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Merit pay is a notoriously tricky business. Reward short-term returns and you hang the future out to dry. Or, as we’ve seen in a growing number of school districts across the country, you run the risk of teachers and administrators taking shortcuts (ie, cheating) to grab the brass ring.

Mayor Emmanuel has proposed an incentive pay system for CPS Principals that rewards achievement on a variety of quantitative and qualitative standards. The goal will be find a system that sets objective achievement standards (to avoid corruption and cronyism) but still rewards systemic improvements, which have lasting impact but are difficult to quantify.

We recommend that the committee consider rewarding principals that successfully maximize community resources and involve parents and families in their schools. This philosophy is sometimes called the “community schools” model, and it’s advocated by a number of area organizations, including the Federation for Community Schools and Communities in Schools.

Chicago Appleseed has researched and reported on this issue for years, and has concluded that family and organizational involvement in schools is the most realistic way to bridge the achievement gap between low-income and high-income districts.

The tools for involving parents and community organizations in schools are out there (Chicago Appleseed produced an implementation guide (pdf)). But learning about and wielding those tools effectively requires time and energy that few principals possess amidst a day of administrative tasks. The CPS Principal Fund has a chance to make it worth principals’ while to bring non- and for-profit entities, families, and schools together for the long-term benefit of their communities.