A quick Friday hit, thanks to Ed News Colorado, as the local Douglas County paper highlights the reform-minded school board’s progress in implementing performance pay and related upgrades to teacher policies:

While pay for performance isn’t new in Douglas County, the program still under development pushes aside the traditional pay system based on years of experience and higher education coursework and degrees.

“We’ve pretty much replaced the old step-and-lane structure (of) experience on the left, education on top,” said the district’s chief human resources officer, Brian Cesare. “We’re saying now it’s going to be performance on the top and market value on the left.”

Cesare gave a presentation at the October 2 school board meeting. Based on the visual provided, some cutting-edge ideas are being introduced that need to be fleshed out and tested. To get a good overview, watch this 9-minute video with assistant superintendent Dan McMinimee explaining the change from Dougco’s old “performance pay” framework to the new:

As some of this year’s earlier tumult dies down a little bit (though AFT president Randi Weingarten looms as the face of the opposition), Dougco school leaders appear to be seizing the moment for effective professional teaching reform and plowing forward with an ambitious effort that would overhaul the pay and evaluation system by next school year. As I understand it, the innovative changes will affect not only teachers but also principals and other district employees.

You can bet little Eddie will be watching very closely.