YouTube video of the day: Denver teachers strike over a broken pay system

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read more: http://bit.ly/2sFPLFL Denver teachers likely to strike over a broken pay system #denver #edcolo #DPS #betterdenver #denverschools When negotiation between Denver Public Schools and its teachers’ union broke down late last Friday night, there was not only a fundamental disagreement between the parties but active differences in the very definition of terms. New Denver Superintendent Susana Cordova is determined to hold to a structure of compensation called ProComp that has brought Denver national attention for school reforms despite research and results concluding that it isn’t working for students or an effective use of tax moneys. While the original voter-approved language for ProComp offers great flexibility, the district is behaving as if its hands are tied. “The union is also asking for the district to gut incentives for educators in our highest-poverty schools,” wrote Cordova in a post-impasse email “We will not abandon our commitment to closing the opportunity gap. Attracting and retaining great teachers… in our high-poverty schools is key to our strategy. We proposed that educators in our highest-poverty schools and hardest-to-fill positions will receive $2,500 to $7,500 in additional incentives.” The reality under ProComp has been different. Turnover in DPS high-poverty schools remains very high despite the incentives touted by Cordova. And more importantly, ProComp has done nothing to close the opportunity gap. Denver’s gap is the third-largest in the country after nearly a decade and a half. “I would like to clarify the “incentive” pay proposal that Susana Cordova continues to reference and emphasize,” teacher Lisa Yemma told the North Denver News. “In her statements, she claims that she strongly believes in attracting teachers to high poverty schools by offering a $2,500 bonus/incentive. This “bonus” is not base building and taxed highly. DCTA is proposing to decrease the one-time bonuses, and add that extra money to base salaries.” “What Susana is not telling (the public) is that the proposed $2,500 is a yearly bonus while the school has a specific percentage of kids in free/reduced lunch. The catch is that if the school actually becomes more diverse and improves, and attracts a wider range of socioeconomic families, the teachers lose the bonuses.” Yemma also criticized another portion of the DPS offer, this one targeted at higher performing schools. “Distinguished rated schools would earn each teacher a one time $4,000 bonus,” said Yemma. “That was 5 years ago. This year our distinguished school had a $1,000 bonus for each teacher. There is no incentive to improve in DPS. The district wants to keep reducing this bonus, which I am in full support of if that means the funds could go to building base salaries for all teachers.” While DPS is taking the public position that DCTA is asking for too much money, the reality is the union is really challenging a set of flawed assumptions that underscore its convoluted compensation system. Moreover, climbed in the District by $138 million. The money DPS spends on actual instruction has decreased by $21 million in the same period. ProComp is neither new nor unexamined. A major academic study undertaken by the University of Colorado found ProComp was having a negative effect on academic achievement. A 2014 study by the University of Colorado largely panned ProComp. We find a negative effect of -0.04 for reading and -0.08 for writing. At press time, Denver teachers are in the middle of a strike vote. Given the district’s intransigence with a broken compensation model, Denver families seem likely to see a strike in just a week. If Cordova and her team are unable to confront the demonstrated infirmities of their system, it may be a long one .
via https://youtu.be/JCZ8T7GiO1o