Nine principals in Houston ISD’s most troubled campuses could see their pay increase by as much as a third if they meet student achievement, attendance, and grade-level performance and graduation targets set by the board in November.
All Houston ISD principals can earn bonuses of more than $15,000 on top of their base salaries ($88,000 to $120,000). With this incentive, nine secondary principals in Apollo 20 secondary schools could earn $20,000 to $30,000 more. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier said the extra incentive was necessary to lure principals to the schools.
The additional bonuses could cost the district as much as $240,000 this year. Houston Federation of Teachers President Gayle Fallon called the bonuses unfair, especially in the face of a potential budget shortfall next year.
Houston business leaders have come out in favor of the Apollo 20 plan, calling the move “…a bold decision to try something radically new at schools that need help.” The initial campuses in the program are seeing results, including double-digit gains in student scores on benchmark math tests and higher student attendance. But those early results come with a significant price tag: $29.6 million annually. The district has received state grants and federal funds to cover about half of the program’s cost, with the remainder coming from the district’s general fund, not the budgets of other Houston ISD schools, according to Melinda Garrett, the district’s chief financial officer.
—“Low-rated campuses, big bonus incentives, by Ericka Mellon, Houston Chronicle, Nov. 11, 2010.
—“HISD shows clear business savvy, by Patrick Oxford and Larry Kellner, Houston Chronicle, Dec. 12, 2010.
A study by Stanford University researcher Sally Hudson 
indicates that schools in the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) appear to be able to improve student achievement in math over non-TAP schools with similar characteristics.
The study examined student growth in 151 TAP schools in 10 states and used a new method called synthetic control matching to create a control group of schools. Hudson essentially combined features from a variety of non-TAP schools in each state to create an ideal comparison school for each TAP school.
The study found that students in TAP schools outperformed students in the synthetic control schools in math by about .15 percent of a standard deviation. The findings are good news for TAP, especially coming on the heels of less impressive results, including a study of Chicago TAP schools that found no differences in achievement between TAP and non-TAP schools.
—“Study: TAP Schools Outperform ‘Synthetic’ Counterparts,” by Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week online, Nov. 9, 2010.
An Associated Press-Stanford University poll finds that most Americans believe it is too difficult for school districts to get rid of bad teachers. A whopping 78 percent of respondents think it should be easier for school administrators to fire educators that aren’t making the grade. Almost as many (71 percent) believe it should be easier to fire principals when their schools perform poorly.
At the same time, just 35 percent of respondents believe that a large number of bad teachers is a serious problem for America’s schools; and less than half (45 percent) say teacher unions are to blame. ‘
With regard to teacher pay, most (57 percent) believe that teachers don’t earn high enough salaries (7 percent of respondents believe teachers are overpaid; the remainder believe teacher pay is about right). Half say that teacher pay should be based on their students’ performance on statewide tests and on the evaluations they receive. About 25 percent believe administrator evaluations should determine teacher pay and about 20 percent would base teacher salaries solely on statewide test results.
—“Poll: Most want easier way to fire bad teachers,” Associated Press, Dec. 14, 2010.
The anticipated Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) amended regulations originally slated for publication in November 2010 have been rescheduled for publication in February 2011, according to the Department of Labor’s Fall Regulatory Agenda. The rule changes will include the language required to update federal worksite posters for school districts and other employers.
The amended regulations address the changes to military family leave that took effect when the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 was signed into law on Oct. 28, 2009. The act amended the FMLA by extending qualifying exigency leave to family members of active duty military personnel. Military caregiver leave was expanded to include family members of veterans who were on active duty during the five years before the treatment for an injury or illness incurred in the line of duty began.
TASB HR Services will update our federal worksite posters soon after the new regulations are effective (30 to 90 days after publication in the Federal Register). We will inform districts as soon as they are ready to ship. In addition to the FMLA changes, the poster update will include notice of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
Texas school districts have until June 20, 2011, to submit an annual summary of campus-level teacher evaluation scores as required by the U.S. Department of Education for receipt of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds distributed in 2009 and 2010. Districts completed their initial submission of data last October.
In a letter from the Texas Education Agency, the commissioner informed administrators that he has asked Region XIII to collect the data through a dedicated Web application . Districts must use the application to submit Professional Development and Appraisal System scores or the results of a locally adopted appraisal system and answer a few questions about the district’s appraisal process.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has submitted its list of subject-matter teacher shortage areas along with a list of designated low-income schools to the U.S. Department of Education. The list is slightly different from the one submitted in 2009-10. HR administrators can join a TEA email list to receive the latest information on loan forgiveness programs.
Teachers with student loans who teach in low-income schools may qualify for partial or total loan forgiveness or deferment. Eligibility depends on the type of loan, the date of the teacher’s first loan, and whether the teacher works in a designated low-income school and teaches in a shortage area.
