Pay-for-performance plans have been percolating in school systems all over the country for a long time. Seems like the momentum is picking up now, at least in Chicago.

First there was this report, from a national group of teacher leaders, with recommendations on how to make merit-pay an effective tool for improving student learning.

And now, CPS announced this week that ten schools will be part of a new performance pay plan. According to the Tribune, the plan was created after the district won a $28 million federal grant to experiment with pay structures. (More of an auditory learner? Get the scoop from WBEZ!)

The schools chosen are all hard-to-staff schools with high teacher turnover, where at least 3/4 of the staff voted for the plan. In a reversal of the union's earlier opposition to this type of proposal, even CTU president Marilyn Stewart is calling this, "a whole school reform model that is designed to improve teacher quality, maximize principal effectiveness and promote student achievement."

CPS teachers: what's the buzz?