Obama voices support for teacher performance pay, spotlights SC

WASHINGTON, DC - President Barack Obama today renewed his support for a merit-based system of paying educators and praised the work being done in this area by South Carolina.

In his first major speech after taking office seven weeks ago, Obama, in an address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, presented his agenda for improving America’s schools and called on a new generation of Americans to step forward and serve in classrooms across the country.
In challenging prospective teachers to make a difference in the life of the nation, the President promised his administration would do its part to support them.

“That’s why we’re taking steps to prepare teachers for their difficult responsibilities, and encourage them to stay in the profession,” Obama said. “It’s why we’re building on the promising work being done in places like South Carolina’s Teacher Advancement Program.”

“It’s time to expect more from our students,” the president said. “It’s time to start rewarding good teachers, stop making excuses for bad ones. It’s time to prepare every child, everywhere in
America, to out-compete any worker anywhere in the world. It’s time to give all Americans a complete and comprehensive education form the cradle up through a career. America’s entire education system must once more be the envy of the world - and that’s exactly what we intend
to do.”

South Carolina has been widely recognized for its involvement in the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), a national initiative created by the Milken Family Foundation in 1999 to draw more talented people into education. Last year the state was featured in a Time magazine cover story on attracting and retaining high-quality public school teachers.
TAP was called “an impressive model” for giving teachers an opportunity to earn higher salaries and advance their professional skills.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, a strong proponent of performance pay for educators, said the TAP program highlights South Carolina’s efforts to elevate the teaching profession and create a team approach at the school level. He said TAP should be a key component of a larger, comprehensive system of teacher pay.

“We need a comprehensive restructuring plan for teacher pay,” Rex said. “That plan might include salaries at the national average, financial incentives for improved classroom performance, incentives for teaching in schools that are struggling due to high poverty levels or low academic achievement, and National Board certification stipends.”


Rex said that TAP has expanded from 18 South Carolina schools to 43.
“It provides teachers with the tools they need for success and rewards those who improve student achievement the most,” he said.

Teachers and principals in TAP schools are eligible to earn incentive pay that can range from $2,000 to $10,000 per year, based on factors including individual and schoolwide student achievement, plus classroom observations made four to six times during the year. Teachers can earn monetary rewards for remaining in the classroom while taking on additional responsibilities and leadership roles, such as master and mentor teachers.

President Obama’s address today was a first step in laying out his agenda to improve America’s schools. White House officials said that more specifics would be outlined to Congress in the coming weeks.