Cedar Rapids education leaders discuss salary schedule

DES MOINES - During Friday's Iowa Teacher and Principal Leadership Symposium at Drake University, Cedar Rapids Community School District Superintendent Dave Benson, Executive Director of Human Resources Jill Cirivello and Cedar Rapids Education Association President Sue Clapp, discussed the district's alternative salary schedule and teacher leadership.

Unlike many districts both in Iowa and throughout the nation, which use a formula of education and experience to determine educators' salaries, the Cedar Rapids Community School District provides ways for teachers to increase their pay through stipends for service as facilitators. In addition, each teacher can boost their pay at their own pace, by pursuing outside education credits or becoming nationally certified, which carries a 5 percent salary hike.

The salary schedule does not include performance pay, a source of contention for many educators and administrators across the state, but Clapp -- who did not express favor for the idea -- said she could foresee adding some sort of performance-based incentive to the district's current salary structure if stakeholders could agree on the metrics.

Cirivello presented a top 10 list of reasons why the salary schedule, which the district developed with the teachers' union in 2000 and implemented in 2001, is an improvement compared to past versions and the reasons included "a better hiring base," a comment Clapp echoed after the presentation.

"Because we have a strong salary schedule, we are able to attract and retain some really good teachers," she said.

That message went along with a broader theme from the entire day of presentations, which dealt with various issues in education including how to persuade excellent college students to become teachers.

Cirivello also touched on the district's new move, beginning this school year, to hire an induction coach to work with new teachers. The coach will come to schools in Cedar Rapids through a partnership with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency. The district will also employ four special education instruction coaches for the coming school year.

Other topics the trio of education leaders addressed during the presentation included the district's work in adding professional learning coaches and teacher quality liaisons; staff resources used to improve instruction and ultimately student performance.

These issues are, in Benson's words, "the adult business of the school district that affects the student outcome.”

More than a few educators raised concerns via Twitter that the Cedar Rapids model, implemented in Iowa's second largest school district, would be difficult to replicate in smaller school systems, particularly ones with less funding. Benson replied and referenced his experience in the Ladue School District in Missouri -- which he estimated had 3,000 students.

"Any size district can do these things if the attitude of these parties is conducive to wanting to make a difference for students, faculty and staff in the way we conduct business," he said before attributing Cedar Rapids' success to its past and present stakeholders, including superintendents, school board members and the teachers' union. "We have effectively stayed the course to establish a collegial environment and I think that's really a key for all the involved parties."

Related: Statewide symposium examines teacher reform