Sept. 1, 2017


Dear Team DPS,

We are excited to announce that, earlier today after months of negotiations with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), we were able to unite behind a generous new five-year  employment contract for our teachers.
 
Our Agreement
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  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 .
 
Next Steps
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.

Best,
Tom