January 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case
HBS Case Collection

Excel Academy Charter Middle School, The

Format:Print
| Pages:24

Abstract

This case is set in the summer of 2002 in a recently approved charter middle school in Boston. The school's founders face a choice of compensation plans as they finalize the initial teaching team in the school. In particular, the founders are actively considering two performance-based compensation plans as alternatives to the standard salary structure of public schools. These schemes vary in the degree to which they reward individual and school-wide performance, and both are controversial in principle and in practice. The protagonists' consideration of the topics range from specific implementation concerns about how to specify and gather performance data on teaching to the most general of inquiries about the nature of excellent teaching and teachers. Rich in biographical data on the schools' founders and on their educational and managerial philosophies. Exhibits include benchmarking data on performance compensation plans in selected charter schools in the northeast. Exhibits also profile compensation and promotion provisions in the Boston Public Schools.