District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) Grant

In May 2006, the 79th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1, subchapters N and O, creating the largest statewide investment in teacher incentive programs in the nation. Subchapter O, funded at $147.5 million for the 2008-09 school year, was named the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) Program. In 2009 the Texas Legislature re-affirmed its commitment to performance awards programs, appropriating $397 million total for the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) grant to cover the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years.

D.A.T.E. is a non-competitive grant available to all school districts that complete the required notice of intent to apply, participate in technical assistance, comply with program timelines and activities, and submit a completed grant application. Funds are awarded based on the average daily attendance (ADA) of the participating districts.

In order to qualify for the grant, district plans must designate at least 60% of funds for awards paid to classroom teachers based on quantifiable, objective, and reliable measures of student achievement. These funds are called Part I funds. The remaining funds, called Part II funds, can be used to pay awards to other staff members, to provide staff development, to improve the district’s data management capability, and to cover administrative costs associated with the grant.

Project Purpose

The purpose of the D.A.T.E. program is to provide funding to support the establishment of district-wide goals and the implementation of a financial awards system designed to:

• Award teachers for positively impacting student achievement;
• Target the district’s most in-need campuses to improve teacher quality; and
• Create capacity and sustainability for improved instruction within the district.

Project Goals

The goals of the program are to provide financial awards to effective educators and to increase academic achievement on participating campuses and districts overall.

Project Description

D.A.T.E. allows districts to continue to target campuses and educators by providing awards for success in improving student achievement. A district-level planning committee reviews district goals for the district award plan to maintain consistency with the district strategic plan. D.A.T.E. was established to provide meaningful awards to the teachers who are the most effective at improving student performance in Texas school districts and who meet the TEC definition of a classroom teacher. Districts must work to create a district award plan consistent with the district level goals, craft or revise a stake-holder engagement and communications plan, and continue to ensure that the data required is valid and reliable for the purpose of making high-stakes decisions.

The purpose of D.A.T.E. is to allow districts to create or continue a system of awards for educators demonstrating success in improving student achievement. Award systems are highly aligned with the overall instructional goals for the district.

Implementation by FBISD

Fort Bend ISD is in its second year of participation in the D.A.T.E. grant, and there are twenty-three campuses participating in Year 2. The 2009-2010 participating campuses are Arizona Fleming Elementary; Armstrong Elementary; Blue Ridge Elementary; Briargate Elementary; Burton Elementary; E.A. Jones Elementary; Glover Elementary; Goodman Elementary; Holley Elementary; Hunters Glen Elementary; Lantern Lane Elementary; Mission Bend Elementary; Mission Glen Elementary; Mission West Elementary; Parks Elementary; Ridgegate Elementary; Ridgemont Elementary; Quail Valley Elementary; Townewest Elementary; Christa McAuliffe Middle; Hodges Bend Middle; Missouri City Middle; Quail Valley Middle.

Program Goals

1. Increased percentage of students meeting state standards.
2. Increased achievement by all students as measured by TAKS scale scores.

Guiding Principles

1. The classroom teacher is the school employee who most impacts student achievement.
2. Students vary in their preparation and inclination towards learning when they enter a teacher’s classroom, so awards should be based on improvement whenever possible.
3. Teacher collaboration is a critical component of school improvement. Alignment of curriculum and instructional strategies within and between grade levels and subjects is essential for raising the achievement of all students.
4. All staff impact student achievement even if their impact is not directly measured by TAKS or other tests.

For the purposes of this grant, Fort Bend ISD has chosen to use the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) as the assessment on which to base student achievement decisions.

Awards

Staff members can earn awards in up to 3 different tiers as described below. Award amounts depend on the number of tiers for which the staff member qualifies and the number of criteria met in each tier. Any funds remaining after all awards have been paid will be distributed as additional awards to teachers who have already received an award or used for additional staff development. All salary related benefits including TRS will be deducted from the total award amount received.

