Managing the costs of Strategic Teacher Compensation

It may sound a little simple, but because we propose a strategic pay system, managing the costs is easier than managing the costs of traditional pay for performance systems. First, you have to develop a criteria for the system and the rubrics for evaluation. After that, analyze the current staff at the school. See where they fit into a matrix relative to one another. Then fit a relative salary to each person on the matrix. This gives a baseline for total salaries. You may have to adjust this to the current budget. The next step is a little tricky, but you need to then project where you think people will be a year from now, then two years from now. See how that fits with your current budget as well as if you would need to add or subtract from that budget. See if you can strategically afford the system that you've designed. Carefully projecting is not perfect, but it will allow a pretty fair estimate of the ongoing personnel costs of your system. Compare these costs to your current three or five year salary projections. This determines whether or not you can afford the system as you've designed it.

One temptation is to rate everyone as high performing, especially if you have a group of above-average teachers. Remember that some teachers will alwyas have characteristics that make them strateically necessary to the schoo and to student success than others. Make sure that these factors are included in your rankging system. Only rank teachers highly who have those stratigically valuable characteristics. In addition, remember that the rakings are relative and you hav eto make necessary and disticntions. Make sure these distinctions are clear when developing rubrincs so that this is transparent to teachers.

The next element is to be careful about allowing movement. Because this system allows for negative changes in a teacher's ranking, it is extremely difficult to do this unless you have cler criteria. Even if your criteria is clearly outlined, it's always diffciult to have the conversation with a teacher, especially if it is a good teacher. A good idea is to develop criteria that are not purely associated with one year's performance. Make sure the rubrics allow for gradual movement of teachers in line with trends in the strategic value of the teacher.

The final element is to monitor teacher distribution. Each year leaders must make sure that they are developing appropriate distinctions between teachers. These distinctions should result in something close to a normal bell curve. If a school leader sees that a normal distribution is not being maintained, then the leader must ask why. Has the movement been intentional? Are the criteria not clear? Has the leader allowed "grade inflation" into the evaluations? If evaluations are OK, then does the school really require that 80% of teachers are essential to the strategic plan. Even if you have 100% great teachers, it's unlikely that 100% demonstrate all of the strategically necessary characteristics and values of the school. The system must be set up so that the strategic plan directs the results of the compensation analysis.

Strategic Teacher Compensation: What role does evaluation play?

Teacher evaluation is a fiction in the traditional teacher compensation system. Report after report shows that majority of teachers score proficient or excellent. Only extremely small percentages are rated unsatisfactory. Aside from the logical and intellectual errors evident in the system that treats teachers as children from Lake Wobegon, traditional evaluation is categorically unnecessary to determining rates of compensation. Since the system uses the accurately measurable factors of years of experience and amount of education, there is no need to rate a teacher's effectiveness or the contribution to the overall school strategic vision.

Strategic Teacher Compensation depends heavily on both program evaluation and individual professional evaluation. Because teacher value is aligned directly with explicit strateigic priorities, its evaluations of teacher contributions must be based around fulfillment of the startegy. Consequently, while standardized tests and other traditional academic instruments may be helpful, they are far from sufficient. Universal, summative assessments are not designed to measure a teacher's faithful implementation of a strategic plan. In fact, it is entirely conceivable that a teacher might reject and undermine a strategic plan in order to "teach to the test."

Test scores are an easily available objective measure. They have been the basis for many merit pay systems. However, there are many problems with the use of test scores in determining pay. Some subjects do not have traditional test data. A cohort of students can have a bad year. some schools have greater student mobility than others.

Given the low utility of any single standardized test, Strategic Teacher Compensation relies on a system of self, peer, student, and supervisor observation and evaluation. However, instead of looking for specific score levels or school-wide performance improvements, the evaluation process for Strategic Teacher Compensation is designed to answer a single question: "How well is this teacher representing and executing the strategic priorities of the school?"

The overemphasis on single test scores is wrong. There are situations where measuring and improving test scores may be a strategic priority for a school. In fact, in a very low performing school, it may be appropriate to have test scores as one measure of teacher success. Even in those cases, we recommend that a teacher be evaluated on that a teacher be evaluated on test scores over tme--based on student growth, not necessarily on absolute test scores.

