Just a few years ago, tenure appeared low on the reform list for state policy makers and district administrators, viewed as too hot an issue politically to challenge. But it was front and center in the 2014 landmark "Vergara v. California" lawsuit, which challenged teacher tenure and related policies. Yet whether to grant tenure or not…

Tenure is under fire. Conservatives have long attacked such policies as tenure that constrain the ability of managers to fire whomever they want, but the latest assaults on tenure have invoked liberal egalitarian ideals. With all the problems in education, why are we so fixated on teacher tenure? What is really going on? How did tenure get its…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2016 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2015. In an attempt to minimize the number of separate requests for salary data received by public…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore variation across principals in terms of the number and types of strategies they engage in to find teachers to fill the vacancies in their schools. The practices that the authors consider to be strategic are aligned with the district's goals and objectives for teacher recruitment.…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2014 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2013. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…

School principals' education and professional experience shape their approach to school leadership and how successful their students will be. However, it is not clear from existing research which aspects of principal education and professional experience are related to student outcomes and principal retention. This dissertation explores aspects of…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2013 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2012. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2012 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2011. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2011 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2010. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…

Merit pay programs for educators -- sometimes referred to a "pay for performance" -- attempt to tie a teacher's compensation to his/her performance in the classroom. While the idea of merit pay for classroom teachers has been around for several decades, only now is it starting to be implemented in a growing number of districts around the…

This article takes advantage of a unique policy change to examine how principals make decisions regarding teacher dismissal. In 2004, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Chicago Teachers Union signed a new collective bargaining agreement that gave principals the flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers for any reason and without the…

If principals have the authority to dismiss teachers, will they dismiss the less effective ones, or will they instead make perverse decisions by letting the good teachers go? Evidence from low-stakes surveys suggests that principals are able to identify the most and least effective teachers in their schools, as measured by their impact on student…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2010 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2009. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…

Merit pay programs for educators--sometimes referred to a "pay for performance"--attempt to tie a teacher's compensation to his/her performance in the classroom. While the idea of merit pay for classroom teachers has been around for several decades, only now is it starting to be implemented in a growing number of districts around the…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 Illinois public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2009 Salary Report" reflect the census date of October 1, 2008. Data are presented by peer groups with statewide totals. The seven peer groups are based on…