For Immediate Release
Jan 4, 2008 9:38 AM
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein on Jan. 3 awarded additional discretionary funds to the 134 schools that received both an “A” on their Progress Report and the top score of “well developed” on their Quality Review for the 2006-07 school year. Schools can spend the “excellence rewards” of approximately $30 per student on whatever programs or other school-related expenses will best support their continued progress, Klein said. In exchange for these rewards, schools were asked to share the practices that contributed to their success with other schools throughout the city. The size of the rewards for individual schools depended on their student enrollment and ranged from $4,391 to $122,837, totaling $3.4 million in all.
While we agree that any effective school accountability system should recognize success, it must also provide the means to help struggling schools. Since the progress reports were issued this fall, the UFT has been asking: What support and resources are being directed to schools that are falling behind? Sharing best practices is a good first step, but it falls far short of providing what the schools need to succeed.
We are also disappointed that the DOE does not provide for teacher voice in the determining how to use the funds. Success is often based on collaboration, and we expect the leaders of the most successful schools will work with their staffs. Unfortunately, the Chancellor did not take steps to ensure this by following the school-wide bonus model, which requires collaboration between administrators and teachers.