South Dakota School Superintendents Association (SDSSA)

School Administrators of South Dakota Public Service Announcement

***Message From the President-Mark Froke***

Leading Educational Organizations Release Guiding Principles for Teacher Compensation Programs

May 20, 2010

WASHINGTON—The American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the National Education Association (NEA), and the National School Boards Association (NSBA) jointly have developed 11 Guiding Principles that could be used for the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grants to foster strong collaboration at the local level and appropriately implement the U.S. Department of Education federal grant program. The Guiding Principles are designed to offer guidance to the members of all three organizations if they choose to participate in the TIF grant program.

The three organizations will distribute these principles to their respective state and local leadership. Together, the organizations reach some 13,000 educational leaders, 3.2 million educators and 95,000 local school boards members across the United States.

Established in 2006, the TIF program provides grants to states and districts, or a combination of approved partnerships, to experiment with incentive compensation models in certain schools. The U.S. Department of Education released the final regulations today and applications are due July 6. The 11 guiding principles address what works best when designing incentive compensation models that fit within the TIF rules.

“These guiding principles recognize that incentive compensation must be a part of a systematic process for school improvement, as opposed to a stand-alone strategy,” said Dan Domenech, Executive Director of AASA. “In developing an effective plan, it is important to involve administrators, school board members and teachers and these groups must work together to garner community and stakeholder support.”

The three national organizations are encouraging their members to use the guiding principles as a roadmap if they choose to participate in the federal TIF grant program. At the core of the 11 guiding principles is the desire of the organizations to build a sustainable, comprehensive and continuous system of school improvement and organizational growth, highlighting in particular that successful and sustainable teacher compensation programs require collaboration and cooperation.

“Our three organizations recognize the importance of encouraging active dialogue among state and school district education leaders who choose to develop proposals for TIF grants,” said John Wilson, Executive Director of NEA. “These guiding principles encourage strong collaboration. They serve as a useful checklist that all stakeholders should take into account, starting with the solid foundation of professional-level salaries.”

Among other key components of effective incentive compensation systems, the groups are urging their members to incorporate these principles in their models: key stakeholder input and buy-in, research-based goals, multiple factors of assessment, transparency, proper alignment with organizational goals, benchmarking and timelines, fairness, research-driven outcomes, and, most importantly, adequate and sustainable funding. To increase student achievement, the organizations also are urging schools to provide the conditions that support teaching and learning such as time, curriculum, and professional development.

“A successful incentive compensation plan must foster collaboration with a broad base of support among teachers, school staff, administrators, school board members, and within the community,” said Anne L. Bryant, Executive Director of NSBA. “It is important that key national associations representing school boards, administrators, and teachers have come together to provide guidance to develop effective plans that support school improvement.”

Please visit www.nsba.org to see the 11 Guiding Principles.

Stimulus Guidelines Issued - AASA members played a vital role in advocating for education funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides some $100 billion for education. Read stimulus fund guidance from the U.S. Dept. of Education and visit the AASA stimulus page.

SDSSA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Information

AASA National Convention Highlights:

2005        2006        2007        2008    2009     2010

2010 SDSSA Outstanding Superintendent

Donald Kirkegaard, Britton-Hecla

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  SDSSA Contact Information

Robert Arend, Secretary

P. O. Box C, Garretson, SD  57030-0381

605-594-3451-Office         605-594-3443-Fax

robert.arend@k12.sd.us

Tim Mitchell, Website

301 East Kellam  P. O. Box 119, Chamberlain, SD  57325-0119

605-234-4477-Office        605-234-4479-Fax

  tim.mitchell@k12.sd.us