Who Needs A Masters Degree?

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette sheds some light on how new laws will effect teacher pay.

A state law set to take effect will allow school districts to weigh several factors – a master’s degree is one of them – in deciding whether a teacher gets a raise. Previously, under provisions of union-district contracts, pay was based primarily on years of experience and education.

A provision in the new law, though, is that teachers enrolled in a graduate program before July 1 and on pace to complete it by 2014 will eventually be entitled to the raise that teachers with a master’s degree received in years past.

Prior to this year, pay raises were usually established through the collective bargaining process.  While this will continue to be partially true, state law now requires school districts to establish a merit based system which incorporates a number of factors beyond longevity and degree.  This includes the results of an evaluation which incorporates the difficulty of teaching in a corporation, leadership positions, and the teachers standing on the states effectiveness scale.