Teacher Incentive Fund Grantee Profiles

The following Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grantee profiles provide an overview of the unique approaches to educator compensation reform across the country.

Alaska Teacher and Principal Incentive Project 80 KB PDF
The Alaska Teacher and Principal Incentive Project combines components of merit-, knowledge-, and performance-based compensation systems in which performance rewards are based on a growth model for monitoring student achievement. The project will focus on teachers and principals who increase student achievement in mathematics, build capacity for mathematics instruction and principal leadership, and increase the overall number of highly-qualified mathematics teachers in rural Alaska.

Amphitheater Unified School District Project EXCELL! 68 KB PDF
Project EXCELL! serves students in nine high-needs inner-city schools and two high-needs rural schools among the Amphitheater Public Schools in the greater Tucson area. The differentiated compensation system supports academic achievement and will enable the district to recruit, develop, and retain high-quality educators.

Beggs Independent School District System to Motivate and Reward Teachers 76 KB PDF
The Beggs Independent School District, in partnership with eight high-needs local education agencies (LEAs), has formed the REACH Coalition (Rural Educational Achievement Can be Higher) to implement a differentiated compensation program.

Chicago Public Schools Recognizing Excellence in Academic Leadership 76 KB PDF
Chicago Public Schools will collaborate with the Chicago Teachers Union and National Institute for Excellence in Teaching/Teacher Advancement Program to implement a comprehensive and aligned system of compensation, performance evaluation, professional development, and school career opportunities for teachers and principals.

Community Training and Assistance Center and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Leadership for Educators' Advanced Performance 76 KB PDF
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools implemented the Leadership for Educators' Advanced Performance (LEAP) initiative to create an alternative compensation system that links teachers' and principals' earnings to student achievement.

Cumberland County Schools Teacher Incentive Fund Program
72 KB PDF
The Cumberland County Schools TIF (CCS TIF) program aims to serve the fourth largest district in North Carolina and will pilot in five schools suffering from high-poverty populations, low academic achievement, and high teacher turnover. The CCS TIF program intervenes using differentiated compensation to reward educators for raising student achievement.

Dallas Independent School District Principal and Teacher Incentive Pay Program 72 KB PDF
The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) Principal and Teacher Incentive Pay program is designed to reward effective teachers and principals who raise levels of and maintain high standards for student achievement. It builds on DISD’s existing Outstanding School Performance Awards program and incorporates a focus on teachers and principals. Value-added results and other direct achievement measures will be used to assess eligibility for teacher and principal incentives.

Denver Public Schools ProComp 72 KB PDF
Denver Public Schools (DPS) proposes a two-fold districtwide expansion of its Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp). DPS will develop, implement, and evaluate a performance-based compensation system for principals. In addition, DPS will strengthen its professional development, information technology, and student assessment systems to ensure consistent and rigorous implementation.

Eagle County School District Performance-Based Compensation Program 88 KB PDF
The Eagle County School District (ECSD) will collaborate with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) and the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) to expand its TAP program. Expansion plans include the following: increase master and mentor teacher stipends, increase training and support for master and mentor teachers and principals, as well as career teachers, further differentiate compensation for teachers in high-poverty schools to include student achievement and recruitment incentives, and more.

Edward W. Brooke Charter School Teacher Excellence Incentive Project 72 KB PDF
The Edward W. Brooke Charter School (EWBCS) in Roslindale, Massachusetts, serves 360 students expanding to include a K–8 system in 2009. To ensure student success via the recruitment and retention of quality teachers, EWBCS will implement a new teacher incentive plan that offers differentiated compensation to effective teachers.

Florence County School District, South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program 72 KB PDF
The South Carolina Teacher Advancement Program (SCTAP+) involves three districts and six schools (five elementary and one high school) with more than 200 professional staff and more than 3,000 enrolled students. SCTAP+, in conjunction with the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), will address local capacity building, student achievement improvement, and retention/recruitment.

Fort Lupton Teacher Incentive Fund 80 KB PDF
The Fort Lupton Teacher Incentive Fund project develops a performance-based compensation system that rewards effective teachers and principals who raise student achievement at the school and classroom level.

