The bonuses, issued in December, ranged from $275 to $750 for 704 teachers and $75 to $225 for 181 aides, according to information the Globe requested from the School Department. The bonus program involved only these 12 schools and was developed as part of a multiprong strategy to accelerate student achievement after the schools were declared underperforming by the state in 2010.
While the amounts are modest, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson hopes the experimental program is the first step toward creating a salary system that can reward teachers across the city for individual performance, a highly contentious issue with the teachers union. Boston has more than 5,000 teachers and aides across 125 schools.
The varying bonus amounts, covered by a federal school improvement grant, also offer insight into which of these 12 schools are gaining greater traction in their overhaul efforts.
The largest bonuses went to educators at five schools: Dearborn Middle School and Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury, Harbor Middle School and Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester, and Elihu Greenwood Leadership Academy, an elementary school in Hyde Park.
The smallest bonuses went to the South End’s Blackstone Elementary School.
“When we see a school on the right path, all of us share in the excitement,’’ Johnson said. “I find that people do appreciate being recognized for hard work.’’
Principals at the schools also received bonuses, ranging between $2,000 and $5,000.
Richard Stutman, the teachers union president, said the union supports basing bonuses on schoolwide performance but not on individual classrooms.
“Individual rewards set up an unnatural competitiveness in schools and leads to a potential divisiveness and a potential lack of sharing of best ideas among teachers,’’ said Stutman, who doubts the bonuses motivate any teachers. “Teachers work hard regardless of a reward.’’
