Professional Compensation System for Teachers
Overview:
ProComp is a nine year bargained agreement between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools that is designed to link teacher compensation more directly with the mission and goals of DPS and DCTA.
The system accomplishes the following goals:
- Rewards and recognizes teachers for meeting and exceeding expectations
- Links compensation more closely with instructional outcomes for students
- Enables the district to attract and retain the most qualified and effective teachers by offering uncapped annual earnings in a fair system
ProComp has four components that allow teachers to build earnings through nine elements:
Knowledge and Skills – Teachers will earn compensation for acquiring and demonstrating knowledge and skills by completing annual professional development units, through earning additional graduate degrees and national certificates and may be reimbursed up to $1,000 for tuition.
Professional Evaluation – Teachers will be recognized for their classroom skill by receiving salary increases every three years for satisfactory evaluations.
Student Growth – Teachers will be rewarded for the academic growth of their students. They can earn compensation for meeting annual objectives, for exceeding CSAP growth goals and for working in a school judged distinguished based on academic gains and other factors.
Market Incentives – Bonuses can assist the district and schools in meeting specific needs. Teachers in hard to serve schools—those faced with academic challenges—can earn annual bonuses. Bonuses will be available to those filling hard to staff positions—assignments which historically have shortages of qualified applicants.
Design:
ProComp was designed by the DPS-DCTA Joint Task Force on Teacher Compensation. The task force included five teachers, five administrators and two citizens appointed by DCTA and DPS. The compensation plan grew out of the Pay for Performance Pilot, a four year project in 16 Denver schools from 1999-2003 that measured teacher objective setting and student growth. Among the findings from the pilot was that teachers who set the highest objectives could have a positive influence on student achievement. (Catalyst for Change, CTAC, January 2004)
Voting Process:
The ProComp Agreement was approved by the Denver Board of Education Feb. 19, 2004, by DCTA members March 19 and by the Denver voters on November 1,2005. That mill levy election raised $25 million annually to help finance the system.