BRENHAM ISD PLANNING TO IMPLEMENT TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT PROGRAM

  

Brenham ISD is taking steps to get involved in a state program that provides resources for performance-based compensation of teachers.

During today’s (Monday) Brenham School Board meeting, trustees learned about the district administration’s efforts to set up a local designation system through the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which is based in the Texas Education Code and provides districts with systems and funding to recruit, retain and reward teachers in high-needs schools and difficult-to-staff positions.

Chief Academic Officer Sara Borchgardt said the district is considering rolling out its implementation of TIA in stages over the next few years, given the prerequisites and data collection needed in order to be approved.

Through TIA, teachers can earn added compensation based on statewide performance standards of Recognized, Exemplary and Master.  The three designation levels are determined by tracking teacher observation and student growth percentages.  TIA funding varies by campus, as the state allocates funding based on factors like how much of the student population is economically disadvantaged or emergent bilingual, but it could lead to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to go toward teachers who earn designation.

Borchgardt said Brenham ISD must be methodical with how it moves through the rollout process, since there are numerous validation checks.  She said the district wants to avoid a situation where it ends up being too ambitious, spending a large amount of time and energy capturing data only to be rejected and have to start over again.  

The district’s application for the TIA program is due April 15^th.  Borchgardt noted that the Texas Legislature is currently considering whether to expand the designation tiers to allow more teachers to be eligible, in addition to pumping in millions of dollars in extra funding.

Board President Natalie Lange asked if support staff would be included, to which Borchgardt replied that the personnel who qualify must be student-facing and working with students at least 50 percent of their time.  Lange also asked if the administration and staff would be able to handle the increase in workload associated with gathering the necessary data.  Borchgardt said it will be a collaborative effort by team members, but she is looking at software to assist with data input.  She said, “It is a big job, but it’s one that we’re committed to doing.”

Also at today’s meeting, the board agreed to purchase instructional materials, including HMH Into Reading for grades K-2, HMH Into Literature for grades 9-10, and Bluebonnet Math for elementary and secondary.  The district already utilizes HMH materials for grades 3-8 after purchasing them last summer.  The purchases come from dedicated instructional materials allotment funding from the state and from federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grant funds.

Additionally, trustees approved choosing two providers to implement two Texas Education Agency (TEA) Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities (LASO) program grants awarded to Brenham ISD.  The district is receiving $140,000 through the Strong Foundations Planning Grant and $121,000 through the Instructional Leadership Grant; however, per TEA requirements, at least 50 percent of the Strong Foundations Planning Grant and at least 70 percent of the Instructional Leadership Grant must be allocated to TEA-approved providers.

The board selected Moak Casey as the provider for the Strong Foundations Planning Grant for $70,000.  The grant supports the development of a district-wide, research-based instructional literacy framework.  For the Instructional Leadership Grant, the board chose the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching in the amount of $90,750.  The grant provides targeted training, implementation support and coaching to build leadership capacity at the campus and district levels.