Column: Principals need to be leaders, not bureaucrats

An education revolution is under way in Indiana, one that affects not just student performance but the entire delivery process for education. These changes will require adjustment throughout the system.

The next reform is to base teacher salaries on their performance. The implementation of merit pay means teachers rated “ineffective” or “improvement necessary” won’t see raises, while teachers rated “effective” or “highly effective” will be rewarded.

Implementation of this process will be time-consuming. Teachers should be judged not just on their children’s test scores but also on how well the teachers themselves perform in the classroom — how they manage their children’s behavior, how they work with children one-on-one, how they explain the concepts children are to learn and more.

As Indiana begins to implement performance-based pay, principals will need to devote more time to performing those evaluations.

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