Reform With Rewards

The District proposes a bold new way to pay teachers.

DISTRICT SCHOOL officials are drafting a bold plan to revolutionize how teachers are paid. So exciting is the proposal that Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has persuaded outside foundations to pony up millions of dollars to underwrite the plan as a national test case. D.C. teachers could become among the highest-paid in the country, but, predictably, opposition is being fomented by those fearful of any change. They should not squander a unique opportunity for teachers and the students they serve.

Months of negotiations with the Washington Teachers' Union have resulted in the broad outlines of a plan that would provide for two pay scales. Teachers in both categories would get raises, but only those willing to forgo tenure and the salary steps of seniority would be in line for thousands of dollars in bonuses and special awards. Compensation for teachers in this new tier would be linked to their effectiveness in the classroom, as measured by student achievement. Teachers could almost double their salaries, in some cases earning up to $131,000. Imagine the kind of talent the hard-pressed system could attract. Instead of facing the loss of promising teachers to better-paying jobs in the suburbs, the city would be able to fashion an exciting new workforce in which positive results -- and the teachers who bring them about -- are rewarded. No teacher with tenure would be forced to give up seniority-based benefits; the new salary structure would be voluntary, save for those new to the system. Indeed, we wonder whether the proposal is overly generous, in that ineffective teachers, no matter their seniority, should not be tolerated, much less rewarded with raises.

The real winners would be the students. Not only would there be a powerful incentive to make a difference in the classroom, there would be new flexibility in how teachers are assigned. No longer would seniority be the sole determinant of which school gets which teacher; there would have to be mutual agreement between teachers and principals.

The future of this groundbreaking proposal is uncertain. Local union officials who are receptive to the idea have had to contend with not-so-subtle pressure from national unions worried about an assault on seniority, as well as a backlash from colleagues who are not so reform-minded. Rules prevent Ms. Rhee from directly addressing the teachers regarding the contract, and that's too bad, because she is eloquent when she talks about her feelings toward teachers. She knows the demands of a D.C. classroom and how teachers have been denied support, resources and constancy. As she asks more of them, she wants to give more back. That core belief helped her persuade outside foundations -- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is said to be one of them -- to provide millions of dollars over the next five years to fund the reforms. Make no mistake, though: That outside money won't be available to perpetuate a status quo that for years has proved unequal to the challenge of urban education.