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Can An Increase In Teacher Pay Improve Schools?
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Can an increase in teacher pay improve schools? Zeke M. Vanderhoek believe so.
Would six-figure salaries attract better teachers?
A New York City charter school set to open in 2009 in Washington Heights will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.
The Equity Project (TEP) is a brand new charter school in New York City. They opened their doors in September of 2009, and have sent shock waves through the charter school community. The 32-year-old leader of the school, Zeke M. Vanderhoek, gave himself a salary of $90,000 per year, and pays his teachers $125,000. This jaw-dropping amount is not all: teachers are also eligible for $25,000 in bonuses each year. He says he wants to put into practice the conclusion reached by a growing body of research: that teacher quality — not star principals, laptop computers or abundant electives — is the crucial ingredient for success.
With this salary comes high expectations for the educators at TEP. Teachers here are required to work longer days, attend summer long professional development, perform administrative duties (no assistant principals here), and cover one another when someone is ill. There are no substitute teachers.
This school is being closely watched. Their entire philosophy is based on the idea that a master teacher, one who truly deserves this kind of pay, will ensure student success.
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