GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Let the transforming begin. The city has sent out letters encouraging teachers to apply for new positions that offer large annual bonuses in return for putting in more hours at struggling schools.

As part of a performance pay deal struck between the city teachers union and the Department of Education, these “master” and “turnaround” teacher positions will only be offered to exemplary teachers who want to serve as role models for their colleagues. The idea is for the teachers to help with curriculum-writing and to perform model lessons for their colleagues. But experience isn’t the main qualifier; applicants only have to have completed one year of teaching.

In exchange for the extra work — which is expected to take 30 hours each year — turnaround teachers get bonuses of 15 percent of their salaries. Master teachers work an extra 100 hours and get bonuses of 30 percent.

In order to stay in the three-year program, teachers have to maintain a “highly effective” rating each year. It’s a bit of a gamble for them: if the experiment fails and the city decides to close the struggling schools, these teachers will have no right to return to their current schools. (more…)