Delaware teachers get paid to take on more

Nineteen Delaware teachers were chosen to take part in a statewide pilot program designed to reward teachers taking on extra responsibilities.

Launching this school year, the program is part of Gov. Jack Markell’s teacher compensation reform initiative. He discussed the coming year with the teacher leaders at Appoquinimink High School in Middletown on Thursday morning.

Markell said creating a compensation system makes Delaware’s teacher salaries not only more competitive with neighboring states, but it also rewards teachers for helping their peers to best support students.

“Through this pilot, teacher leaders are provided a career pathway that both rewards educators for excellence and provides opportunities in formal leadership positions,” said Markell, this morning. 

Funding for the pilot was included in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget and approved by the General Assembly at the end of the session on June 30.

Five teacher leader roles are set to launch this year and will help other teachers in theses areas of instruction:

Instructional practice leads will improve the instructional practice of fellow educators using a variety of high-impact support strategies focused on frequent, targeted feedback in educators’ development areas.
Digital content leads will help educators build their instructional technology knowledge so more students have access to technology that helps improve their academic outcomes.
Instructional strategy leads will introduce new instructional strategies into schools to help educators meet their learning needs and help schools meet their academic goals.
Community partnership leads will help students gain access to services designed to improve their physical and mental health, giving them a greater chance at academic success.
Instructional culture leads will help schools build a philosophy around culture, discipline and culturally responsive teaching.

“Through these roles, teacher leaders will use their skills to support schools where they need it most: helping other educators develop their practices and better prepare Delaware’s students for college and careers — all while allowing teacher leaders to maintain a foot in the classroom and earn additional compensation without needing to take on administrative roles,” Markell said.

“Being a novice teacher can be overwhelming at first, especially when it comes to lesson planning and classroom management. That’s why we want to use this new position to target support for our novice teachers in these areas,” said Kirsten Belair, who will work as an instructional practice lead at Odyssey Charter School.

Schools across Delaware were invited to participate in the teacher leader pilot. A 9-member committee made up of teachers, administrators and outside partners selected eight schools; those schools then created selection committees who later picked the 19 teacher leaders. 

The program is among the first of its kind in the nation to take place at the state level.

Here are the 19 teacher leads selected for the 2016-17 school year: 

Amanda Alexander, instructional culture, Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Colleen Barrett, digital content, Middletown High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Chelsea Baxter, instructional culture, Kuumba Academy (Charter)
Kirsten Belair, instructional practice, Odyssey Charter School (Charter)
Lindsay Bouvy, instructional practice, Appoquinimink High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Michelle Duke, instructional practice, Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Carrie Howe, community partnerships, MOT Charter School (Charter)
Melanie Fauvelle, digital content, Appoquinimink High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Michele Johnson, instructional practice, Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Kris King, instructional practice, Cedar Lane Elementary (Appoquinimink School District)
Heather Patricco, instructional practice, Cedar Lane Elementary (Appoquinimink School District)
Heather Mann, instructional practice, East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Shana Noll, instructional practice, MOT Charter School (Charter)
Crystal Samuels, digital content, Middletown High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Katharine Sawyer, instructional practice, Middletown High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Krista Seifert, instructional culture, East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
John Tanner, instructional practice, Appoquinimink High School (Appoquinimink School District)
Kady Taylor, instructional strategy (K-8 reading), Kuumba Academy (Charter)
Tamara Walker, instructional strategy (K-8 math), Kuumba Academy (Charter)