What are the five biggest events in the charter school world over the past few months?

Wow, a lot has been happening. I can't even think of the most important events. Here is the beginning of my list. Can you help me fill it out?

1. Georgia striking down its state charter school authorizer law.
2. Tennessee lifting its cap on charter schools.
3. North Carolina lifting its cap on charter schools.
4. Maine passing a charter school law.

I thought I might be able to get to ten if I really tried, but after those four it's tough to prioritize.

Feel free to comment. Thanks.

How should a charter school think about a financial audit?

I posted yesterday about preparing for an audit and realized that sometimes preparing for an audit is not just the physical documentation portion. There is a huge component that is mental and emotional.

Some people tense up when talking to an auditor or even when the auditor walks into the building. I've been dealing with auditors since 1982 in various types of businesses, aerospace, software, publishing, and schools. I've found the most auditors are very nice and very helpful. They simply want the information they need to confirm the amounts on your financial statements. While they do have a requirement to do some basic fraud testing, they do not come in assuming that someone is committing fraud. (If you are committing fraud, then you probably should worry.) In other words, auditors, like everyone else, are people who are doing their jobs. They actually want their jobs to be as easy as possible. So, the easier you make it for them, the more they like it.

This doesn't mean that you have to be the auditor's best friend or that you have to talk about the show you watched last night on TV or about the football game. However, it doesn't hurt to be friendly. Imagine if you had a job in which 80% of the time you were at someone else's work location and the only people you got to talk to were other auditors.

So, if you get nervous or are afraid of an audit, remember:

1. Auditors are people too.
2. Auditors are just doing their job.
3. An audit is meant to confirm that your books are right, and to find errors for the purpose of correctness, not to be punitive.
4. The better prepared you are, the better the auditor can do his or her job.
5. Even if you aren't well prepared, an auditor can often give you great advice on how to better prepare for the following year and how to keep your books or manage supporting documents for the future.

I've found many auditors to be some of the most helpful people around. In many ways, they can be treated as consultants if you work together. I try to contact auditors that I work with during the school year with questions once in a while with difficult situations, even when I'm almost positive I know the right answer. Doing this keeps the auditor apprised of what is going on at the school. It also keeps your school in the auditor's mind as a school that is trying to do a good job.

There is no substitute for good accounting practices, but having a good attitude about the audit and a good relationship with your auditor is also a big part of making the audit go smoothly. Thinking positively and understanding that the auditor is not the boogieman (or boogiewoman) goes a long way.

Charter Schools and Financial Audits: How to prepare

I get asked a lot about audits--what they are, why we have to have them, what should I be afraid of, how to do we prepare for one. Many of the questions come from a misunderstanding of what an audit is. Some come from fears based on horror stories from friends or articles in the newspapers.

So, what is an audit and how do you prepare?

You began preparing for this year's audit over twelve months ago. You may not have known it, but you did. Ninety percent of audit preparation is what you do right during the fiscal year.

So, here are some tips.

1. Make sure you have good accounting policies and procedures in place, AND follow them all year. If your bank statements are reconciled monthly, you are about thirty percent ready for audit. If transactions are properly authorized and documented all year long, you are halfway there. If your accounting structure is set up according to your state accounting requirements you are about seventy five percent there. If you reconcile your receivables and payables at least quarterly, you are about ninety five percent there.
   
2. Get on your auditor's calendar early. Good auditors are busy. Make sure they know that you are going to be ready to be audited.
   
3. Choose an auditor that is familiar with charter schools and school law. This seems obvious, but don't choose a friend or a friend of a friend. The audit will be smooth and you will get good advice from an auditor who is familiar with charter schools.
   
4. Get the list of items required by your auditors as soon as they can give it to you. Begin preparing the items now. If at all possible give the items to your auditor electronically a week to two weeks prior to the field work. Try not to give the items to the auditor piecemeal.
5. Ensure that confirmation letters are signed and given to your auditors in advance. There is nothing like having an audit report held up because of late arriving confirmation letters.
6. Begin work on any required schedules as soon as you can. We all have shorter memories than we'd like to think. Also, you might run into unforeseen reconciling items that take more research than you'd planned.

