Giving Compass' Take:

• "The Bronx Plan" is a new set of funding reserved for schools located in the Bronx which will be used to obtain more high-quality teachers by offering more incentives. 

• How can education philanthropists help address problems that are happening with schools in the Bronx? 

• Read about some successes with teachers who work in Bronx school districts. 

“We know there is so much more that can be done for the children of the Bronx and of the schools of the Bronx,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday at a press conference announcing the contract deal.

“Schools in the Bronx had been historically underserved,” said Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.

The new contract creates what officials are calling “The Bronx Plan,” through which 180 schools will be able to pay an extra $5,000 to $8,000 to educators who take hard-to-fill positions. Two-thirds of the schools will also give educators a formal role in decision making. Both elements echo ideas that the city has tried out before but fell short of expectations.

Schools that qualify for the pay incentive will be identified this fall, and, contrary to the plan’s name, could include some in other boroughs. Officials said the plan was named for the Bronx’s challenges, which include low student performance and persistently high teacher turnover. The borough’s six districts all have turnover rates in the top third in the city, according to the union.

The plan represents an unusual focus on a single borough in citywide bargaining — and a repudiation of the city’s previous, top-down efforts to improve long-struggling schools.

With the pay incentives, the city hopes to attract highly qualified educators — and keep them — where they’re needed most.“The key to great schools is great teachers,” de Blasio said. “You have to make sure they are where the need is greatest. This is what allows us to do that.”

Read the full article about investments in Bronx schools' by Christina Veiga at Chalkbeat