Driving education reform

Ben Jackson had been heading toward a career in business until he signed up for a summer teaching stint after his freshman year at the University of Colorado. He was hooked after just a few weeks.

After graduating from CU, Jackson landed a teaching job at Denver’s Bruce Randolph School, which had struggled to serve mostly minority students from poor households. Jackson found himself automatically enrolled in an innovative program that links teacher pay to student performance. Known as ProComp for short, the Professional Compensation Plan for Teachers aims to reward teachers for going to work in the toughest schools. It also rewards them for demonstrating newly acquired skills and knowledge, as well as boosting student performance.

The catalyst for the alternative pay plan was Rose Community Foundation. After kicking in $90,000 for the planning phase, Rose invested $1 million in what was seen as a risky collaboration between the teachers union and the school district. By the time Denver voters approved a $25 million tax increase to fund the program, Rose had contributed $4 million to get ProComp off the ground. The Daniels Fund added $1 million, while other philanthropic groups spent a total of $2.5 million.

Now in his third year teaching Language Arts¸ Jackson says the program has made a “significant difference” in the performance of his students. Early results show teachers enrolled in ProComp have more success in sparking student achievement than teachers paid under the traditional salary system. Plus, the culture of teaching is becoming more of a team effort with goals set together by teachers, principals, parents and students.

Until now, “there had been little or no formalized incentive for teachers to pay close attention to student progress,” Jackson said.