Politics & Government

Teachers at 'Hard to Staff' Schools May Get Bonuses

Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced a salary bonus plan to help attract and retain teachers at low-performing, hard-to-staff schools.

By Danny Rathbun
Capital News Service

RICHMOND – Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced a salary bonus plan to help attract and retain teachers at low-performing, hard-to-staff schools.

The Performance-Pay Incentives initiative will give $3 million in state funding to teachers in designated schools who earn exemplary ratings during the 2011-2012 school year. A teacher could receive a reward of up to $5,000.

“Teachers who make a commitment to students in hard-to-staff urban and rural schools, despite circumstances that often prompt colleagues to seek assignments elsewhere, deserve our admiration, and when they succeed in raising the achievement of students in these schools, their performance should be rewarded,” McDonnell said.

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But some groups, like the Virginia Education Association, don’t think this will be enough to fix the problems in troubled schools.

“The VEA is not convinced that any research has been offered that would substantiate that it’s a worthy idea or that there’s any validity to it at all,” said Kitty Boitnott, president of the group, which represents the state’s teachers.

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“The whole notion that the teacher is the only variable that makes any difference in these low-performing schools is also a flawed argument. The neighborhood needs to be supported; the community needs to be involved … it’s not just a classroom issue – it’s a community issue.”

The Performance-Pay Incentives initiative was approved by the 2011 General Assembly. It is a centerpiece of McDonnell’s “Opportunity to Learn” education agenda.

The governor said teachers at 169 schools in 57 schools divisions across the state will be eligible for the program.

Before a school can receive funding from McDonnell’s initiative, it must implement a teacher-evaluation system focused on student growth, with approval from the Virginia Board of Education. At least 40 percent of teacher evaluations must be based on student academic growth.

Next week, the Board of Education will consider evaluation guidelines and performance standards for the program, said Patricia I. Wright, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction. She said the rules “will ensure that performance-pay decisions are fair for all teachers and based on objective criteria.”

Besides offering state funding, Virginia has received almost $60 million in federal support for performance-pay programs. That money funds “turnaround” plans and other reforms in low-achieving schools.

“All told, the funding available for performance pay represents an opportunity to provide meaningful incentives and rewards for exemplary teachers in a significant number of Virginia schools, and, in the long term, the results of these pilot programs will tell us a lot about the potential for performance pay to improve teacher quality and raise student achievement,” McDonnell said.

To participate in the state-funded Virginia Performance-Pay Incentives plan, a school must meet at least four of eight criteria associated with difficulty recruiting and retaining effective teachers.

The criteria relate to accreditation, attendance, percentage of students in special education, percentage of students with limited English proficiency, percentage of teachers with provisional licensure, percentage of special education teachers with provisional licensure, percentage of first-year teachers and the number of first-year teachers in a critical-shortage area.

