Fort Worth ISD teachers rewarded for exceptional teaching with peak in paychecks

by PegNews wire

FORT WORTH — Last year, the Fort Worth Independent School District rolled out a new way of rewarding teachers for their hard work. PEAK – Public Educators Accelerating Kids – is a pilot program in 15 Fort Worth ISD schools that provides financial rewards for educators who show exceptional ability to improve student achievement.

Now it is time for the pay-off. Educators in PEAK schools will be awarded more than $2 million in their October paychecks. The average award will be $2,567.82 with the maximum being $12,785.40. PEAK is funded by a state grant with matching money committed in the spring of 2007 by the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education.

Unlike similar programs, PEAK uses the value-added model. Value-added measures student progress during the school year. Value-added is a measurement that many experts feel is needed to really understand the important impact of good teachers on student achievement.

PEAK is also different in that it rewards teams of teachers. Teachers in PEAK schools earned bonus pay by being successful members of four different kinds of teams:

· Those who teach a particular content

· Those who teach at a certain grade level

· Those who teach content on a particular grade level

· Teachers on the campus as a whole.

“I want to personally thank each and every teacher and administrator who agreed to be a part of the pilot year of this program,” said Superintendent Melody Johnson. “PEAK is a collaborative approach, one that is unique in the nation. It emphasizes the kind of teamwork and collegiality we know is important in accelerating the achievement of our students.”

Fort Worth ISD realized success stories in every PEAK school. The PEAK rewards model has been through much discussion, review and input from both teachers and administrators.

"I am extremely proud of the work our PEAK teachers, administrators, and staff members have done to ensure the academic success of our students,” said Associate Superintendent PEAK Sherry Breed. “Their tireless efforts have ensured not only achievement but better than expected growth using the value-added data.”

Source: Fort Worth ISD