The new master agreement has several major revision areas:
Compensation:
The new contract includes the most generous compensation offer in the metro area: a more than 5% increase in teacher compensation
this year.
All teachers will receive $1,400
as an increase to their base pay in 2017-18, and Title I teachers
who do not currently receive the Pro Comp incentive (whether currently in Pro Comp or not)
will receive $1,500
a year
.
This means that, over the past five years,
DPS teachers
will
have
cumulatively
received an average pay increase of almost $14,000 -- a nearly 27% increase in pay.
In order to provide additional access to
sick
leave and thereby minimize the financial impact of unexpected illness, pregnancy and other medical leaves, we will also automatically enroll teachers in the sick leave bank with an "opt out" option.
In addition, beginning next year, teachers will see an increased subsidy
of $1,200 a year if they enroll in medical plans with children.
Teacher Supports:
Our new contract demonstrates our commitment to providing the strongest teacher supports in the metro area. DPS's student-teacher ratio is already well below neighboring districts,
and
DPS currently offers the most protected non-classroom time of any district in the area
. We agreed to add an additional planning day beginning in the 2018-19 school year and to protect
the 10 minutes before the start and at the end of the school day
from being counted as
planning time.
Together, we will create a joint collaborative committee
empowered to review and
oversee
ongoing improvements to our growth and performance system for teachers, Leading Effective Academic Practice (LEAP). We will also broaden the role of school leadership teams to collaborate on school professional development, and learning and observation cycles.
Commitment to the Whole Child:
We agree with DCTA that our students can't succeed if they come to school hungry, disengaged or distracted. That's why we asked voters to approve $15 million in funding to support the whole child in each and every DPS school. We are already using those funds to increase social and emotional supports in our schools by enabling schools to hire the counselors, social workers, nurses and school psychologists they need.
As part of
a
united commitment
around supporting the whole child
, we are excited to announce the launch of a joint DPS-DCTA Whole Child task force to review current and best practices, policies and recommendations for future improvements
around the whole child
.
The new contract will take effect
if and when it is approved by
the
DPS
Board of Education and DCTA membership. Our Human Resources Department will provide employees with more detailed information on how this will affect their individual pay and benefits.
We believe that we are a stronger district -- one that can better recruit and retain teachers, and better educate our kids -- when DPS and DCTA are united in addressing the challenges you, our educators, face. We remain focused on supporting our educators and our students, and we thank you for your shared commitment to our vision that Every Child Succeeds.