Program ComponentsTeacher Support : Minnesota Department of Education

Program Components

Program Components

Quality Compensation for Teachers (Q Comp) contains five basic components

• Career Ladder/Advancement Options: This component allows teachers to take on additional responsibilities and positions. Teachers in these positions are compensated for these additional responsibilities or receive release time.
• Job-embedded Professional Development: This component requires schools to deliver integrated professional development for teachers. These activities must be aligned with the staff development activities required under Minn. Stat. 122A.60. Typically, schools configure teams of teachers into Professional Learning Communities.
• Teacher Evaluation: The program requires multiple teacher evaluations that are aligned to the staff development law or Minn. Stat. 122A.60. MDE requires local plans to use multiple teacher evaluations that use objective evaluations with multiple criteria that are conducted by more than one evaluator. The language in the law was carefully crafted to ensure teachers would have protections. In reviewing past failures of performance-based systems in education, it is clear that having one employee (such as the principal) control the compensation of another employee (such as the teacher) is a recipe for failure.
• Performance Pay: The law requires that teacher performance measures of student academic achievement and progress align with at least 60 percent of increases in teacher compensation within the performance pay system.
• Alternative Salary Schedule: Under the law, a school district and exclusive representative of teachers must negotiate a new salary schedule that “reforms” the steps and lanes salary schedule. In addition, no teacher would receive a pay reduction when transitioning to an alternative salary schedule.

All five components must be included in the program submitted by a school district, intermediate school district, or charter school in order to receive funding from Q Comp. Additional information on each component is available by viewing the documents below.

Component 1: Career Ladder/Advancement Options  69Kb (6/30/08)
     Under the law, it is necessary to create a career ladder or multiple career paths for teachers. The document provides details and definitions of a career ladder as it pertains to the Q Comp program and law.
Component 2: Job-embedded Professional Development  66Kb (6/30/08)
     The document will provide a brief synopsis of the law on this component, the application requirements, the principles that govern them and where to find more information and/or examples.
Component 3: Teacher Evaluation  45Kb (6/30/08)
     Several steps are detailed here along with the governing law and the locations of more specific information and examples.
Component 4: Performance Pay  40Kb (6/30/08)
     Many schools may already have some work completed on this component prior to considering the Q Comp program. The document narrows the information down in the law and provides the location of other resources and examples.
Component 5: Alternative Salary Schedule  50Kb (6/30/08)
     This component has several parts that need to be carefully planned and laid out in order to successfully complete the application. The document details the basic steps needed as well as additional, more detailed information and examples.
Legislation of all Q Comp Components  70Kb (10/25/05)
     This is the Q Comp Legislation concerning program components intended for use by schools when developing their Q Comp plan.