An Assembly committee today advanced legislation sponsored that would provide monetary incentives to help retain and attract teachers to struggling schools in New Jersey.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer/Hunterdon), establishes a loan redemption program in the Higher Education Students Assistance Authority, and a bonus program for teachers employed in schools in need of improvement. The bill defines a school in need of improvement as any public school that as of the 2011-2012 school year failed to make adequate yearly progress for two or more years pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
“A good teacher can make all the difference in how a child approaches education. Nearly 30 percent of the state’s schools failed to meet targets in the federal No Child Left Behind Act. How is a school supposed to improve when it can’t keep or attract teachers?” asked Watson Coleman. “These incentives serve to encourage teachers to remain in these schools and help strengthen them. If extending certain benefits to teachers can help improve academic performance and create a better learning environment for students who may be falling behind, then they are worth pursuing.”
Under the loan redemption program, a participant would redeem 20 percent of eligible student loan expenses for each year of service as a teacher in a school in need of improvement in New Jersey, for a total redemption of 100 percent of eligible student loan expenses in return for five full years of service. “Eligible student loan expenses” is defined as the cumulative total of the principal and interest due on student loans used to cover the cost of attendance while enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an institution of higher education.
Under the bill, the authority must annually submit a report on the program to the governor and the Legislature. The report would be submitted no later than August 1 of each year and would include, at a minimum, information on the total number of participants receiving loan redemption under the program, the impact of the program on attracting teachers to positions in schools in need of improvement, the impact of the program on improving student scores on state assessments, and the number of participants who withdrew from the program prior to the completion of the required service.
“The job of a teacher is demanding and rarely ends at the end of the school day. If we can make the job more rewarding, we can help keep existing teachers and attract new ones to schools in need of help,” said Watson Coleman. “The future of our students is worth the investment.”
The bill was released by the Assembly Higher Education Committee. TLS.
All the incentives in the world will not help teachers who have to deal with mediocre administration at best and grossly incompetent leadership at worst. Until teachers receive the support they need and deserve to make a difference, even the most dedicated and talented teachers quickly learn that they cannot fight a corrupt system. When the system is fixed from the top down, the public might be pleasantly surprised to find out that the local teachers don’t need a financial incentive to be the excellent teachers they already are.
Very well said #1. Lakewood had MANY excellent teachers and administrators. All were pushed out the door by non supportive, and ignorant administrators who were in place ONLY to do just that….push good people OUT!
I like the two comments but would like these two people to be more specific who they are talking about. For the past 12 years the public schools have been run into the ground by local groups who do not support public schools. What teachers were let go by this administration? The truth is we need more teachers who understand the public schools in our district as well as board members.
to number 3. There have been a few cases in the last few years, where teachers who had leadership roles in the Union, and vocal teachers were brought up on trumped up charges, and attempted to be fired. They were on paid leave and had to undergo psychological evaluations. The charges were bogus and they were not fired.
Its not so much that the hostile administration fired a bunch of qualtiy teachers, its that they made it so miserable and contentious a place to work, that good young teachers either got jobs in another district, or got out of teaching.
I must say though, so far this year there is a few different tone in my school. We have a principal who is on the teachers, and students side. It feels like we are taking a step in the right direction.
#4 I agree with u but I’m very wary. Is the new principal effective or do the higher ups ultimately call the shots? In which case we still need to stay under the radar! Only time will tell!