I hope that's helpful. I'd love to hear stories from you auditors if you have them or schools if you have ideas as well. dheringcma at msn.com.

New web site wants to link schools to local resources

Local School Local Needs is an idea for a web site that is like a "Craiglist for schools," says company director Anthony Sung. The organization is looking for seed funding to get their idea off the ground.

The concept is that there are people out there who want to volunteer or who may have excess supplies or materials that schools can use, but do not always know how to find out where the needs are. They also don't have the time to call every school or non-profit in their area. The web site would allow schools to post needs, and others to post availability.

The way this could especially help charter schools is that, in general, charter schools rely more on volunteers than traditional public schools. In addition, charter schools are usually on tighter budgets as well. Donations from local businesses could be easier to find through using such a web site.

It's an interesting concept, and if it works, could save schools both time and money.

States choose only way they can to send a message to the feds

Many have been looking forward to an overhaul or elimination of NCLB. Some states are choosing actions that essentially make NCLB void or else force the federal government to act punitively. They are choosing to ignore portions of the act that they don't like.

Doing what probably needed to be done years ago, some states have given public notice that they will not honor some of the act's provisions.

Unfortunately, many are not going as far as I'd like them to, but that's the way things go. States need to get to the point where results matter and making people happy is less important.

It's time for all states and the feds to get together and overhaul NCLB or get rid of it and provide educational options for kids that give them opportunities to lead successful lives.

I guess I'm confused

While I applaud the efforts of those studying summer programs, I have to admit that I'm confused as to why all of this money is being spent. Don't we have enough information about the value of summer programs and the amount of learning that is lost over the summer to make some changes to education?

I've written about my advocacy of a twelve month school year. I don't know that we need to spend more money to have a summer program. It seems that the real answer is probably the same number of school days, but with periodic breaks during the year and a shorter summer break.

So far, no one that I've talked to in the charter world or district world has been able to tell me what would be wrong with a twelve month school year. Would teachers complain? They would still get the same time off. Would parents complain? Students would complain, but let's face it, students don't do much in the summer anyway, especially if their parents work.

If we know that kids take a big step backward during the summer, then why have it?

Believe me, I'm all in favor of summer academic programs, but why don't we just call it school, and not a special program?

LIFO: it's not just for accountants

Learning Matters has an interesting look at the idea of LIFO, normally an accounting term, applied to teacher termination. I've written about the illogical practice of terminating teachers based purely on seniority.

Learning Matters examines the practice. Check it out.

Americans have overwhelmingly said that they do not agree with the practice.

It also often leads to laying off the brightest teaching prospects.

Does independence apply to education?

It's a few days before July 4th, Independence Day. I've been thinking about what independence means. Of course, the main purpose of this holiday is to celebrate the colonies' independence from England. The events that we celebrate meant that this set of colonies, settled largely by English citizens would now be independent (assuming they could survive on their own). It was a bold move. It required risk, thinking beyond the status quo, and courage.

All of these qualities describe the leaders and founders of good charter schools. But still many doubt. Many don't want charter schools even when they are successful. They don't want other people to be independent. They don't want independent thinking. They don't want changes to the status quo.

It is strange to me that in a nation (a federation of states) that was built on independent thinking and risk taking, some have decided that others must only follow the lead when it comes to education. Max Weber talked long ago about the dangers of bureaucracy and the natural tendency toward bureaucracy. It seems that independence is being sacrificed on the alter of the bureaucrat. Our education system can only be vibrant when there is reason to change. Otherwise, the status quo may lead to revolution.

Denver approves, New Jersey may take away

In an interesting contrast, Denver Public Schools approved six new charter schools and is considering a single registration form that would allow parents to enter their children in the regular DPS schools, magnet schools or charter schools while a New Jersey bill, apparently aimed at eliminating new charter schools, would put charter school applications up to a vote.

It's clear that many around the country are still torn about charter schools. Where will we go next?