There must have been moments over the course of the past year when the school board and the teachers in Oak Park’s District 97 elementary schools wanted to forget about shifting any paradigms and just sign a modest contract more or less along the lines of the previous one and the one before that and before that. They could have toned down the pay raises and made some noise about innovation on instructional time and called it a contract.
Instead, all the parties to this contract did the hard work of crafting a wholly new pact that actually shifts the way teachers are paid, to reward them for work that correlates to student success. Gone is the compensation paid for simply lasting another year in the classroom. Gone is the compensation for piling up disconnected credit hours over the summer. Gone is an evaluation system with absolutely no financial consequences even if you are failing as a teacher.
In its place are simple, direct initiatives that fairly, even generously, compensate teachers for accomplishments for top effort and achievement. Master’s degrees and doctorates pay; being a grade leader pays; earning the challenging National Board certification pays off big.
Over the length of this four-year deal the unsustainable pattern of salary growth finally slows and declines. And teachers also have more skin in the game — still modest — on health care cost increases.
Sincere appreciation to all the parties that worked, innovated and compromised to craft a contract that actually reflects the educational goals of this district over the years ahead.