$200,000 bonuses, it's a start

Martin O’Malley has a new plan for improving Maryland’s low performing schools - $200,000 principal bonuses, paid out over four years. That’s an impressive sum, and refreshing to see someone putting real money on the table - as the plan states, “Half-hearted measures will not work.” However, it is only a start. There are two key elements missing from this plan:

First, a strategy for identifying and recruiting exceptional principals from school districts within Maryland and across the country. Relying solely on money as a carrot to recruit high performing principals is insufficient; the state needs to actively recruit principals that will do the best job.

Second, there is no accountability. Base annual bonuses on principals’ gains, not only in test scores, but also in recruiting high quality teachers, improving the curriculum, ensuring students receive additional supports, and involving parents. The plan uses the analogy of a CEO hiring an exceptional manager to turn around a store. However, that CEO would do more than hire the manager for the store, he would carefully watch sales data to ensure improvements were happening. Certainly, he would do that before paying out a large bonus.

O’Malley should be focusing not simply on luring principals into schools with financial incentives, but actively recruiting principals who think they are up to the challenge of earning those bonuses with large gains in student achievement.

Of course, holding principals accountable also requires giving them the freedom to make the necessary hiring, curricular, and scheduling changes to build the school they envision. If Maryland will be recruiting principals worth $200,000 bonuses, then they should entrust those principals to make the school level decisions necessary to earn that money.