Performance plan sought for county schools

Throughout the process of creating a pay-for-performance plan, there have been objections to the timeliness and potential effectiveness of such a system, especially from the Prince William County Education Association.

There has also been talk of how these plans could interfere with the cooperative learning environment that schools preach about.

But one thing seems certain. Having such a plan, the nuts and bolts of which were presented to the Prince William County School Board on Dec. 2, is a good start in the eyes of many of the board members.

"I think the strength of this plan is that it is reasonable in scope," stated member Donald Richardson (Gainesville) in an e-mail Friday. "We are starting small and not trying to overhaul our entire compensation system all at once."

"This is a good first step," said board member Gil Trenum (Nokesville). "I like the fact that we are beginning the process with a specifically targeted goal. It's an opportunity to identify some specific met-rics and to measure the effects of what we are doing."

The plan, which will be voted on Wednesday, centers on hiring or retaining the best teachers at the schools with the most needy students. The schools identified for assistance have high percentages of at-risk, English as Second Lan-guage and special education students, and several of them have struggled to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress benchmarks.

As presented, the plan would rank schools by need using a tiered system of financial rewards, with Standards of Learning teachers likely receiving the most. It also notes the necessity of rewarding teachers through evaluation beyond student performances on tests.

If the plan is approved, it would set in motion a federal grant application process. Approximately $4.5 billion will be available through the Teacher Incentive Fund and the Race to the Top fund.

These programs were part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Race to the Top is administered by states, while the Teacher Incentive Fund would go directly to local school districts.

Virginia is applying for a portion of the Race to the Top funds, and Prince William County would likely throw its hat in the ring for a slice of what the state receives. States must apply by January to be eligible.

Numbers game

During his presentation to the board on Dec. 2, pay-for-performance committee chairman Kris Pedersen presented statistics on district-wide transfers to show how difficult it was to keep teachers at schools with many at-risk stu-dents.

The 20 schools serving these communities (16 elementary schools and four middle schools) had 190 teachers trans-fer to another school in the district in the last five years, or approximately two per school, per year. By contrast, the 20 schools with the least number of these students had 128 full-time teachers leave in that time frame.

Several board members said they would like to know more about those applying to transfer, not just the transfer numbers. However, each one who expressed interest in that idea said it would not preclude him from voting for the plan.

The committee did not collect transfer application information nor did it obtain a statistical breakdown of reasons teachers transferred to another school in the county. Since there is no official exit interview when a teacher transfers to another school in the district, the committee that helped formulate the incentive plan relied mostly on anecdotal evidence from principals and teachers.

Dale City Elementary School, which serves the type of community that would be served by this plan, has had a great track record of retaining its teachers; just two have left in the last five years.

However, Principal Cynthia Crowe-Miller believes teachers from more affluent schools, in general, don't want to come to teach at schools like Dale City.

"I don't have any formal data to support that, but these are tough schools and challenging kids," said Crowe-Miller.

Board member Betty Covington (Dumfries), who said she will support the plan, agreed.

"Since I was a principal at two economically disadvantaged schools, I know firsthand how difficult it is to hire and retain highly qualified, effective teachers in these schools," Covington said.

PWEA President Bonnie Klakowicz said that while the plan is a good start, there is still much work to be done.

Regarding transfers, Klakowicz said, "sometimes people are afraid to tell their principal they want to leave because they are afraid of some retaliation, and that complicates the process.

"You look at some of these schools and it's not because of the children that people are transferring. It's because of the leadership."

What lies ahead

The program's sustainability has also been a talking point during its formulation.

Unless the county tax rate is increased by the Board of County Supervisors, there is a strong chance that the school district will be working with millions of dollars less than in past years.

Covington said she would like to see schools incorporate this plan into their annual budget at some point. Several board members have said the work necessary to adopt such a rewards system is worth it, even if schools fail to find a funding source long-term.

In talks to the board, Pedersen has mentioned the high price of not educating students and how this program could have a lasting effect on a select group of students.

"If it means we're helping two to four hundred kids for two years, we still have made a difference in the education of two to four hundred kids," board chairman Milton C. Johns said. "... To say because we can't do it all the time we shouldn't do it is a defeatist attitude. The fact of the matter is that in the educational world, programs come and go and grants come and go, and we have to be pragmatic about this one."

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.