Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Pool teacher coaching, incentive pay and more days of professional development and what do you get?

Officials in ISD 831 believe the answer is improvement in student achievement. And with that goal in mind, the school district and its teaching staff have agreed to move forward with a Quality Compensation plan approved last month by the state department of education.

The plan, which kicks off in August, will immerse teachers in a series of extra days of in-service training and provide ongoing help from teachers who function as coaches and mentors to help achieve district, building level and individual teacher goals for students. For those teachers who achieve identified levels of success, pay-for-performance bonuses await that could reach a maximum of $3000 a year.

The decision to move ahead was made possible by a 7-0 vote of the ISD 831 School Board on Wednesday, June 6. Earlier, teachers who make up the Forest Lake Education Association voted 251 to 186 to approve the Q-Comp plan for the 2007-2008 school year.

Teachers will begin the program this fall under a memorandum of understanding that will be added to the master agreement for teachers when a new two-year contract is approved. That memorandum also signals a willingness of teachers to bargain for a new compensation form that could replace traditional step and lane advancements by the 2009-2011 contract.

Program costs

Under the plan approved by the state, Forest Lake will receive $1.4 million in Q-Comp state aid plus $560,000 in staff development funding for 2007-2008.

The state aid will be balanced by a local property tax levy for residents of ISD 831.

Under the levy program, the district plans to levy $528,000 for its share of the payment plan. That will be pooled with other general fund levy dollars of $141,002 for a total Q-Comp property tax levy of $669,002.

Larry Martini, director of business affairs, said the school board will be asked to make a double levy this fall for taxes that will be collected in 2008. That would push the total property tax impact to $1.33 million to cover the first two years of the program.

The double levy is needed, Martini said, because the district property tax levy for 2007-2008 was set late in 2006. To cover first-year expenses that are ISD 831 responsibility, a general fund transfer will be needed with those dollars repaid when tax revenue is collected in 2008, Martini said.

A single levy of $669,002 represents a 4.6 percent increase of the current year local property tax levy of $14 million.

Total expenditures estimated for the 2007-2008 year are just under $2.9 million

The plan

Members of the administrative team explained the program last week as another step in efforts to improve the district adequate yearly progress. “Our school district has been doing this for a number of years,” Superintendent Lynn Steenblock said.

“We’re very excited about this program and the potential it has to elevate student achievement in our district.”

The key to improved student achievement will focus on enhanced staff development opportunities and the availability of instructional coaches who will work with all 500 district teachers to help reach established goals.

The districtwide goal is to maintain or achieve AYP in reading and math with emphasis on the special education subgroup.

Under the plan, the district this summer will hire 10 instructional coaches — five who will work with elementary teachers and five who will work with staff at the secondary level. The district hopes to have the 10 positions filled from within the teaching staff this month and begin the process of hiring classroom replacements.

The coaches will receive their regular rate of pay plus a $4000 stipend. They will assist, coach and observe teachers and collaborate and provide input to principals in the teacher evaluation process.

The plan also calls for the formation of district instructional leaders and building instructional leaders — 99 positions in all — who will handle regular teaching duties plus help facilitate instructional learning teams activities and coordinate districtwide professional development activities.

A total of 60 mentor teachers will also be assigned to help non-tenured teachers acclimate to the district and assist in areas of instructional practice.

How staff members receive Q-Comp pay-for-performance money is tied to school-wide achievement gains based on the district’s academic audit.

The compensation is determined based on how the elementary, junior high, high school or ALC meets or exceeds the expected performance levels.

For example, if an elementary school achieves seven of the 10 variables, the teacher would earn 70 percent of the maximum $800 bonus, or $560 at the end of the year.

Teachers can also earn an additional $700 maximum bonus based on a two-part evaluation with performance measured against a series of planning, preparation and instruction components.

Officials believe safeguards have been built into the plan to protect teachers.

Teachers who do not believe an evaluation is just can appeal the ruling within specified time frames.

Coaches and evaluators will also face reviews from other coaches and Dr. Linda Madsen, director of teaching and learning.

Staff growth

The professional growth and development is expected to see its springboard with a three-day summer session in August. The professional development will be focused on meeting the district, school, team and individual goals, plus the formation of instructional learning team goals.

The session is mandatory for all 500 teachers who will be compensated an additional $1000 for the training.

Officials last week said the need for the additional teacher training outweighed any consideration of utilizing existing in-service or teacher work days which would have eliminated the need of adding the three extra days to the teacher work year.

“We are in need of more training,” Martini said in an interview. “The teachers are clamoring for it.”

Jim Lindstrom, chief negotiator for the FLEA bargaining team, disputed that point. While he agrees with the need for more training, he said the additional days was a key factor in the relatively close ratification vote and the reason why many teachers were opposed to the plan.

Teacher pay plan

The Q-Comp plan may also signal a new direction in how teachers are paid in years to come. This comes after more than five years of informal studies of alternative compensation packages.

Lindstrom said nothing will change in terms of steps and lanes for the 2007-2009 contract, but a commitment has been made to seriously look at a new system for 2009-2011.

A negotiations subcommittee of FLEA members and two district administrators will be formed to study salary schedule reform, establish salary schedule design and parameters and recommend a process for design and implementation. That recommendation will come to the bargaining table for the 2009-2011 teacher contract.

Lindstrom said a number of teachers also opposed the plan because of the review of steps and lanes and their possible elimination.

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