Q Comp program continues to grow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
Contact: Brianna Chambers |
Q COMP PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW
~Forest Lake Area School District becomes 38th district to undertake professional development and achievement-based pay system~
Forest Lake – Commissioner of Education Alice Seagren announced today that the Forest Lake Area School District will implement Minnesota’s nation-leading Q Comp performance and professional pay program. The district will receive $1,921,400 in state aid and local revenues for implementation in the 2007-08 school year.
“We welcome the Forest Lake Area School District into the group of schools and districts that have chosen to participate in this important education reform,” said Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. “Q Comp provides teachers with the opportunity to receive compensation in a more modern and professional manner as they enhance their skills in order to continually improve student learning.”
In 2005, Governor Pawlenty proposed and the state legislature approved Minnesota’s Q Comp program. Q Comp provides up to $86 million for districts that join the program.
Q Comp is designed to advance the teaching profession by providing structured professional development and evaluation, as well as an alternative pay schedule that compensates teachers based on performance, not just seniority. The program brings together career advancement, professional development and compensation linked to academic achievement. It includes a locally agreed-upon peer evaluation process for every teacher that is based on skills, responsibilities and student academic growth. This plan is voluntary and will add up to an additional $260 per student in participating districts.
The Q Comp program gives participating school districts the flexibility to meet local needs within a comprehensive model of improved teaching and learning. In Forest Lake, administration and teacher representatives have agreed to the following:
Provide career ladders or career advancement opportunities for teachers: The career ladder includes four positions with various duties and compensations. These positions are:
Instructional Coach: Instructional coaches (ICs) will work full-time to assist, coach and observe teachers, focusing on helping teachers improve their instructional practice as well as provide input to building principals in the teacher evaluation process.
District Instructional Leaders (DILs) will facilitate Instructional Learning Team activities (ILTs), assist building instructional leaders and coordinate district-wide professional development activities. DILs will also function as classroom teachers and district department chairs (DDC). A salary augmentation of $4,000 ($1,216 per year for the DIL position and $2,784 for the DDC position) will be given as compensation.
Building Instructional Leaders (BIL) will coordinate and lead ILTs, including the planning
and delivery of building level professional development. BILs will also function as classroom teachers and Building Department Chairs (BDCs). A salary augmentation of $4,000 ($1,773 for the BIL position and $2,227 for the BDC position) will be given as compensation.
Mentor Teachers help non-tenured teachers acclimate to the district as they assist and advise those teachers in areas of instructional practice. A salary augmentation of $500 per year will be given as compensation.
Job-embedded professional development: The focus for Forest Lake’s Q Comp plan is the following student achievement goal: To maintain or achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) as defined under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for reading and math in 2007-2008, with particular emphasis placed on the sub-group of special education. In alignment with this goal, each site will meet or exceed the expected level for student achievement on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA-II) proficiency percentages in both reading and math with additional focus on the achievement of special education students.
Many activities will be used to help meet the site and district goals; a few of these activities include:
• Provide “during the school day” weekly common grade level team planning time to disaggregate student data in order to determine learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement
• Utilize time to work with the current curriculum and a leveled reading library to continue to improve differentiated learning and instruction
• Provide more responsiveness classroom training and sharing of ideas
• Hold meetings and in-services with district testing coordinator and with math and reading consultants
• Provide opportunities for team meetings on the further exploration of data as it relates to specific students and indications for growth
• Meet within departments and hold grade level meetings to ensure that the needs of all students are being met
Teachers at all sites will be divided into Instructional Learning Teams that will meet on an ongoing basis. Elementary level teams will meet before school and will be primarily comprised of grade level teachers with specialists, counselors and special education teachers from various grade level teams, for an average team size of three to five teachers. Secondary level teams will meet after school and will be primarily comprised of the various academic departments, with an average team size of three to six teachers.
Instructional Learning Teams will meet regularly during the school day as well as utilize the time prior to the school day or time after the school day. The specific number of ILT meetings will vary from school to school depending on the school’s schedule. The teams will meet a minimum once per month with BILs/DILs/ICs/coordinators/administrators. Teams will meet for longer periods of time during the summer seminar, staff development days during the year, and regularly scheduled meeting time to work on professional development. ILT members will also meet informally, averaging 30 minutes per week. In order for this work to apply to all teachers, all professional development work and discussions will focus on components of professional practice consistent with their assignment.
