A committee of administrators and teachers in the Perry School District are working on plans to implement a new system that will encourage educators to be leaders not only for their students but also their peers.

Director of Teaching and Learning, Kevin Vidergar says the Teacher Leadership and Compensation initiative was started through the legislature in 2013, and districts have three years to put a plan in place.

“The system has two goals, one is to increase compensation for teachers and the second is to create more opportunities for teachers to move into leadership positions, without becoming an administrator” says Vidergar.

As for what will pay for these increases… Vidergar says at least for now it will be funded by the state.

“They’ve set aside $3.5 million for planning grants, that all districts receive a portion of that based on their student enrollment.  So they use that money to come up with this plan, then the legislature for the next three years has set aside $50 million per year for schools to implement their Teacher Leadership and Compensation plan, and again districts will receive a portion based on their enrollment” says Vidergar.

Perry will submit their application next year, with plans to start rolling out the program during the 2016-2017 school year.