Guilford County Schools Mission Possible 72 KB PDF
The Guilford County Schools Mission Possible plan was designed to recruit and retain highly qualified administrators and teachers as well as increase student achievement. The program provides a financial recruitment/retention incentive based on school level and subject matter taught.

Harrison School District Two Recognizing Engagement in the Advancement of Learning 72 KB PDF
The Harrison School District Two (HSD2) created the R.E.A.L. performance-based incentive plan to provide incentives in three areas: (1) differentiated compensation based on student achievement gains, with recruitment and retention incentives for effective educators working in high-needs areas; (2) teacher advancement through professional development, focusing on mathematics and reading, and other areas in which HSD2 is not making adequate yearly progress; and (3) high-needs and hard-to-staff positions in mathematics and science and other special programs.

Hillsborough County Public Schools Performance Outcomes With Effective Rewards 72 KB PDF
POWER (Performance Outcomes With Effective Rewards) is an incentive system for teachers and administrators linked to performance and student achievement in high-needs schools. POWER will be implemented in 21 schools as a pilot during the first year of the grant. The results will help refine the program, and additional schools will be added during each year of the TIF grant.

Houston Independent School District Project SMART 88 KB PDF
The Houston Independent School District Project SMART (Strategies for Motivating and Rewarding Teachers) focuses on teacher effectiveness and growth in student learning at the campus and individual teacher and principal levels.

Lynwood Unified School District Quest for Success 72 KB PDF
All schools in the Lynwood Unified School District will participate in the TIF grant. The incentive program is designed to increase student achievement and teacher retention in difficult-to-staff positions. In addition, the program offers incentives for taking on other roles, such as grade-level chairperson. The program will foster collegiality among staff by awarding incentives based on grade-level or department-level gains in student achievement.

Mare Island Technology Academy—The New 3Rs: Rigor, Results, and Rewards 72 KB PDF
The New 3Rs: Rigor, Results, and Rewards will offer incentive bonuses for teachers and principals who meet the four-year employee retention goal, undertake new leadership roles, and increase student achievement.

Memphis City Schools Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) 84 KB PDF
New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) designed the EPIC to identify and provide incentives to school leaders and practitioners who have implemented effective practices that help drive achievement gains. Using a value-added model, NLNS is working with Mathematica Policy Research to determine which schools have the highest student achievement gains. Through EPIC, effective education practices will be identified and documented on an online knowledge platform.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Project RISE 72 KB PDF
The objective of Project RISE (Rewards and Incentives for School Educators) is to champion teachers in high-needs schools and encourage them to seek National Board Certification. Incentives will be available for Project RISE teachers for delivering high-quality instruction and professional development tailored to the schools' needs. Incentives also will be available to administrators at the selected high-needs schools. RISE schools will receive funds for mini-grants, participation in action research, and conference attendance.

National Charter Schools Effective Practice Incentive Fund 84 KB PDF
New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) designed the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) to identify and provide incentives to principals and teachers who have implemented practices and are willing to share those practices that drive student achievement gains. The cases produced through EPIC will spotlight the practice and include a rich contextualized framework to be shared with educators across the country through an online knowledge platform. NLNS has partnered with Mathematica Policy Research to identify the participating charter schools that have made the highest student achievement gains.

National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, Project SUPPORT 72 KB PDF
In partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), the Lake County School District teacher incentive program, Schools Under Performance Pay Offer Remarkable Teaching (SUPPORT), focuses on increasing teacher effectiveness, student achievement, and teacher retention and recruitment by providing multiple career paths, ongoing applied professional growth, instructional accountability, and performance-based compensation for teachers and principals.

Northern New Mexico Performance-Based Compensation Program 76 KB PDF
The Northern New Mexico Performance-Based Compensation Program will implement and evaluate a teacher and principal compensation system that uses valid and reliable measures of student achievement as the primary indicator of effective performance. The program will be implemented in four high-needs school districts, which will establish differentiated levels of compensation to recruit and retain effective teachers and principals in high-needs rural schools and in hard-to-staff subjects.

