Big check day! 412 ECISD teachers earn Teacher Incentive Allotment awards
![Buice Elementary teacher giving high-fives to students]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1746820548/ectorcountyisdorg/upb58bj0k210cfikqa7g/BuiceTIApic.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1746820548/ectorcountyisdorg/upb58bj0k210cfikqa7g/BuiceTIApic.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1746820548/ectorcountyisdorg/upb58bj0k210cfikqa7g/BuiceTIApic.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1746820548/ectorcountyisdorg/upb58bj0k210cfikqa7g/BuiceTIApic.png","width":1000}])
Number of teachers and amount of money awarded grew for the fourth straight year with 412 teachers earning more than $4.6 million
Ector County ISD leaders wrapped up Teacher Appreciation Week by delivering big news of some big checks coming to teachers who earned a designation in the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. The number of teachers and the amount of money awarded grew for the fourth straight year with 412 teachers earning more than $4.6 million compared to the 353 teachers and $3.1 million a year ago.
This year the teachers represent 40 ECISD schools, and their individual awards range from $3,425 to $22,559.
Friday morning, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Keeley Boyer visited five schools and hosted an ECISD Live broadcast and media event at Blackshear Elementary where 16 teachers were recognized, 4 of them having earned the highest designation, Master level.
“This is one of the best days of the year,” said ECISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Keeley Boyer. “We get to celebrate a lot of teachers, 412 of them. We are proud to see more of our teachers getting this recognition from the state each year. It shows that more of our teachers are having a positive impact on students.”
The Teacher Incentive Allotment was created by the Texas Legislature in 2019, as part of House Bill 3, to provide a realistic pathway for top teachers to earn six-figure salaries and to help attract and retain highly effective teachers at traditionally hard-to-staff schools. The allotment amount per teacher is based on the level of academic growth their students attained, teacher instructional performance, and the percentage of socio-economically disadvantaged students at their school.
There are three levels for which a teacher in Texas can qualify: Recognized, Exemplary and Master. In ECISD, 147 teachers are Recognized (compared to 175 a year ago), 149 are Exemplary (up from 128 a year ago), and 111 are at the Master level (up from 50 a year ago). The numbers show that not only are more teachers earning designations but teachers are improving, too, leveling up from Recognized to Exemplary to Master.
Teaching is in Samantha Hudson’s DNA. Her mom was an educator and both of her grandparents on both sides of the family were teachers. The 4th grade teacher at Blackshear Elementary, leveled up two steps from Recognized to Master earning an incentive of more than $22,000. As she spoke to reporters after the presentation she said, “My heart is still racing. This feels amazing, it really is such an honor. It reminds me I make a difference in the lives of my kids.” She called the incentive “life changing” and plans to use it for a down payment on a new house.
Not only does a qualifying teacher receive the TIA incentive dollars, they also have the Recognized, Exemplary or Master designation placed on their teaching certificate. The designation remains in place for five years.
ECISD began the rigorous TIA application process in 2019. The teacher’s data is collected for one year, then verified by Texas Tech University and reviewed by the Texas Education Agency. The monetary awards are then dispersed the following year. In this fourth year of TIA payouts, eligible ECISD teachers are Kindergarten through 8th grade English Language Arts; Math, English I, English II, and Algebra I; PreK-4; 3rd grade through 8th grade Science, Biology, US History (8th grade and high school), and Advanced Placement English III, English IV, US History, Government, Economics, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology . ECISD adds additional subjects to eligibility each year.
Staci Walton, history teacher at New Tech Odessa, earned a Master level designation. After receiving the news, she was emotional as she thanked her students and her mother.
“As I always tell you [students], we are not just individuals we are a…family," Ms. Walton said. "This is not possible without you. Thank you. And to my mother, thank you, thank you. This is an early Mother’s Day present.”
Thirty (30) teachers earned incentives of $20,000 or more. Five (5) schools have more than 20 teachers who earned incentives. The highest campus total is Murry Fly Elementary where the 22 teachers earned a combined total of $304,457.
“And this is not a gift,” Dr. Boyer added. “This is something these teachers earned with their hard work and dedication and the check goes directly to them. We are excited for them, proud of them, and thank them for serving students so well.”
Read more about Teacher Incentive Allotment in ECISD at https://bit.ly/3YCvf8D and more from the state at https://tiatexas.org/.