Teacher Advancement Program celebrates five years

Cassandra Ray, career teacher at St. Philip Neri School in Indianapolis, works with students. “As a first-year teacher, the TAP [Teacher Advancement Program] observations and rubric helped me see what I was doing well, and helped me focus on things that I needed to improve,” she said. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

The 177 Catholic school teachers couldn’t hide their delight in sharing $248,000 in performance pay.

For Peggy Elson, the joy came in hearing the teachers share their tributes to a program that’s designed to help them teach more effectively.

Those reactions were displayed on May 15 as the archdiocese celebrated five years of being the only Catholic school system in the country to use the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), a program “to help schools attract, develop, motivate and retain high-quality teachers.”

“My ‘celebrations’ of the celebration were the testimonials given by the principals, leadership team members and teachers from the TAP schools,” said Elson, the director of the archdiocese’s TAP program.

Elson listened as Karen Miller, a veteran teacher at St. Barnabas School in Indianapolis, said, “In May 2002, my question was, ‘Why do I have to change?’ ”

Elson was pleased when Miller shared her answer to her own question: “Through much hard work and strong leadership, we now have higher expectations for our already high-achieving students.”

St. Barnabas was among the first eight schools chosen for the program that was part of Project Exceed, a $15 million educational initiative driven by a $10 million challenge grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Now, there are 13 schools in the program. Besides St. Barnabas, the list includes these schools in Indianapolis: St. Jude, St. Lawrence, Central Catholic, Holy Spirit, St. Simon the Apostle, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Anthony, Holy Angels, St. Philip Neri, Holy Cross Central, St. Andrew/St. Rita Catholic Academy and Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School.

Elson recently answered questions about TAP. Here is an edited version of her responses.

How does the program basically work?

Elson: “Qualified teachers are given opportunities to take on more responsibility and are paid for doing so.

“Teachers meet weekly in small cluster groups led by a master teacher. [They] work together to analyze student data, improve instruction and learn new research-based instructional strategies that increase students’ academic achievement.

“Teachers are evaluated four to six times per year by trained and certified evaluators. Teachers receive performance pay based on demonstrated expertise in the classroom and increased student achievement.”

What has been the average performance pay for teachers in the program?

Elson: “$1,400 per teacher is placed in a performance pay pool. The payouts have averaged $1,300 per teacher and have ranged from $600 to $2,900.”

How does the program ultimately help students?

Elson: “TAP analyzes student data in order to identify student needs and then obtains strategies to meet those needs. Ultimately, it’s what every child deserves.”

How does the program help teachers?

Elson: “Teachers collaborate with other teachers to learn and practice the instructional strategies which have proven successful in their schools. Teachers no longer work in isolation, but are given the support they need. [That] enhances their practice and ultimately raises student achievement.”

How do you gauge the success of the program after five years?

Elson: “Principals agree that TAP has helped them recruit, retain and reward successful teachers. The monthly TAP master teacher meetings have fostered a collaborative network between and among the 13 TAP schools.”

How were schools chosen for the program?

Elson: “Archdiocesan schools were introduced to TAP, and encouraged to write proposals if they felt TAP met their needs for school improvement. Schools were selected on their demonstrated enthusiasm for change that the TAP structure created, their willingness to implement TAP elements, and their leadership, both at the school and the parish levels, to sustain TAP.”

What is the future of the program?

Elson: “It is our hope that through the Legacy for Our Mission campaign that we will be able to sustain and strengthen TAP in the existing schools and to replicate TAP in other archdiocesan schools.” †