Merit Pay for Teachers

Re “Good Teachers, Better Pay,” editorial, April 9: I applaud the LAUSD’s efforts in developing a pay system that would better compensate teachers, professionalize teaching and support standards-based reform. The existing pay plan based on seniority and college units fails to compensate teachers adequately and has no correlation to classroom teaching practice.

At Vaughn, a teacher compensation policy that rewards teachers for demonstrating knowledge and skills as well as for improving student achievement brought positive results. Teachers know more subject matter content and they apply effective teaching practice to help students learn advanced skills. Merit-performance pay is one of the most powerful tools in holding us accountable for our students, for ourselves and for each other as professionals.

YVONNE CHAN, Principal

Vaughn Next Century Learning

Center, San Fernando

*

I know of so many teachers who spend countless hours at my daughter’s school, getting ready for classes. Weeknights and Saturdays, I see them there. My children score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests. The teachers do a great job. They do a Mercedes job of teaching our children. Yet they are paid a McDonald’s salary. The starting pay of a teacher is less than many occupations with less schooling required.

This talk of pay for performance or merit pay is nonsense. Our teachers are already out-performing and out-sacrificing all other professions. They spend thousands of dollars of their own money to keep our classrooms up to date. They spend countless hours working outside regular school hours. Before we talk of merit pay, let’s pay our teachers fairly, first of all.

CHRISTOPHER KAKIMI

Hacienda Heights