TIA Program Guide

This is a working document and is subject to change

Table of Contents

Teacher Incentive Allotment

Designations

Pathways to Designation

Eligibility Phase-in Approach

TEA Performance Standards Requirements for Designations

TIA Scoring & Eligibility

Teacher Observation Requirements for Designations

Teacher Leadership Requirements for Designations

Student Growth Measure Requirements for Designations

Student Growth Measure Requirements

Scoring and Eligibility

Compensation

Teacher Incentive Allotment

The core component of TIA is based on a locally developed teacher designation system detailed in TEC §21.3521, teacher access to additional compensation is based on the local identification of teachers as master, exemplary, or recognized.

The local system must consider teacher evaluation and student growth outcomes. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas Tech University must approve the designation system and designations that are proposed by the district each year.

Once earned, teacher identification is applied to an individual’s teaching certificate and is valid for a five-year period.TIA is available to all eligible Texas teachers through their district local designation system or through certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

This Program Guide released on May 19, 2023 is intended to provide as a comprehensive guide to the Teacher Incentive Allotment and outlines procedures, policies, outlines, and best practices of the implementation of the TIA in Seguin ISD.

Overview

The Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) was established as a part of Texas House Bill 3 (HB 3), TEC §48.112, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in June of 2019. TIA focuses on recruiting, rewarding, and retaining highly effective teachers in all schools. This new model creates a path for outstanding teachers to earn

a six-figure salary with the goal of reducing the desire for highly effective teachers to leave the classroom. The state Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) provides additional financial distributions directly to districts based on teacher identification, student need as identified by compensatory education allotment (see TEC §48.104), and campus location (i.e., rural vs. non-rural). The statute requires that ninety percent of TIA funds are used

for compensating teachers employed at campuses with TIA-designated teachers. The amount of funding the designated teacher earns will vary by campus based on their designation

and the socioeconomic needs at a campus.

This is a working document and is subject to change

Teacher Incentive Allotment In Seguin ISD

Overview

The Texas Education Agency’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program implementation will begin during the 2023-2024 school year. This program provides a pathway to financially recognize top teachers and serves as a great opportunity to honor the hard work of our Seguin ISD teaching staff. For those who earn a distinction based on teacher observation, teacher leadership, and student growth data, will receive an additional state stipend separate from the current Seguin ISD pay structure. However, this stipend is credited in the Teacher Retirement System and will be used in retirement benefit calculations. Seguin ISD will receive an annual allotment for each eligible designated teacher employed. Allotments are based on the teacher’s designation level and campus of employment, with greater funding for high-needs and rural campuses.

Seguin ISD will go through a two-step application and approval process. TEA evaluates local designation systems at both stages to ensure statutory compliance, validity, and reliability. In partnership with Texas Tech University (TTU), TEA annually monitors the quality and fairness of local designation systems.

This is a working document and is subject to change

Designations

Overview

Designations are distinctions awarded to highly effective teachers. There are three levels of designation: Recognized, Exemplary, and Master. Designations are awarded to teachers through Seguin ISDs local designation system. Teachers with an active National Board certification may automatically be designated as Recognized by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Recognized Teacher

$3k - $9k

Exemplary Teacher

$6k - $18k

Master Teacher

$12k - $32k

This is a working document and is subject to change

Designations

Seguin ISD will provide two pathways in which eligible teaching assignments may earn a designation. One pathway will be through SISD’s local designation system, which includes performance standards for T-TESS and student growth outcomes. An alternative path to a TIA Recognized designation is through National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards.

National Board Certification is an alternative path to a TIA Recognized designation is through National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards. National Board Certification is available in 25 certificate areas across 16 disciplines. Staff interested in becoming National Board certified can contact the TIA Director at Seguin ISD to receive guidance and support in the pursuit of this certification. To find out more explore the https://www.nbpts.org/ website.

Pathways to Designation

The foundational system components of TIA require a teacher:

• Be in a TIA-eligible teaching assignment
• Receive a full T-TESS appraisal cycle (to include a 45-minute formal observation, two fall and two spring TIA walkthroughs)
  
• Have a minimum of five student data scores from a TIA-approved student growth measure
  
• Remain in continuous Seguin ISD employment as a teacher(087).
  

This is a working document and is subject to change

Eligibility Phase-in Approach

Seguin ISD envisions that ultimately every teacher will be eligible for this additional incentive funding. However, SISD does not currently have a student growth measure in all grades and subjects. The chart below represents a phased-in approach that provides the District time to develop growth measures, plot them, ensure validity and reliability and gain approval from TEA.

