Our inaugural TeacherSolutions team is comprised of 18 highly accomplished teachers, who studied and unpacked the research literature on professional compensation. The result of this work is a first-of-its-kind report written by a diverse group of expert teachers from across the United States that proposes radical changes in the way teachers have been traditionally compensated. Specifically, the TeacherSolutions team defined both why and how teachers need to be paid more when they:

• Help students learn more;
• Develop and use new knowledge and skills;
• Fulfill special needs in the local labor market; and
• Provide school and community leadership for student success.

Building off the work of the inaugural TeacherSolutions team, additional cadres of teacher leaders are currently at work in applying the nuanced professional compensation framework to their local contexts. Currently work is underway in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee, as well as throughout California and Kansas. Live webinars, multi-day structured conversations with guest experts, and analyses of new initiatives (including the Teacher Incentive Fund grantee plans) help these communities both individually and as a collaborative group sharpen their teacher leadership and policy advocacy skills, while also developing their knowledge and understanding of the many complexities of teacher pay systems.