Ohio Teacher Incentive Fund 84 KB PDF
Ohio proposes a statewide system of rewarding teachers and school leaders for high levels of performance and solid achievement with competitive compensation and career opportunities. The Ohio Teacher Incentive Fund (OTIF) will provide opportunities for teacher development, differentiated leadership roles, and incentive pay.

Orange County Public Schools Recognizing Excellence in Achievement and Professionalism 72 KB PDF
Project REAP (Recognizing Excellence in Achievement and Professionalism) is a differentiated compensation system for teachers and administrators that will be implemented in the 10 Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) secondary schools with the highest needs. The incentives will be tied to student achievement and reward individual successes for effective leading. Project REAP has a comprehensive professional development component.

Partnership for Innovation in Compensation for Charter Schools
Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association 72 KB PDF
The Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association, in partnership with 10 New York City public charter schools, will develop the Partnership for Innovation in Compensation for Charter Schools to retain, develop, and reward educators.

Philadelphia Teacher and Principal Incentive Project 80 KB PDF
Beginning in fall 2007, approximately 400 classroom teachers and 20 school principals will participate in the Philadelphia Teacher and Principal Incentive Project, which implements performance-based bonuses and opportunities for career advancement. Student growth standards to be established through the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System will be used as a primary determining factor in eligibility for bonuses.

Pittsburgh School District Principal Incentive Program 72 KB PDF
The Pittsburgh Public School system has instituted reforms that include the establishment of eight Accelerated Learning Academies (ALAs), a Leadership Academy for principals, and other initiatives, including consolidating underutilized schools. Pittsburgh's Principal Incentive Program will evaluate principals on gains in student achievement and their leadership responsibilities. All principals will be eligible for the incentive program, including principals of ALAs who are already serving under performance-based contracts.

Prince George's County Public Schools Financial Incentive Rewards for Supervisors and Teachers 76 KB PDF
The Financial Incentive Rewards for Supervisors and Teachers (FIRST) program in Prince George's County, Maryland, will select pilot schools from a pool of underperforming schools that are in some stage of corrective action or restructuring. The FIRST program will augment school supports that are already in place, including enhanced staffing allocations for content area coaches, mentors for teachers with fewer than two years of experience, additional leadership support, and other targeted student intervention programs.

School of Excellence in Education Teachers and Principals Awarded for Student Achievement 72 KB PDF
The San Antonio School of Excellence in Education, a charter school district, will implement Teachers and Principals Awarded for Student Achievement (TAPASA), a performance-based incentive program designed to increase student achievement. TAPASA incorporates professional development, teacher-to-student and teacher-to-teacher mentoring programs, and a recruitment and retention system.

South Carolina Teacher Incentive Fund 72 KB PDF
The South Carolina Teacher Incentive Fund will enable districts and schools to reward excellent instruction and leadership through performance-based financial incentives (including hard-to-staff subjects), valid professional development to help teachers and principals increase student learning and achievement, and new avenues for career advancement without leaving the classroom or schools.

South Dakota Incentive Fund 76 KB PDF
The South Dakota Incentive Fund project is designed to implement a teacher incentive system in high-needs schools in predominantly rural areas. The system will include professional development and incentives to principals and instructional staff based on classroom and schoolwide gains in student achievement.

University of Texas System Teacher Incentive Fund Program 72 KB PDF
The University of Texas System, local school districts, and the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) have formed a partnership to implement the UT-TIF program. The schools serve primarily low socioeconomic areas. The partner districts will implement the TAP reform model that provides differentiated compensation based on teachers' and principals' performance and classroom-level and school-level student academic achievement.

Washington, D.C., Effective Practice Incentive Fund 76 KB PDF
The Washington, D.C., Effective Practice Incentive Fund (EPIF) is designed to improve teaching and learning by rewarding teacher and principal performance in high-needs schools where increased student achievement is demonstrated. Direct compensation as well as diverse career opportunities will be available for eligible teachers. Schools classified as low-performing will have the autonomy to create incentive structures.

This page last updated on: May 19, 2008