Jill Blackmon is finishing a bachelor’s in education at Dalton State College. She likes what she has heard so far about Gov. Sonny Perdue’s education reform plans.
“I’m on the side of the students. I think it will attract better quality teachers. I know some teachers will be upset. It’s new. It’s innovative, and people are reluctant to embrace change,” said Blackmon, who graduates in May.
Perdue has proposed plans that would base teacher pay more on how well students improve each year and less on the number of higher degrees a teacher has or the number of years he or she has taught.
“I like the idea personally because as a new teacher I would have the opportunity to earn a higher salary at an earlier stage of my career than I would if it depended on seniority or advanced degrees,” Blackmon said. “I know that I have been trained well. I know how to motivate students. I know how to get students to achieve. And because I am confident in my own abilities, I think it would be a win-win for myself and my students.”
But some other future teachers have concerns about the proposals.
Justin Payne, a sophomore education major at DSC, says there are many factors beyond a teacher’s control that affect how a child learns.
“With education, there’s so many different situations that can affect a child’s performance. Not every kid has a computer to go home to or Internet access or a wide range of books outside the classroom,” he said.
Payne said merit pay assumes that everyone starts at the same point so that any difference in outcome is based on their performance. But teachers, and their students, don’t start at the same point, he said.
“From what I’ve heard about it, it would cause a lot of resentment among teachers,” said DSC junior Felicia Banks, president of the school’s chapter of the Student Georgia Association of Educators.
Banks and Payne say they fear the pay plan would cause teachers to try to avoid schools with large numbers of students from poor economic backgrounds or other factors that may make them more difficult to teach.
“As with many things, it’s the details that will make the difference,” said state Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta.
Dickson, a member of the House Education Committee and former superintendent of Whitfield County Schools, said he hasn’t seen the details yet of Perdue’s plan but is familiar with the basic concepts it embodies.
“There is real merit to the idea, and I think teacher organizations have said for a long time they support pay for performance,” Dickson said.
He said the concern is that merit pay could lead teachers away from schools where it is more difficult to meet certain standards. But he said a merit pay plan could be devised that would address those concerns.
“The (federal) No Child Left Behind law says the standard is the child on grade level. If that’s the standard, I see real problems,” he said. “That doesn’t take into consideration where the child is when he comes into the class.”
“But if the standard is ‘Have we made a year’s worth of progress?’ or ‘Have we made substantial progress?’ then we are getting closer to what I think is a fair way to measure progress,” Dickson said. “We still have to look at all the factors.”
Dickson said he would like to see a pilot plan tried in several school systems for a few years before applying it across the state.
“All children are different and learn at a different rate, but I think the idea does have merit,” said state Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton.
Thomas, who previously served as chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Education, said he has not yet seen all the details of the governor’s plan, but he said any merit pay plan has to account for all of the things, besides the quality of teaching, that might affect a student’s performance.
“We certainly have to factor in where a student was when he went into a classroom. All those factors have to be included,” he said.
David Cochran, a parent with children at Southeast High, Eastbrook Middle and Eastside Elementary schools, said he hasn’t had a chance to look at the plan, but he says the idea of merit pay for teachers is a good one.
“Teachers, like anyone else, should be paid on performance, which in turn, you would expect to see better performance from students,” he said.
Cochran said some students may be easier to teach than others and any merit plan would have to take that into account.
Education
Local reaction mixed to teacher pay plan
- Education
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Northwest students place high, take tech to next level
Several Northwest Whitfield High School students placed high in the Sequoyah Regional Georgia Educational Technology Fair. Pictured from left are Josh Rountree, Audrey Edds, Bryan Cooper and Eli McMahon.
Several Northwest Whitfield High School students placed high in the Sequoyah Regional Georgia Educational Technology Fair.
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Dalton student on GPS May Court
Christian Bryant of Dalton has been elected to the May Court at Girls Preparatory School and will serve as crown bearer to the May Queen during the May Day festivities in April.
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Northwest Whitfield High School Sweetheart Court
Northwest Whitfield High School's Tip Off Club hosted the 2012 Sweetheart Dance at the school recently.
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Art student’s work on exhibition
Gary Sanchez Soto will represent Murray County High School in “An Artistic Discovery: The Congressional Art Competition” at the Derrell C. Roberts Library on the campus of Dalton State College.
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Professor to speak on the Oscars during 'Lunch & Learn' program
Jonathan Lampley, assistant professor of English at Dalton State, will present “The Oscars: Winners, Losers, and Weird Moments” in the College’s James E. Brown Center, room 105, on Feb. 15 from noon to 1 p.m.
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Local high schools recognized for AP classes, exams
State School Superintendent John Barge named several local high schools as Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools.
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The Perfect Polish
Cosmetology and Skills U.S.A. at North Murray High School recently sponsored a community service project in which Donna Blankenship’s students gave manicures to the residents of the Murray County Senior Center.
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MCHS accepts letterman's jacket
James “William” Butler’s family presented his letterman’s jacket to Murray County High School Principal Gina Linder during halftime of a varsity boys’ basketball game recently. The jacket, which has a “1962 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP” patch on it, will be displayed in the school’s trophy case. Presenting the jacket to Linder were Butler’s nieces, Chloe Brown and Ashley Strong; his wife, Patsy Butler; his daughter, Robin Baggett; and his grandchildren, Jaden and Janna Baggett.
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Mountain Creek Academy honors December teacher of the month
English teacher Jennifer Weninger (center) was selected by her peers as December’s Teacher of the Month at Mountain Creek Academy. Principal Paula Martin (right) and Curriculum Instructor Facilitator/Counselor Jennifer Lents presented her with the award.
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Mountain Creek Academy honors December staff of the month
Mountain Creek Academy Lisa Sanford, center, accepts a certificate from Principal Paula Martin and Counselor Jennifer Lents (left) as she is recognized with a December Staff of the Month award. Sanford has worked at Mountain Creek for 12 years.
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Med students visit Murray High
In December, students from Murray County High School and North Murray High School were invited to meet with fourth-year medical students Allen Ligon of Augusta and Heath Petty, an MCHS graduate.
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Gladden honors December student of the month
Joey Ecklebarger is the December 2011 Gladden Middle School Student of the Month. Joey is motivated and puts forth great effort in all classes. His behavior and attitude towards school, other students and teachers is also outstanding. Sean Hammond, Joey’s social studies teacher says of Joey, “He is great to have on our team.”
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Coker honors students for Week 14 good behavior
As part of Coker Elementary School’s PBIS or Positive Behavioral and Interventions Support system, students that follow the school expectations are recognized each week for their Great Behavior.
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Gladden students use Facebook in lessons
Gladden Middle School eighth-grader Shaley Stafford shows her Facebook page model on the book “Alice in Wonderland.” Eighth grade reading teacher Keith Rollins had his students choose a book from the library to do a book report on. However, this was not an ordinary book report. After the students read their book, they were to do their report by making a Facebook page about their book.
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Gladden assigns January Dreamcatcher award
Every month, one of the faculty members at Gladden Middle School is recognized for having the most clean and organized room. The award given is called the Dream Catcher Award. Seventh grade social studies teacher Jennifer Bennett was awarded the Dream Catcher Classroom of the Month for January and will hang the Dream Catcher model in her room until the next month.
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