Aimed at improving student learning, the Tulsa Teacher Effectiveness Initiative calls for TPS to develop new measures of teacher effectiveness, dismiss teachers found to be ineffective, and attract and retain high-quality teachers by raising the starting salary to $36,000 and offering incentives of up to $24,000.

The school district is seeking a grant of nearly $55.6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and donations of $15 million from local philanthropists to help pay for the endeavor.

Superintendent Keith Ballard has said he intends to pursue the plan whether or not the district is chosen for the Gates grant. Officials will learn whether they received the grant later this month.

In the meantime, leaders with the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association have begun their campaign to explain the plan — and their support for it.

“NEA (National Education Association), OEA (Oklahoma Education Association), and TCTA have historically opposed any proposal of this kind, but the pressure to do so is coming from the White House, the (U.S.) Department of Education, and both major political parties. We feel it would be naive and unwise to ignore political realities, so we want to be part of the team driving the train, rather than being tied to the tracks and getting run over by the train,” said TCTA Vice President Patti Ferguson in an on-line message to member teachers. “We will achieve much greater success by working collaboratively than by throwing up roadblocks to the forces of change.”

Under the new proposal, TPS would abandon its teacher salary schedule, which includes pay increases based on training and years on the job, for a differential pay plan designed to reward job performance.

For the complete story, see Monday's Tulsa World.