Performance pay for teachers

I will have three children in Cabell County schools this fall. One will be in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary school. My children have had some wonderful teachers and some dreadful duds. Teachers should held to a standard of accountability that goes beyond not committing a felony. To me, the freshman academy system being introduced into Huntington and Cabell Midland high schools can do just that.

Here’s the thing: One of every four freshman who enters Huntington High School won't graduate, says Gerry Sawrey, Gerry Sawrey, assistant Cabell County superintendent. To combat that, the school system has created an environment to ease ninth-graders into the transition from high school to middle school. From what I understand, they are being placed in the environment they should have had in middle school.

Students will deal mainly with four-teacher teams, all of whom will teach the core classes to all students in their academic clusters. The school district will provide each freshman with a three-ring binder to bring to class. Teachers will assign seats in class. Parents will be able to make one phone call to set up an appointment to meet with the teachers of the four core classes students will take. The high schools also will have an online homework hotline.

The district will continue some programs initiated earlier that proved successful. Those include an amnesty day to make up missed work, a senior mentor program to help those who dropped out just a few credits away from graduation and a recovery school to give students a second chance to improving failing six-week grades.

It seems to me if this system works and more freshmen hang around for 10th and 11th grades and graduate after 12th grade, the system will be a success, and the teachers should be rewarded with a bonus. Make the bonus contingent on meeting certain goals.

If that introduces a new level of accountability and pay for performance, then something can be done at the higher grades so those teachers can earn bonuses, too. And the program can work down into the middle and elementary schools from there.

Why not tie pay to performance?