Yesterday, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett said principals will have to meet a more rigorous set of benchmarks this year to collect bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.

 

Last year, the district handed out performance-based bonuses to about 80 principals. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has set up principal recruitment, training and evaluation as key elements to his plan to chage the school district.

In 2012, Emanuel raised $5 million in private donations from four prominent philanthropic families as a means to reward the district's best prinicpals. Rhis year, it will be more difficult to get such bonuses, according to Byrd-Bennett. Now, criteria for principal incentive pay will be based on student test scores and qualitative information on how well the school is run. 

The announcement came as representatives from the Chicago Teachers Union and local organizations, such as Raise Your Hand, gathered petitions at 37 schools calling for fewer standardized tests in CPS.