In case you haven't heard, the U.S. Department of Education announced last week that Austin ISD was one of the 62 winning applicants of the $442 million Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant competition. AISD received $62.3 million — the largest grant awarded in the nation — to expand our Strategic Compensation program, called AISD REACH, for the next five years.
Now in its fourth year as a pilot, AISD REACH, with support from Education Austin and the Greater Austin Chamber, advances the District's efforts to recruit and retain the very best teachers and principals for Austin's schools. The program supports and recognizes outstanding teaching, by offering incentives for raising the academic achievement of students. It provides targeted supports to build the capacity of staff, and additional incentives to recruit and keep high quality educators at Austin’s high-needs schools. The program also supplies full-time mentors who support novice teachers with high-quality, individualized professional development, guidance, and classroom support.
I believe these resources will allow us to further refine and reinforce our support for outstanding teaching in our schools. In addition to the amazing partnership of Education Austin and the Greater Austin Chamber, I also want to thank the Austin teachers (who participated in the pilot that caught the attention and recognition of TIF) and the Austin community (for its support in dedicating one cent of the District’s tax rate to creating this innovative program). Without their support, the grant probably would have never happened, especially the part about receiving the nation's largest award.
If you have questions about the grant, please contact our district mastermind for Strategic Comp, David Lussier, Executive Director for Educator Quality, whose job it is to ensure we expand AISD REACH to a total of 43 Austin schools, including high-needs campuses in the Reagan, LBJ, and Eastside Memorial feeder patterns.
