Wichita Falls ISD officials announced that 91 teachers will receive a total of more than $800,000 in salaries through the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program, according to a WFISD news release.
Teachers received designations through the Texas Education Agency’s TIA program, generating salaries directly to teachers, according to a news release.
“I am so happy for our teachers,” Ward Roberts, director of innovation and advanced academics at WFISD, said in a press release. “The approval of our district’s designation system will hopefully shed light on the hard work teachers do every day for our students.”
The passage of House Bill 3 during the 86th Legislature made the TIA program possible.
It provides a path for high-performing teachers to earn six-figure salaries while enabling districts in rural and high-need areas to recruit and retain highly effective teachers on their campuses, according to a news release.
The district recently received word that the WFISD’s data submission for the program has been accepted and teachers have been notified of their designation and expected salary amount, according to the WFISD press release.
The designations generate funds for the district that are paid almost entirely to teachers each year for five years, according to a press release.
The amounts are based on the designation level earned and the socioeconomic status of students on the teacher’s campus, according to the news release.
WFISD now has the following:
- 34 Recognized Teachers: Annual award ranges from $3,500 to $6,000
- 37 exemplary teachers: Annual award ranges from $5,700 to $13,000
- 20 Master Teachers: Annual award ranges from $12,000 to $22,000
The final dollar amounts will be determined in April.
“We know WFISD is full of great teachers, but it’s great to get some more endorsement from the state. Through the TIA program, we have one more reason to celebrate our staff and students!” Roberts said in the press release.
Since 2019, TIA has provided $138.7 million in additional funding to school systems across Texas, according to a press release.
Now in its fourth year, 373 districts in all 20 education service center regions are actively participating in the TIA, according to a news release.
For districts to be approved for a local designation system, they must go through a multi-year nomination process.
The process begins with developing the system and an application that must meet legal and regulatory requirements. Then follows a full year of implementation to capture teacher performance data.
Districts then submit their data to be validated by Texas Tech University and holistically reviewed by the TEA for full system approval. Visit tiatexas.org for more information on teacher incentive allocation and a complete list of participating school systems.
