18 | FocalPoint

Noteworthy

TAPping Their PotentialTeachers and students reap the rewards

by Mary Kaiser | photos by Joshua Dunn

c“Chicago is on the cutting edge of a movement to reward teachers for taking on more challenging assignments and getting results. It’s up to all of us to help this movement grow.”

U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is talking about Chicago TAP (Teacher Advancement Program), an innovative program that Chicago International West Belden joined this year after a rigorous application and interview process.

Research shows that outside the home, the most important factor in a child’s academic success is a great teacher. But the odds of retaining a talented person as a teacher are pretty low. The pay scale doesn’t change much. Student academic needs are complex, but the time and expertise to address those needs are scarce. Often, the only option for career advancement is to leave the classroom and become an administrator.

What if schools could reward good teachers as other profession-als are rewarded—with compensation for results and opportunity to improve and advance in their careers? Chicago TAP, funded by

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the U.S. Department of Education and several Chicago funders, is a five-year program that provides the right support of teachers, and then measures what happens with their students. Using a customized version of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching’s TAP model, the goal is simple—help Chicago’s students learn more by supporting and rewarding good teachers.

Chicago TAP utilizes several elements to accomplish this goal:

VALUE-ADDED ACHIEVEMENT GAINS measure and reward teacher and school success. Success is determined by how well students improve over the year, rather than the percentage of children “meeting” or “exceeding” one-size-fits- all state standards.

MULTIPLE CAREER PATHS in teaching, from career teacher to mentor teacher to lead teacher. With each step up, qualifications, responsibilities, and compensation increase. Mentor and lead teachers partner with the principal to set school achievement goals and guide other teachers.

PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES in school. The school schedule is restructured to allow teachers up to 90 minutes per week to meet, plan, mentor each other, share best practices, and educate themselves further.

ACCOUNTABILITY for student results. Regular in-classroom observations by trained teachers help assess value-added achievement and identify growth areas.

PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION. Mentor and lead teachers receive compensation beyond their normal salary for their added responsibilities and higher qualifications. Career teachers also receive additional compensation based on their students’ academic growth.

SCHOOL-WIDE ACHIEVEMENT COMPENSATION. Believing all adults in a school make success possible, Chicago TAP pays additional compensation to a school’s entire faculty and staff based on its value-added achievement gains. This aspect was customized specifically for Chicago’s program.

Chicago International understands the connection between high-quality teachers and student success. The budget, however, allows Chicago International to operate schools during school hours, but teacher incentives are often outside the budget. We are delighted that West Belden has joined this much larger effort to demonstrate nationally how supporting teachers translates into improved learning for students.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:ANDY PARKERGINA BIONDI, TERI LEVICHGINA BIONDIAMY NAUMOWICZ, ANDY PARKER

Noteworthy

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: WEST BELDEN TEACHERSEVAN BANKS (6TH GRADE), ANDY PARKER (TAP LEAD

TEACHER), GINA BIONDI (5TH GRADE), TERI LEVICH (5TH GRADE)

WRIGHTWOOD’S TURBULENT

TRANSFORMATIONby Jennifer Kaiser | photos by Joshua Dunn

20 | FocalPoint