Last month, bus driver and sixth-grade special education teacher Chris Nichols received a bonus for helping his school improve alphabet performance. The $1,320 stipend comes from the "School Recognition Program", which provides financial incentives for teachers and staff.
For Nichols, who teaches in the Itawamba County School District, this extra cash has also caused enthusiasm. He said that although he was happy to receive the funds, his assistant teachers and assistants were not eligible for the funds, even though they "worked as hard as the teachers." The guidelines of the program only allow “certified personnel” to receive rewards.
Nichols said: "Compared with our teachers, these people have lower salaries, they only earn more than $1,000 a month, and they work 40 hours a week." "So, seeing those test results (rising ), I think these workers should get credit when they get money. It goes beyond what (students) get from teachers in the classroom."
Nichols’ concerns echoed criticism from school officials, teachers, education advocates and legislators of the controversial plan, which provides financial rewards for educators in school districts with A-levels or academic qualifications that increase year by year. The fairness of the plan is also exacerbated by new complications caused by the coronavirus: Is it fair to award districts based on the latest letter grade?
When the school closed in March 2020, the Mississippi Board of Education cancelled the state exam. This means that no test result can be used as the responsibility level for the year. The state legislature allows school districts to retain the previous year's (2018-19) score, which poses problems for lawmakers as they decide how to deal with the "School Recognition Program" without a new accountability score.
This will not change soon. This month, the state legislature voted to allow schools and school districts to suspend the assignment of alphabetic grades in 2020-21 to measure the performance of schools and school districts.
Although the 2021 legislative session is currently underway, legislators are not sure whether they will make any changes or continue to fund performance plans.
R-Leakesville's Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar said that the "legislation" bill was introduced when legislators chose to make any changes to the law, especially based on the report of the PEER committee. He said the bill can be used to develop a plan to reward outstanding teachers in poor areas, although he did not provide any details. He seems to know the language of a plan legally.
When asked whether the legislature will decide not to fund the program based on the new accountability data, he said: "Everything is on the table."
House Education Chairman Richard Bennett said that he and the committee are studying PEER’s recommendations and they are trying to figure out how to deal with accountability and COVID-19 issues. He said that he knew there were problems with the fairness of accountability.
"We are working hard with the governor's office to try to come up with a solution this year. We don't want it to disappear, but because we don't have accountability – we are trying to figure out what to do," said Bennett, a Republican from Long Beach. "We want to do something, of course we have to save the program. If we have money, we might give everyone a bonus. We don't know yet."
Bennett said: "I don't want to discuss too many controversial things, because it is unfair not to give everyone the opportunity to discuss these issues." "This year, we will do the least in terms of legislation so that we can get rid of Dilemma."
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This year, two other Republican congressmen introduced separate bills calling for amendments to the procedure.
A spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Education said the department will follow the instructions of the legislature.
In addition to the level of responsibility, educators and advocates have other issues in the plan.
Erica Jones, president of the Mississippi State Education Workers Association, said she was not a "loyal supporter" of the plan and believed it was flawed. She said it would not help to retain the teacher. She recommends using the funds set aside for the program instead of “raising” educators to help attract and retain teachers.
Jones said: "Some of our educators will never receive (stipends) based on majors and regions." "Before using COVID, we faced a shortage of teachers. Now with COVID, we need to find education jobs in the state. It’s even more difficult."
In July 2020, "Mississippi Today" published a story outlining the problems of performance pay programs. Many teachers in Mississippi today say they are grateful for the money, but critics say it causes confusion and, in some cases, actually lowers the morale of educators.
The plan’s intention to motivate teachers based on accountability raises questions, including how the money is distributed at the district level and who is eligible to receive the funds. Last year, the Mississippi State Department of Education began to require schools to distribute the money equally, although the analysis of "Mississippi Today" found that not all schools are doing this.
It is not uncommon for qualified employees to donate some money to colleagues who have not received anything. Wanda Quon, the principal of Hickory Park Elementary School, an A-level school in Jackson Public School District, said the teacher did this in her school.
"It's something they did by themselves. They decided together, "Hey, we're not just one person," Quon said, referring to certified employees who shared the money they received with teachers and assistants because " A large part of our school is not eligible for funding
Other teachers said that students are doing this work, so they should also be rewarded. Since there is no legal regulation on how teachers should use the money once they receive the money, Laura Holifield, an American history teacher at North Forrest Middle School and some colleagues took away their due salary and set up scholarships for senior students. To help them pay for college expenses.
She said: "If it's not for the children, then we won't get (money) at all."
In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way teachers provide education to students, making it difficult to measure and reward teachers’ student performance. Nichols, a teacher and bus driver in Itawamba County, said some teachers are still trying to reach and teach children. He said this makes it more difficult to measure accountability and determine how much money the school should get from the program.
Nichols said: “You still have teachers working, and you have to spend many hours at work, trying to get guidance there in any way possible.” “Teachers do make a difference in trying to influence their children. They do. There is no need for the letter ratings above the head. The teachers are more worried about what I should do to really help my children."
Harrison Michael, the principal of Callaway High School, said that certified personnel are needed to "coordinate the improvement of the school." It needs to build trust and relationships between the "four walls inside and outside" of the community, parents and school staff. His school was raised from D to C level.
So, how do you choose teachers who should or should not be rewarded?
Cathryn Warren, an elementary school teacher in the Lamar County School District, said this is challenging because there are many factors in meeting standards such as student numbers and resources.
"In many high-risk tests, a lot of time is not necessarily the content of the test. She said: "This is related to the student's test ability, which is even more frustrating. "I know great, outstanding teachers. (For) those areas with lower incomes, or (if) the population is completely different... I don't think you should be disqualified because of their efforts."
School administrators and teachers said that this was because no one was included and no “specific guidance” was provided. Sharolyn Miller, head of finance at Jackson Public Schools, said that when the school allocates funds based on its own judgment, it becomes troublesome. She said, for example, some schools may include nurses among qualified personnel, while another school does not.
"We just need to be sure to know what a certified person is? There are many people who have a license. They will call me and say, "I have to get a work permit... Does this mean I am a licensee?" ", Miller said. "I think MDE has heard the voice of the faculty and school districts that define it, but the law needs to be revised to reflect this. "
-Credit to Aallyah Wright's article
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