Staff at D.C. Schools Get Bonuses for Student Improvement

School staff share $500,000 thanks to "unbelievable" test gains

Some 130 educators and non-teaching staff at three D.C. schools Tuesday collectively received more than $500,000 in cash bonuses for raising test scores more than 20% last year. The principals each received $10,000, teachers earned $8,000 and support staff like janitors and cafeteria workers won $2,000. The Washington Post (12/19)

District of Columbia officials handed out surprise bonuses Tuesday morning to staff members at three public schools where student reading and math scores increased by more than 20 percent last year. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee distributed monetary gifts from a federal program to the first winners of the TEAM awards. The schools recognized were Barnard, Noyes and Tyler elementary schools.

Principals of the three schools received $10,000, while teachers got $8,000 each. Librarians and counselors were given $4,000. But the educators weren't the only ones to get recognized. The schools' support staffs and custodians each received $2,000.

The program is a partnership between the school system, the Washington Teachers' Union and the nonprofit group New Leaders for New Schools. New Leaders helps raise private funds, but most of the money for the awards comes from the U.S. Department of Education. ABC7News