Professional Compensation

Denver Public Schools Professional Compensation System for Teachers
The most promising professional compensation initiative to date is emerging in Denver under the leadership of union activist Brad Jupp. After a successful four-year pilot program, Denver teachers are rallying around the proposed "ProComp" plan, a comprehensive approach that recognizes the complex variables associated with teacher effectiveness.

If a funding referendum is passed in fall 2005, ProComp will be phased in, making it possible for teachers to earn significant salary increases for:

• developing new and relevant knowledge and skills,
• earning higher ratings on a much-improved teacher evaluation system,
• teaching in hard-to-staff schools and subjects, and
• improving student achievement.[1]

In particular, teachers will set two performance objectives around student growth and receive bonuses based on achieving those objectives. Read more about the Denver ProComp plan.

[1] The Denver plan will not use a traditional value-added model because of the limitations of the methodology and the need for teachers to understand clearly how student gains would be attributed to them.