Schools Eligible for Performance-Pay Incentives

Here is a list of the 169 eligible schools, by division:
Accomack County – Kegotank Elementary and Pungoteague Elementary
Albemarle County – Albemarle County Community Public Charter
Alexandria – Cora Kelly Magnet Elementary, Francis Hammond 2 Middle, Francis Hammond 3 Middle, George Mason Elementary, James K. Polk Elementary, Mount Vernon Elementary, T.C. Williams High and William Ramsay Elementary
Arlington County – Abingdon Elementary, Arlington Traditional Elementary, Ashlawn Elementary, Barrett Elementary, Campbell Elementary, Carlin Springs Elementary, Claremont Elementary, Drew Model Elementary, Francis Scott Key Elementary, Gunston Middle, Henry Elementary, Hoffman-Boston Elementary, Long Branch Elementary, Oakridge Elementary, Randolph Elementary, Swanson Middle and Washington-Lee High
Brunswick County – James S. Russell Middle
Buchanan County – Hurley High and Twin Valley High
Caroline County – Caroline High and Madison Elementary
Charles City County – Charles City County Middle
Chesterfield County – A.M. Davis Elementary
Colonial Beach – Colonial Beach High
Covington – Covington High
Cumberland County – Cumberland High and Cumberland Middle
Dinwiddie County – Dinwiddie Middle
Essex County – Essex Intermediate
Fairfax County – Bailey’s Elementary, Bryant Alternative High, Franconia Elementary, Hayfield Elementary, Key Center, Kilmer Center, Little Run Elementary, North Springfield Elementary and Woodson Adult High
Fauquier County – Greenville Elementary and Kettle Run High
Franklin – Franklin High
Franklin County – Rocky Mount Elementary and Windy Gap Elementary
Frederick County – Robert E. Aylor Middle
Goochland County – Goochland Middle
Grayson County – Grayson County High
Greensville County – Edward W. Wyatt Middle
Hampton – C. Alton Lindsay Middle, Captain John Smith Elementary, Hampton High, Jane H. Bryan Elementary and Merrimack Elementary
Henrico County – Academy at Virginia Randolph, Baker Elementary, Fairfield Middle, Highland Springs Elementary, Highland Springs High, L. Douglas Wilder Middle, John Rolfe Middle, Skipwith Elementary and Varina High
Henry County – Axton Elementary
Hopewell – Carter G. Woodson Middle and Hopewell High
King and Queen County – Central High
Lee County – Dryden Elementary, Flatwoods Elementary and Thomas Walker High
Loudoun County – Creighton’s Corner Elementary, Freedom High, Rolling Ridge Elementary, Stone Hill Middle and Sugarland Elementary
Louisa County – Trevilians Elementary
Lunenburg County – Central High and Lunenburg Middle
Manassas – Osbourn High and Weems Elementary
Manassas Park – Cougar Elementary and Manassas Park Elementary
Mecklenburg County – Bluestone High
Montgomery County – Auburn High
New Kent County – New Kent Middle
Newport News – Denbigh High
Norfolk – Azalea Middle, Lafayette-Winona Middle, Lake Taylor Middle, Lindenwood Elementary, Madison Alternative Center, Norview Middle and Ruffner Middle
Northampton County – Kiptopeke Elementary and Northampton High
Orange County – Orange County High
Page County – Luray Middle
Patrick County – Blue Ridge Elementary and Hardin Reynolds Elementary
Petersburg – Peabody Middle and Vernon Johns Junior High
Portsmouth – Churchland Academy Elementary, Cradock Middle, Victory Elementary and Woodrow Wilson High
Prince Edward County – Prince Edward County High
Prince William County – Antietam Elementary, Coles Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, Fannie W. Fitzgerald Elementary, Fred M. Lynn Middle, Kerrydale Elementary, Loch Lomond Elementary, Mills E. Godwin Middle, Potomac View Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, Victory Elementary and Woodbridge Middle
Pulaski County – Fairlawn Cooperative Transition Center and Pulaski County Senior High
Richmond – Albert Hill Middle, Armstrong High, Bellevue Elementary, Binford Middle, Chimborazo Elementary, E.S.H. Greene Elementary, Elkhardt Middle, Fairfield Court Elementary, Fred D. Thompson Middle, G.H. Reid Elementary, George Mason Elementary, George W. Carver Elementary, George Wythe High, Henderson Middle, Huguenot High, John Marshall High, Lucille M. Brown Middle, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle, Miles Jones Elementary, Richmond Alternative, Summer Hill/Ruffin Road Elementary, Thomas C. Boushall Middle and Thomas Jefferson High
Roanoke – Patrick Henry High and Westside Elementary
Rockbridge County – Maury River Middle
Russell County – Castlewood High and Lebanon Middle
Stafford County – Colonial Forge High and Kate Waller Barrett Elementary
Sussex County – Sussex Central Middle
Warren County – Skyline High and Warren County High
Westmoreland County – Washington & Lee High and Washington District Elementary
Wythe County – Rural Retreat Middle, Scott Memorial Middle and Wythe County Technical Center
York County – York River Academy


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