Helping Teachers Level Up

Mission

Our mission is to create leveled promotions for full-time, lead teachers who remain in the classroom. 

Learn more by reading the introduction. 

Rationale

Lead teachers are unable to be promoted while remaining in the classroom. Existing teacher evaluation systems contain limited opportunities for career advancement related to teacher quality. In the absence of promotion, teacher salary increases tied to accrued experience, specialized education and/or merit have not been meaningful enough to reverse the decades long decline in the number of college students pursuing a teaching career (down 14% from 2011 - 2021) or to retain talent in the classroom over time (around 50% of new teachers leave the classroom within five years). Teachers need an opportunity to be meaningfully recognized for their contributions, in a manner that is publicly recognized by receiving an elevated job title and a salary increase that is more significant than merit pay increases. The existing non-promotion teacher evaluation system devalues teacher experience and quality by not meaningfully recognizing and rewarding it.  

Two new promotion ranks above Lead Teacher are proposed: Prominent & Distinguished.  Teachers who demonstrate a pattern of high performance, by exceeding contractual obligations for two consecutive years, qualify for promotion, earning a new job title and a significant raise, without having their contractual teaching duties or job description changed.  

Teacher Choice

Teachers have the choice to seek promotion or to remain at their current rank. If they choose not to seek promotion, they remain on the salary scale schedule that is in place. Promoted teachers will also continue to move up the salary pay schedule for accrued years of experience following promotion. 

Teacher Promotion Levels

Level 1: Aide / Assistant Teacher 

Level 2: Lead / Certified Teacher

Level 3: Prominent Teacher

Level 4: Distinguished Teacher 

Learn the requirements to achieve each rank on the promotion levels page. 

Three Stages of Implementation

Establishing teacher promotion with new job titles can move forward in one of three stages: 

1. Providing a promotion without a salary increase (the temporary exception)

2. Providing a promotion with a small to modest raise (a transitional step for pilot programs accessing available funding)

3. Providing fully funded teacher promotion (the result of researching promotion initiatives combined with advocacy for policy change to fully fund a promotion system)

Read how to implement teacher promotion and evaluate candidates. 

How Employers Can Participate Now

1. Examine the available resources and determine which promotion plan is achievable in the short term. 

2. Register your teacher promotion plan with our lab so that we can conduct research on multiple case studies of teacher promotion to help determine the most effective approaches. You will then have the option to be listed here as a partner for teacher promotion.