Colo. Promises To Adopt Merit Pay For Teachers

DENVER (AP) – Colorado is promising to adopt merit pay for teachers and dramatically expand its Teach for America corps as it tries to win $380 million in education reform funding.

Colorado’s application for the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” program is being submitted Tuesday, the final day. More than 30 states are expected to apply for $4.3 billion in competitive grants by the deadline.

In Colorado, over two-thirds of school districts – accounting for 94 percent of students – have signed on to participate. If the state wins the money, those districts say they’ll negotiate a merit pay system with their teachers. They’ve also agreed to more than quadruple the number of Teach for America teachers to over 800.