.

Guest Columns

When Busy People Are Inconvenienced by JAMES H. VANSCIVER

In the midst of 101 tasks, it took a personal health emergency for the author to recognize the importance of setting priorities.

Paddling Together Toward a Blue Ocean by ALEX TEREGO

The clever use of a colored-ocean metaphor in Blue Ocean Strategy has application for those in school leadership.

Superintendents’ Lives as Independent Contractors by THOMAS D. ENGLER

“You are really not an employee of this district.” That’s how someone greeted the author as he started his initial superintendency and when he first realized his status differed from everyone else’s.

On Going Slowly by BRUCE E. STORM

A veteran superintendent is prompted to think about approaching life at a more reasoned pace, with increased awareness and a thoughtful focus.

Tech Leadership

The Importance of Modeling Tech Adoption by PEGGY S. BUFFINGTON

A superintendent’s regular use of blogs, podcasts and other technology applications enables her to engage parents more extensively in their children’s education.

President's Corner

Weeds in the Garden by MARK T. BIELANG

The garden as a great metaphor for life and work and new ways of thinking about our organizations, according to the AASA president.

Executive Perspective

Performance Pay an Asset and a Distraction by DANIEL A. DOMENECH

AASA has reached consensus with the school boards and national teacher unions on guiding principles for developing and implementing a performance-based compensation plan.

People

People

This month’s listings of superintendents moving up and moving on.

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