This is a working document and is subject to change

TEA Performance Standards Requirements for Designations

In order to be eligible for Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) designation, TEA has established minimum performance standards for T-TESS and student growth outcomes.

Teacher Observation Minimums

Domain 2 (Instruction) and Domain 3 (Learning Environment) have been established as priority areas of emphasis by TIA. Based on statewide observations data, TEA has also identified minimum score averages as measured across both domains of T-TESS using a five-point scale.

• Recognized designation ≥ 3.7
  
• Exemplary designation ≥ 3.9
  
• Master designation ≥ 4.5
  

Student Growth Minimums

To be eligible for a TIA designation, teachers must earn a minimum student growth outcome. Based on statewide performance expectations, TEA established minimum expectations as follows:

• Recognized designation ≥ 55%
  
• Exemplary designation ≥ 60%
  
• Master designation ≥ 70%
  

TEA and/or SISD reserves the right to adjust and/or modify the statewide performance standards based on state performance.

This is a working document and is subject to change

TIA Scoring & Eligibilty

The Seguin ISD TIA annual local evaluation designation submission includes three measurements. Each component is assigned a score on a distributed point scale.

This is a working document and is subject to change

Teacher Observation Requirements for Designations

Learning Environment (Domain 3)

• Classroom Environment, Routines, and Procedures (Dimension 3.1)

• Managing Student Behavior (Dimension 3.2)

• Classroom Culture (Dimension 3.3)

This is a working document and is subject to change

Teacher Leadership Requirements for Designations

T-TESS Leadership: Domain 4: 10% TIA Score

SISD local designated system evaluates teachers' professional practices and responsibilities using Domain 4 of T-TESS. All documents collected throughout the year to support activities related to Domain 4 will be submitted to T-TESS appraisers which may include, but not limited to, videos, photos, files, letters, etc.

Dimension & Domain

There are four dimensions within Domain 4: Each dimension is scored on a scale of 1-5: 1 (Improvement Needed), 2 (Developing), 3 (Proficient),

4 (Accomplished), 5 (Distinguished). Domains are scored based on the average scoring of the dimensions within each domain, rounded to the nearest tenths place.

•Professional Demeanor and Ethics (Dimension 4.1)

•Goal Setting (Dimension 4.2)

•Professional Development (Dimension 4.3)

•School Community Involvement (Dimension 4.4)

This is a working document and is subject to change

Student Growth Measure Requirements for Designations

Student Growth Measure Requirements for Designations

Student growth is calculated for all students that have a TIA-designated fall and spring assessment. Student growth performance is associated with individual teachers based on the following enrollment criteria:

• Students must be in a teacher’s roster (Teacher of Record) at the beginning of year administration (October snapshot date)
• Students must be on the teacher’s roster (Teacher of Record) at the end-of-year administration.
• The middle-of-year administration will be used for data-informed instruction, not TIA.
• There must be a minimum of at least five (5) students assigned to the teacher of record who will count toward that teacher's student growth percentage for TIA
  

This is a working document and is subject to change

Scoring and Eligibility

TIA designations are determined based on the TIA score, a weighted combination of the teacher observations average, leadership, and student growth score. To determine annual teacher eligibility for a TIA designation, the following steps are completed at the district-level, end-of-year analysis.

1. The TIA score is calculated based on the weight combination of teacher appraisal, teacher leadership, and student growth outcomes.
   
2. Teacher appraisal and student growth outcomes are verified to ensure that the component scores meet the performance criteria.
   

- If the performance criteria is met, a proposed TIA designation is submitted to the State for data review. Pending TEA

data validation, the TIA designation is attached to teacher’s teaching certification and is valid for a period of 5 years.

- If performance criteria is not met, TIA designation recommendation is not submitted to the State

This is a working document and is subject to change

Scoring and Eligibility

Teachers will have access to a TIA Eligibility Criteria Sheet throughout the school year in order to help guide them through the steps of the TIA program.

• A teacher whose total points equate to a designation can only be submitted for the lowest designation rating listed in either T-TESS or Student Growth.
  
• Submission of a designation does not guarantee a teacher will receive the designation or allotment.
  

TIA Annual Scorecard

Each year of the TIA evaluation cycle, teachers in eligible groups will be provided an annual teacher scorecard. The purpose of the scorecard is to provide transparency of the Seguin ISD TIA system. The scorecard will provide teachers the proposed TIA outcomes based on their performance, student growth, and leadership.

This is a working document and is subject to change

Compensation

This is a working document and is subject to change