Cityscape Schools congratulates our first two recipients of the Teacher Incentive Allotment designations and looks forward to more teachers being recognized next year.
Ms. Gabriela Espinosa – East Grand Preparatory – Recognized designation
About the Teacher Incentive Allotment
On June 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3 (HB3), which was signed into law by Governor Abbott, establishing the optional Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. TIA is a Texas Education Agency program, “dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and retaining highly effective teachers in all schools, with particular emphasis on high-needs and rural schools” (Texas Education Agency, 2019).
Why TIA? Because of its positive impact on both recruitment and retention of high-performing teachers. Two goals of the TIA are to provide incentive pay to highly effective teachers and to attract and retain effective teachers, especially in rural and high-poverty level schools.
In the fall of 2019, superintendent Leonard Brannon formed an exploratory committee to study a new program from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) titled, the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). After the exploratory committee’s approval to proceed, Mr. Brannon invited the members of the committee to present their findings to the district’s board of directors in January 2020. The board unanimously approved the district to develop an official teacher incentive program and make an application with TEA at the appropriate time.
In the summer of 2020, the district was accepted into the TIA program (Cohort C) and began collecting data to be analyzed in the summer of 2021. After data was analyzed (fall of 2021), the district submitted two teachers to be designated as one of the three TIA designations: recognized, exemplary, and master. In February 2022, the TIA department confirmed that these two teachers would be designated with a TIA distinction for the next five years.
A member of the TIA staff stated that of all the districts who submit required data and teacher recommendations for distinctions, approximately 20 to 25 percent are denied due to skewed or inconclusive data. Cityscape Schools is proud of our first two recipients of the TIA designations and looks forward to more teachers being recognized next year.
