How to Maximize Your School’s Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment
Anthony Independent School District (Anthony ISD) is making the most of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. A key player in this success story is Progress Learning, a rigorous, standards-aligned practice and assessments platform for grades K-12. We spoke with Jaime De La Torre, Director of Instructional Support, about how their district leveraged Progress Learning to make strides in student success and instruction.
The TIA program in Texas aims to recognize and financially reward outstanding teachers, offering them a pathway to a six-figure salary. To tap into this program, districts need a robust system to identify and designate highly effective teachers based on data. Like many other small districts, Anthony ISD faced the challenge of streamlining this complex process to ensure maximum eligibility of their teachers for the TIA.
How Progress Learning Can Help
According to Jaime De La Torre, the platform’s ease of use and efficiency have been game-changing for Anthony ISD. “With the ease of use of the assessment program, we’re creating district level assessments at the beginning and end of the year. We use that data to determine qualifications for our teachers based on their student progress and their own independent teacher evaluations,” explains De La Torre. This streamlined process has enabled Anthony ISD to include 85% of its teachers in the TIA program, a significant jump from the estimated 60% eligibility they would face without the aid of Progress Learning.
Anthony ISD, like many small districts, faced limitations in administrative bandwidth and resource availability. These constraints made it challenging to effectively manage and report on teacher performance and student progress. The lack of sufficient staff and resources meant that many teachers, despite their potential and performance, were at risk of not qualifying for the TIA program simply because the district couldn’t adequately assess and document their effectiveness.
The efficiency of Progress Learning has allowed Anthony ISD to create a fair and effective system for teacher evaluations and designations. This not only benefits the teachers, who gain access to the financial rewards of the TIA, but also the students, who continue to receive high-quality education from motivated and recognized educators.
The TIA program’s structure, offering additional funding through designation levels and prioritizing high-needs and rural campuses, ensures that districts like Anthony ISD can invest in their most effective educators. This funding is pivotal in retaining top talent and incentivizing teachers to work in challenging environments, thus elevating the overall standard of education.
The partnership between Progress Learning and Anthony ISD is a testament to how technology and innovative educational programs like TIA can come together to produce outstanding results.
Interested in seeing how Progress Learning can support your school or district’s approach to the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) and beyond? Request a demo of our TEKS-aligned program here!
