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Merit pay for teachers is a controversial policy that is part of the Obama administrations education agenda.
Fifth-grade teacher Louineze Mertil did not know why she was called to Miami Beach Senior High School on Oct. 3.
She soon found out: to pick up a $4,000 check for her students work at Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary.
Mertil was among 120 top-ranked teachers who received big checks some large enough to buy a new car in a surprise ceremony, wrapping up the Miami-Dade school districts first step into performance pay.
I am extremely grateful and extremely excited. I just truly believe that my work is not in vain, Mertil said.
Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho presented oversize checks, ranging from $4,000 to $25,000, to groups of teachers. A red carpet was rolled outside the auditorium and a student sounded out drum rolls. Each teacher received white carnations as they were called to the stage in groups.
Today serves as a celebration of you, Carvalho said. It serves as a celebration of the most important building blocks of democracy in our country.
Merit pay for teachers is a controversial policy that is part of the Obama administrations education agenda. Teachers unions generally have opposed the idea of merit pay amid concerns over how to determine who receives the extra bonuses.
Miami-Dade is the first district in Florida to use money from the federal Race to the Top grant to finance a performance pay program for educators. That has given Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nations fourth-largest school district, an early start on what will become a state requirement in 2014. By then, state law dictates that all Florida districts tie student scores to teacher evaluations and pay.
For the 2010-11 school year, Miami-Dade district officials negotiated a tiered system with the teachers union. Under the system, about 85 percent of teachers received some money. They could qualify based on school-wide performance, team performance, and the work of their individual students.
The fourth and top category recognized the top 10 math and reading teachers in six regions, including a separate region for the districts most struggling schools. Those teachers showed the highest, consistent student gains over three years. The extra pay for those teachers ranged from $4,000 to $25,000.
In September, thousands of teachers received money from the other three categories in their paycheck. Those extra payments ranged from just over $500 to about $1,500.
Carvalho told the top-ranked group that he learned excellence comes packaged in many different ways. Among the group were teachers with four years or less of experience and veterans with 44 years in the classroom.
Like Mertil, many teachers did not know why they had been called to the meeting on Oct. 3. Giggles, screams, and clapping filled the auditorium when they found out they would be leaving with a special check.
In some ways, the ceremony served to not only reward the top-ranked teachers, but also to honor the profession. Karen Aronowitz, president of the United Teachers of Dade, called the ceremony akin to being present at the awarding of a Nobel Prize.
She noted that while the program is financed by federal dollars, the Florida Legislature bears the responsibility of funding education. One cannot base a career on the hopes of winning such a prize, Aronowitz said.
Some teachers were overcome with emotion. Others were in shock.
This is great, said Shirley Gordon, a veteran math teacher who taught last year at Miami Edison Middle School. This is like recognition of the sacrifice that we make, and there are many others out there who are deserving. Im just grateful that we were recognized.
Whether Miami Dades foray into merit pay will result in higher student achievement is unclear. A three-year study [2] of the Nashville, Tenn., school systems use of merit pay revealed no increase in student test scores.
Carvalho, a 2011 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Award [3] winner from eSchool News, chaired the governors group that developed the framework and application for Floridas successful bid for Race to the Top funds. Florida is receiving more than $700 million from the program.
The hardest part is if you are going to recognize 10 people, you know that the difference between the 10th and 11th probably isnt that great, he said of merit pay.
Copyright (c) 2011, The Miami Herald, with additional reporting from eSchool Media. Visit The Miami Herald online at www.miamiherald.com [4]. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
