Superintendent Jerry Wartgow announced today a plan that will provide incentives of up to $5,000 for teachers who work in schools rated "low" or "unsatisfactory" on state accountability reports.

The plan, jointly developed by the Denver Board of Education and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, was built within guidelines established by Senate Bill 98, which became state law last year. The plan is detailed in a Memorandum of Agreement between the two organizations.

"The state recognizes and we know that it's important to attract dedicated, high-performance teachers to work with the students who need it the most," said Superintendent Wartgow. "We believe these incentives will allow schools to recruit the best teachers and hire the cream of the crop. This plan gives schools a real chance to improve achievement."

Under the plan, school Collaborative Decision-Making teams will be responsible for their own, school-specific approach to rewarding teachers. That flexibility allows the bonuses to be used in a manner that's consistent with each school's improvement plan.

Eligible teachers must hold a valid license or letter of authorization from the State of Colorado and engage in teaching the majority of the school day. They must also teach mathematics, science, special education or in the English Language Acquisition program.

Alternatively, an eligible teacher could hold a Masters Certificate from the Colorado Department of Education, regardless of subject area. (The Masters Certificate is a different credential than a Masters Degree. Achievement of National Board Certification fulfills the substantive requirement of the Certificate but application to the Colorado Department of Education is necessary to receive it.)

Superintendent Wartgow announced this plan this week as schools begin the process of identifying any vacancies that may exist as teachers retire, change schools, or opt out of their job for any personal or professional reasons.

Schools will be able to add the potential bonus money to the job posting. The school, for instance, might designate in the posting that the priority for any vacant position will be a teacher with a Masters Certificate and assign a bonus to that opening. The bonuses will be paid no later than August 15, 2002.

A school may also pay a retention bonus to teachers who work in the same "shortage areas" and to teachers in the school who hold a Master Certificate. Acceptance of these bonuses - which will be paid in June 2002 - requires a provision that the teacher remains at the school for at least the subsequent school year.

The agreement also allows for the possibility that if there are no eligible teachers for recruitment or retention, that the school may offer the bonus to a teacher who agrees to obtain the necessary training to meet the qualifications for the bonus.

"As the school district that has the most progress to make on the state accountability reports, we appreciate Governor Owens' and the state legislature recognizing the fact that putting talented teachers together with the most needy students is critical," said Superintendent Wartgow. "We are also grateful to the open-minded approach taken by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association in developing this plan - we did not want to miss this opportunity to reward our teachers. We appreciate the state's intentions and believe that this will help the schools that need it the most."