(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Ten school districts have been selected to develop pilot programs to provide compensation to teachers in addition to their regular salaries, the Kentucky Department of Education announced today.
The Differentiated Compensation Pilot Sites were selected through a competitive grant process.
DISTRICTS, PLAN COMPONENTS AND FUNDING AMOUNTS
Campbell Co. -- Salary incentives for middle school certified staff and new teacher mentors; funding for instructional lead teacher positions ($94,350)
Daviess Co. -- Tuition reimbursement for critical shortage area teachers ($90,000)
Jefferson Co. -- Bonuses for certified and classified staff to work at difficult-to-staff schools; adding extended days to the school calendar for professional development ($186,154)
Jessamine Co. -- Stipends and professional development for Student Achievement Coaches for each school ($125,985)
Lincoln Co. -- Stipends, released time for mentor/mentee teams; training for mentors; pay for coaching time, training and materials ($90,500)
Metcalfe Co. -- Tuition reimbursement for critical shortage area teachers; extra duty pay for critical shortage areas; pay for participation in Skills Enhancement program ($85,547)
Montgomery Co. -- Salary incentives for minority, bilingual, and critical shortage area teachers; establishing a mentoring program to provide assistance to struggling teachers ($80,000)
Pike Co. -- Focused professional development; evaluating and rewarding teachers who demonstrate proficient and distinguished scores on classroom implementation; additional compensation for teachers and evaluators of teacher portfolios ($155,000)
Shelby Co. -- Salary increment for special education teachers; stipends for mentor teachers for new special education teachers; tuition reimbursement for special education teachers ($135,500)
Warren Co. -- Training of teachers at the most diverse high school and feeder schools, who will train other teachers to be teacher leaders; stipends for project teachers and Summer Institute for project teachers; substitute pay, trainer and materials ($109,840)
Each participating school district will begin implementation of its plan by the 2003-04 school year.
In 2002, House Bill 402 gave school districts the ability to offer differentiated compensation plans and directed the Kentucky Board of Education to develop regulations for a two-year pilot project. Funding for the pilot was set at $1,152,877.
The legislation provides that differentiated compensation plans meet at least one of the following goals:
- to recruit and retain teachers in critical shortage areas
- to help reduce the number of emergency certified teachers employed in the district
- to provide incentives to recruit and retain highly skilled teachers to serve in difficult assignments and hard-to-fill positions
- to provide career advancement opportunities for classroom teachers who voluntarily wish to participate
- to reward teachers for increasing their skills, knowledge and instructional leadership within the district or school
In 2004, the Department of Education will provide recommendations to the Interim Joint Committee on Education on the feasibility of establishing a statewide teacher advancement program or other ideas for modifying teacher compensation.
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