Teachers in Charter Schools Chicago

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Mitchell Gordon
8 years ago
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1 Teachers in Charter Schools Chicago Charter Schools 1

2 Qualifications for charter school teachers in Illinois Charter school teachers either should be certified or possess the following qualifications: a bachelor s degree employment for at least five years in a relevant field passing a required basic skills test and subject area test demonstrating continuing evidence of professional growth. Illinois Network of Charter Schools ( Charter Schools 2

years in a relevant field passing a required basic skills test and subject area test demonstrating

3 In Chicago only: 75% of all teachers in a charter school must be state certified. A charter school has 3 years from the date it opens to meet that requirement. Current district teachers can take a leave of absence of up to five years to teach at a charter school, and their service status and 3 retirement benefits will not be affected. Charter Schools

Current district teachers can take a leave of absence of up to five years to teach at a

4 Teacher Salaries and Pensions Charter-school educators typically make less than their counterparts in Chicago. The average Chicago public school teacher salary is $74,839. The average Chicago charter teacher salary is $51,000. All charter teachers are automatically enrolled in the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF). CPS data from the Chicago Public Schools website. (This is based on 2009 data.) Charter data from Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools Charter Schools 4

All charter teachers are automatically enrolled in the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF).

5 Teacher Evaluation and Bonuses in Charter Schools Charter schools rely heavily independent employee compensation rates and/or bonuses. These may be up to 25% at Noble. May be tailored to student achievement benchmarks. In , 21 of 56 charter schools indicated that they had distributed performance bonuses. Often the Principal has this authority. They create individual, grade-level, and school-wide goals and invest all staff members in achieving them through their ability to motivate and differentiate bonuses for staff. Charter Schools 5

In 2012-2013, 21 of 56 charter schools indicated that they had distributed performance bonuses. Often the Principal has this authority.

6 Teachers Unions: Unlike traditional public schools, the vast majority of charter schools are not unionized. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, just 12 percent of the country s charter schools were unionized during the school year, the latest data. Charter school labor contracts often are on a school-by-school basis, not for all schools within a single charter network. Charter Schools 6

schools were unionized during the 2009-2010 school year, the latest data.

7 Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS), under Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has negotiated contracts for about 300 teachers and staff at 11 of the city s 126 charter schools. The March 2014 UNO contract more than doubles those numbers. Everybody is going to be looking at the UNO contract as a model, said Chicago ACTS President Brian Harris, who added that some of the key wins at other schools have included improved health care plans for families and employer contributions to teachers pension plans. Charter Schools 7

The March 2014 UNO contract more than doubles those numbers.

8 "Many existing labor contracts at Chicago charter schools include no-strike agreements and tie teacher pay to student performance, although Harris says he now discourages members from agreeing to the merit pay clauses. One of the things our union has moved away from is merit pay agreements, Harris says. They ve been a complete disaster so far. Everybody hates them. Charter Schools 8

One of the things our union has moved away from is merit pay agreements, Harris says.

9 Teacher Turnover: A Revolving Door Charter schools replaced an average of more than half of their teachers between 2008 and This turnover rate is on par with some of the most troubled district-run schools. Experts say that high teacher turnover is associated with a school in turmoil and that instability often hampers student performance. Charter Schools 9

Experts say that high teacher turnover is associated with a school in turmoil and that instability often

10 Teach for America: Distribution of TFA teachers in Chicago (AUSL) Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) Charter Schools 10

11 313 first- and second-year corps members 59 percent of all TFA teachers in the district work in charter schools. Among TFA alumni, 50 to 60 percent are in charters 450 teachers. TFA also has 58 alumni who are principals in Chicago, eight of whom work for the Noble Network of Charter Schools. For the Record: Teach for America placement from Catalyst Chicago Charter Schools 11

TFA also has 58 alumni who are principals in Chicago, eight of whom work for the Noble Network

12 For the school CPS contracted with TFA for 325 provisionally-certified teacher interns for employment. CPS also contracted for a maximum of 2nd year TFA teachers not to exceed 245 teachers. Chicago Board of Education Board Report PR46 Charter Schools 12

CPS also contracted for a maximum of 2nd year TFA teachers not to

Enrolled Copy H.B. 203

Enrolled Copy H.B. 203 1 TEACHER SALARY SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS 2 2015 GENERAL SESSION 3 STATE OF UTAH 4 Chief Sponsor: Bradley G. Last 5 Senate Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson 6 7 LONG TITLE 8 General