Jindal: Reward good teachers
Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday that, with a new evaluation system about to be launched, the state should consider financial or other rewards for Louisiana’s highest rated public school teachers.
“Shouldn’t we reward the truly excellent teachers and incentivize others to achieve excellence?” Jindal said. “Unfortunately our system doesn’t do this today.”
Asked to elaborate later Jindal told reporters, “I think it just makes sense. If you have teachers who are doing better we should look at ways to recognize that achievement, compensate that achievement.
“It could be through recognition, financial recognition, compensation,” he said. “It could also be through our promotion and retention policy.”
The governor said later in response to questions that, while he is not ready to offer specific proposals, finding dollars for top-flight teachers would be possible even amid tight state finances.
“As we speak today we waste billions of dollars on failing schools and classrooms where children aren’t getting a great education,” Jindal said. “So obviously we have to prioritize how we spend those dollars.”
Jindal made his comments to the 50th anniversary meeting of the Council for A Better Louisiana, or CABL. The group calls itself a non-partisan, non-profit group that works on public policy issues.
About 300 people attended the gathering, officials said.
Any effort to offer financial rewards for some teachers is sure to trigger controversy in the Legislature, which begins its regular session on March 12.
Joyce Haynes, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said Thursday the state may use what she called its new, flawed system for evaluating teachers to get rid of some and “take what would have been their salaries to give to another set of folks.
“It really should disturb everyone,” Haynes said.
Jindal has said for weeks that public school improvements will be the top priority of his second term, which begins on Jan. 9.
He said he plans to hold meetings with teacher union leaders, parents, business leaders, lawmakers and members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education before he unveils his education package next month.
Jindal says improved teacher quality, more school choices and giving local educators new flexibility in how dollars are spent will be the key goals of his 2012 education agenda.
He said Thursday that data shows teachers easily have the biggest impact on student achievement.
“Nothing else comes close,” Jindal told the group. “Put another way, having a highly effective teacher can change a kid’s life,” he added later.
Jindal said one of the current problems is that “we treat all teachers the same with our one size fits all system.”
However, Louisiana’s top school board on Wednesday approved the details of a new way to evaluate teachers starting in the 2012-13 school year.
Many teachers will be rated on a scale of 1 to 5, and labeled as highly effective, effective or ineffective.
The governor said that, aside from considering rewards for the top-rated teachers, the new review system will offer remediation for those with low marks.
“But there are also ineffective teachers who are resistant to change and want to keep using the same ineffective strategies, and we need to move those folks out of the classroom,” he said.
The new reviews stem from a 2010 state law backed by Jindal. It will affect about 50,000 public school teachers.