The Four Elements of Chicago TAP:

Chicago TAP supports schools in improving instruction and student achievement through the implementation of four key elements:
1.      Multiple Career Paths
Chicago TAP allows teachers to pursue a variety of positions throughout their careers - career, mentor and lead teacher - depending upon their interests, abilities and accomplishments.  As they move along the career path, their qualifications, roles and responsibilities increase.  So does their compensation.  This allows good teachers to advance without having to leave the classroom.

How Multiple Career Paths Looks in a School

Based on their skills, knowledge, ambitions and interests, teachers in a Chicago TAP school have the opportunity to advance to lead or mentor positions.  These teachers are selected through a competitive, rigorous, performance-based selection process.  Candidates must have expert curricular knowledge, outstanding instructional skills, and the ability to work effectively with other adults.  Lead and mentor teachers are held to a higher performance standard and take on additional responsibilities, and as such are compensated accordingly.

Along with the principal, lead and mentor teachers are part of the school's leadership team and are responsible for setting specific annual student learning goals.  They oversee all Chicago TAP activities aimed at meeting these goals.

Among their many additional responsibilities, lead and mentor teachers help the principal provide reflective and informative teacher observations designed to help career teachers refine their instructional strategies.

2.      Ongoing Applied Professional Growth
Chicago TAP structures the school schedule to provide time during the regular school day for teachers to meet, learn, plan, mentor and share with other teachers.  These collaborative meetings allow teachers to learn and develop new instructional strategies and have greater opportunity to collaborate. The end result is an improved quality of instruction and an increase in students' academic achievement.

The Ongoing Applied Professional Growth meetings focus on identified needs based on instructional issues that specific teachers face with specific students.  Teachers use data to target these areas of need. This method provides greater results than simply trying to implement the latest fad in professional development.

How Ongoing Applied Professional Growth Looks in the Schools

In Chicago TAP schools, Ongoing Applied Professional Growth means that time is set aside for teacher learning which is always focused on increasing student learning.  This includes cluster groups and individual growth plans (IGP).  Cluster groups meet for 50 to 90 minutes weekly during contract time in grade-alike or subject-alike groups.  Clusters are led by expert instructors in the school - the lead and/or mentor teachers.

Each teacher is also expected to have an IGP that includes identified goals and activities within clusters and classrooms that support new teacher learning.  This new teacher learning is required to meet an identified student learning need.  Cluster work and IGPs follow the TAP STEPS for Effective Learning that provides a framework for improving instruction to meet student-learning needs.  The STEPS guide teachers to:

  • Set learning goals based on an analysis of student performance
  • Identify research-based, proven learning strategies to address goals
  • Work collaboratively to develop new instructional practices
  • Bring the new learning to the classroom
  • Measure how well the new strategy helped students meet the learning goals set by teachers

Lead and mentor teachers are trained by and work closely with Chicago Instructional Support staff to support and guide career teachers in meeting goals, objectives, and action items designed as a part of the ongoing applied professional growth model.

3.         Instructionally Focused Accountability
Chicago TAP uses a comprehensive system developed by the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching (NIET) for observing teachers that provides feedback and rewards them for how well they teach their students.  Teachers are held accountable for meeting the Skills, Knowledge and Responsibility Standards set in this system, as well as for the academic growth of their students.

How Instructionally Focused Accountability Looks in the Schools

Teachers in their first year of implementation are observed twice, and in their second through fourth year are observed four to six times.  These observations are provided by multiple trained and certified evaluators using the Skills, Knowledge and Responsibility (SKR) Standards.  Lead and mentor teachers are also observed in the classroom and held accountable for their additional roles and responsibilities.

4.         TAP Performance Compensation

Chicago TAP rewards teachers for:

  • Their added roles and responsibilities
  • Their performance in the classroom based on the Skills, Knowledge and Responsibility Standards 
  • The growth of their students based on school-wide and grade/classroom value-added student achievement gains

 How Performance Pay Works

This system rewards all school faculty and staff, not just teachers and principals, for measurable school-wide improvements.  Any performance-based compensation is above and beyond the normal salary of a teacher, principal or school staff member.  Lead teachers receive a salary augmentation of $15,000 and mentor teachers receive a salary augmentation of $7,000 on top of their base compensation.  These augmentations reflect additional roles and responsibilities of Lead and Mentor Teachers, and are non-pensionable.

Year 1 of Implementation

  • All teachers are eligible for an average bonus award of $2,000 based on school-wide value-added student achievement gains and the average scores earned on multiple observations of classroom teaching using the skills, knowledge and responsibilities standards
  • Administrators are eligible for a maximum bonus award of $5,000 based on based on school-wide value-added student achievement gains, and fidelity of TAP implementation
  • All other school staff are eligible for a maximum bonus award of $500 based on school-wide value-added student achievement gain

Years 2-4 of Implementation

  • All teachers are eligible for an average bonus award of $4,000 based on school-wide and classroom value-added student achievement gains, and the average scores earned on multiple observations of classroom teaching using the skills, knowledge and responsibilities standards
  • Administrators are eligible for an maximum bonus award of $5,000 based on based on school-wide value-added student achievement gains, and fidelity of TAP implementation
  • All other school staff are eligible for a maximum bonus award of $1,000 based on school-wide value-added student achievement gains.