Denver teachers opt for merit pay

Nearly 500 have chosen to embrace historic program

Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Nearly 500 down, another 4,000 or so to go.

Teachers in Denver Public Schools are steadily streaming into district headquarters this week to enroll in a new merit pay plan viewed as revolutionary by supporters nationwide.

Brad Jupp, who helped create the pay plan known as ProComp, shorthand for the Professional Compensation System for Teachers, said the Dec. 16 closing of schools for the winter break prompted a surge in teacher interest.

"We've had 50 people or more per day since the break," said the former teacher activist turned administrator who met Wednesday with eight interested teachers.

Two signed on during the interviews, Jupp said, bringing the total number of enrollees to at least 494 by day's end.

A statistics count, including Wednesday, won't be available until 8 a.m. today as other ProComp workers enter their figures.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, 492 DPS employees had joined ProComp out of a total of 745 interviewed.

That's an acceptance rate of about 66 percent.

The first ProComp enrollment window closes Dec. 31, and Jupp said interviews will continue through then.

Most of those joining ProComp are elementary teachers, who compose the largest single segment of Denver's teacher work force, variously estimated as 4,100 to 4,500 strong.

But Wednesday's stats also show that 139 middle and high school teachers, 12 school counselors and 17 social workers have joined.

"If it works for them, great, but we're not putting any pressure on people to opt in," said Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, which worked to help pass a $25 million tax hike in November to fund the plan. "It's a personal decision that people have to make."

Ursetta and others predict many teachers will wait a year or two to ensure that the pay plan is working as promised. That's partly because ProComp is so complex.

The plan essentially cobbles together nine components that teachers can select to build their paychecks. Agree to work in a challenging school? Add $999 to your annual salary. Earn a master's degree? Add $2,997 more. Meet your annual goals for student achievement? Get another $333 for each objective met.

Advocates for reforming teacher pay elsewhere are closely watching the Denver plan to see how teachers respond.

For some teachers, though, their particular combination of experience and education means they'll earn more if they stick to the existing salary schedule. Current teachers have seven years to join.

Of the eight teachers Jupp saw Wednesday, two joined, four wanted more time and two are "definite no's - they weren't ready to take the risk they perceived ProComp to be," he said.