Objective and comprehensive teacher evaluation: Each tenured teacher in Forest Lake Area Schools will be observed and receive formative evaluation twice formally and once informally each year with an additional formal administrative evaluation every three years. The evaluation team will consist of ICs conducting the formal evaluations, DILs/BILs conducting the informal evaluations and the principal completing the administrative formal evaluation. All formative evaluations will be based on direct classroom observations and will be scored using Forest Lake Area Schools Teacher Evaluation System, based on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching. Teachers are expected to achieve at least 38 points after both formal evaluations are completed in order to receive any compensation.
Each probationary teacher will be observed and receive summative evaluations three times per year by the building administration. In addition, probationary teachers will be formally observed once by the IC and informally by the DIL/BIL. At the end of a teacher’s non-tenured period, the district will determine whether or not to grant the teacher tenure. If the teacher is granted tenure, he/she will transition to the career teacher evaluation model as described above.
Prior to the start of the school year, administrators and ICs will receive intensive training in teacher observation specific to the Charlotte Danielson model. This training will include one full day of instruction on the Danielson model and two full days of instruction on objective and consistent teacher observation. After each evaluation cycle, the Director of Teaching and Learning, Director of Special Education, and Director of Administration and Human Resources will work with the evaluation team members to assure inter-rater reliability and identify possible score inflation. All evaluations used to determine compensation will be a collaborative effort between ICs and principals.
Performance pay: A teacher’s compensation will be based in part on the following factors:
1. $800 for school-wide gains based on MCA-II test data, advanced placement (AP) participation, grade point average (GPA), ACT scores, dropout rates and student attendance.
2. $500 for measures of student achievement based on results of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), MCA-IIs, other state tests and local assessments
3. $700 for successful evaluation using Forest Lake Area Schools Teacher Evaluation System, based on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching
a. $400/57% for evaluation scores based on a points system and graduated in the following scale:
i. 90-100% of the points = 100% or $400
ii. 80-89% of the points = 90% or $360
iii. 70-79% of the points = 80% or $320
iv. 60-69% of the points = 70% or $280
b. $300/43% for successfully implementing ILT strategies according to demonstration during the various evaluations on a rubric to be determined based on the strategies used and graduated along the following scale:
i. Score of one = no pay
ii. Score of two = $100
iii. Score of three = $200
iv. Score of four = $300
4. $1,000 for completion of a Professional Development Plan active participation in the three-day summer seminar, inclusion into an ILT, and work within the ILT to produce a school year plan and calendar describing ILT activities.
Alternative professional pay schedule: The district has begun the process of reforming the salary schedule by incorporating the various combinations of performance pay awards into the salary schedule. Teachers are placed on the schedule according to their years of experience and number of credits they have earned. Teachers then have the opportunity to earn up to an additional $2,000 within their level based on the portions of performance pay that they achieve. At the end of the year, the teacher will move to the next letter row for an additional year of experience and begin moving through that range based on their success with the performance pay requirements outlined in component three.
Performance pay: A teacher’s compensation will be based in part on the following factors:
1. School-wide gains based on MCA-II test data, advanced placement (AP) participation, grade point average (GPA), ACT scores, dropout rates and student attendance
2. Measures of student achievement based on results of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), MCA-IIs, other state tests and local assessments
3. successful evaluation using Forest Lake Area Schools Teacher Evaluation System, based on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching
4. Completion of a Professional Development Plan
We're very excited about this program and the potential it has to elevate student achievement in our district,” said Forest lake Superintendent Lynn Steenblock. “This initiative provides our teachers with resources, support, and motivation to become the very best educators they can be. We expect great things from our students and teachers as a result of Q-Comp.”
The Forest Lake Area School District serves approximately 7,400 students, in 12 schools with 1,000 faculty and staff. Forest Lake is the fourth district approved for the 2007-2008 school year. The Orono School District, Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley School District and three Roseville schools were approved earlier this year.
School districts that began implementing the Q Comp program during the 2006-07 school year.
Grand Meadow ● Albert Lea ● Alden-Conger ● Brainerd ● Wayzata ● Eden Prairie ● Red Rock Central ● International Falls ● Le Center ● St. Louis Park ● Osseo ● Lac Qui Parle ● North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale ● Clearbrook-Gonvick ● Proctor ● Burnsville ● St. Anthony-New Brighton ● Minnetonka ● Delano ● Centennial ● Pine River ● Brandon ● South Washington County ● South Saint Paul ● Farmington ● Roseville
School districts that began implementing the Q Comp program during the 2005-06 school year.
Minneapolis ● Hopkins ● St. Francis ● Mounds View ● St. Cloud ● Alexandria ● Fridley ● La Crescent-Hokah ● Marshall
Several districts have indicated they plan to submit an application for the 2007-08 school years.
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