Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck announced that all 346 Iowa school districts applied for planning grants to support the local development of teacher leadership and compensation systems.
This effort to better utilize the expertise of top teachers to improve classroom instruction and raise student achievement is the centerpiece of the landmark education reform package passed by the 2013 Legislature. Teacher leaders will take on extra responsibilities, such as coaching, co-teaching and helping colleagues analyze student data and fine-tune instructional strategies.
The legislation creates a four-year process to develop a statewide teacher leadership and compensation system, with the goal of all school districts participating by the 2016-17 school year.
The 2013-14 school year represents an important planning stage. Iowa lawmakers set aside $3.5 million for planning grants made available to all public school districts. The purpose is to provide the resources necessary to facilitate a local planning process that includes school administrators, teachers and parents. Each district requesting a planning grant will receive $5,000 plus $3.71 per student. Technical assistance will be provided by the Iowa Department of Education and Area Education Agencies. Accepting a planning grant does not commit a school district to adopting a teacher leadership and compensation system.
Under the next step in the process, school district leaders who want to launch a teacher leadership and compensation system in the 2014-15 school year must submit their proposals to the Iowa Department of Education by Jan. 31. In March, the Department will notify the first group of school districts whose plans are selected.
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