Iowa Education choice is pioneer in pay reform

Staci Hupp:  :

Iowa blazed the trail nearly a century ago for how most teachers in the United States are paid today: by seniority and education level.

The man who becomes Iowa's top education official this month worked for the first school district in the country to toss out that tradition for a system of tying pay raises to test scores and annual evaluations.

Jason Glass, 39 - who was named Gov.-elect Terry Branstad's pick for Iowa Department of Education director this week - is an education consultant from Ohio.

But he cemented his reputation as a school reformer in Colorado, where he oversaw the Eagle County school district's performance pay system. School leaders and policymakers in many states, including Iowa, have courted performance pay but never taken the plunge. Teacher unions historically have fought the idea.

"The fear is that teachers are going to be pitted against each other," said Angie Jandrey, a Mount Pleasant kindergarten teacher.

Posted by jimz at January 12, 2011 4:34 AM
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