Dive Brief:
- The new superintendent of Oakland Unified School District, Antwan Wilson, revealed his five-year plan Wednesday, and it includes double-digit raises for the district's teachers.
- The first step in the “Pathway to Excellence” plan is a 10% raise for teachers over three years, which is actually an offer that was presented during contract negotiations.
- Wilson told SF Gate he wants to attract and retain the best teachers, and that doing so "includes finding ways to pay them more. I'm dead serious.”
Dive Insight:
In addition to teacher raises, the Pathway to Excellence plan has numerous student goals. For example, by 2020, Wilson wants to see 85% of third-graders on reading level versus the 38% that currently are. He wants to see the graduation rate increase from 67% to 85%, and to see 97% of black male students without an out-of-school suspension, compared to the current 87%. Finally, he wants to see 50% of English learners reclassified as fluent, as opposed to 7%.
Wilson's 12-page plan is, in many ways, an outgrowth of previous superintendent Tony Smith's 61-page “Thriving Students” plan, which was all about "putting students first."