The co-chairs of the Governor’s Task Force subcommittee charged with developing proposals on Tiered Certification and Career Ladders presented their findings to the Senate Education Committee this afternoon. Co-chair Dr. Linda Clark, Superintendent of the West Ada School District, unveiled what she called “the secret sauce” for improving both teacher compensation and accountability for student outcomes. Dr. Clark and co-chair Rod Lewis, a longtime member of the State Board of Education, will make the same presentation to the House Education Committee Friday morning.
The presentation featured boiled-down versions of the Tiered Certification rule passed by the State Board of Education and the Career Ladders formula generated by the State Board to be introduced as legislation. The Tiered Certification rule is the version modified as a result of public comment from IEA members (and others), and is composed of two tiers—Residency and Professional. The Career Ladders formula, if fully funded, could raise the minimum amount that districts are apportioned for teacher salaries to $40,000 over the next three to five years. It could also escalate the state apportionment for the new master professional certificate to $58,000 over that same time period. There are strings attached, however, that some stakeholders are not entirely comfortable with, primarily the inconsistencies and potential pitfalls of the evaluation system.
The Idaho Education Association and other interested parties will have opportunities to share their views on the Tiered Certification and Career Ladders proposals as the legislative committees discuss and debate their merits in the coming days/weeks. More information about Tiered Certification in Idaho is available on our website.
Idaho “Hard-Pressed” to Reach 60% Postsecondary Goal by 2020
Another subcommittee presenting to both the House and Senate Education Committees was the group tasked with Structure and Governance. Boise businessman Bob Lokken’s subcommittee highlighted just how far the state has to go to reach the goal of 60% of young adults pursuing postsecondary. He also outlined 27 recommendations for helping move toward the goal in more focused fashion. Idaho Education News has a summary of Lokken’s presentation and comments.