General Eligibility Requirements:

• A participating employee must remain at his assigned campus during the grant period for each grant funded year.
• An employee must be hired and have started work no later than October 1 of each grant funded year.
• An employee on a Teacher in Need of Assistance (TINA) plan must meet the criteria outlined in the TINA as well as the grant criteria in order to be eligible for an award.
• An employee who retires or resigns prior to May 1 of any grant funded year is not eligible for an award.
• An employee who misses more than eight (8) days during the academic year is not eligible to receive a D.A.T.E. award. Absences excluded from the requirement are Jury Duty; School Business; and Religious Holidays (as defined in FBISD 2009-2010 calendar; limited to two days for exclusion). An employee who misses more than four (4) days will not be eligible for contingency funds. Extenuating medical circumstances, such as time missed due to medical screenings and minor surgeries, will require supporting documentation and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the campus principal and the D.A.T.E. Steering Committee. The primary purpose of the DATE program is to increase student achievement. Student achievement is impacted most when teachers are present and actively engaged in instruction. Employees who take protected leave such as FMLA are eligible to receive DATE awards that may be earned.
• The eligibility of any employee who transfers between campuses after October 1 of any school year will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the D.A.T.E. Steering Committee.
• An employee who is under investigation by TEA due to a testing irregularity will have his award held until the investigation is resolved. If the employee is found guilty of a testing irregularity, he will not be eligible to receive a DATE award.
• An employee who does not return to the district the next consecutive academic year will receive any earned award; however, he/she will not be eligible for contingency funds.
• An employee who works less that full time at a DATE campus will receive a prorated portion of any award earned.
• Contracted service employees and consultants are not eligible for a DATE award.

Eligibility requirements to receive an award in Tiers 1 and 2

• For a Tier 1 or Tier 2 award, the employee must be a classroom teacher and must meet the general eligibility requirements. Classroom teacher is defined as a degreed and certified individual who instructs students a minimum of four hours per day.

Tier 1 – Teacher Level Awards (Part I)

• To be eligible for a Tier 1 award, a teacher must be the teacher of record for a group of students tested by TAKS as verified by the master schedule on the October snapshot day of each school year.
• For grade levels and subjects that are TAKS tested in the prior year, award amounts are based on 1) the net increase in the percentage of students who pass after having previously failed and 2) the average increase in vertical scale score of all students (with a prior test score) assigned to that teacher who were enrolled at the campus by the TEA snapshot day and who remain continuously enrolled with that teacher up to the day of testing.
• For grade levels and subjects where no prior year TAKS test is given, awards are based on the average scale score of all students assigned to that teacher who were enrolled at the campus by the TEA snapshot day and who remain continuously enrolled with that teacher up to the day of testing.

Rationale:

• The classroom teacher is the school employee who most directly impacts student achievement.
• It is important to not only have more students meet state standards on the TAKS test but also to improve the achievement of all students.
• While teachers of all grades and subjects impact student achievement, for the purposes of this grant, Fort Bend ISD has chosen to use the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) as the assessment on which to base student achievement decisions.
• Students vary in their preparation and inclination towards learning when they enter a teacher’s classroom, so awards should be based on improvement whenever possible.

Tier 2 – Grade Level (elementary) or Department Awards (middle) (Part I)

• All teachers of TAKS tested subjects as well as teachers in specialized positions (i.e. Special Education, Reading Specialist, Math Specialist, ESL Support Teacher, Reading Recovery Teacher etc.) who teach in the core content areas are eligible for Tier 2 awards regardless of grade level. Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade teachers are also eligible for Tier 2 grade level awards.
• By October 1, all specialized teachers must be paired to the most appropriate grade level or department. Principals and specialized teachers will work together to determine the match and will document in writing what decision is made. The decision should be guided by the needs of the campus.
• The criteria for a grade level or department to earn an award are the same as the criteria for individual teachers for that grade and subject area.

Rationale:

• Teacher collaboration is a critical component of school improvement.
• Alignment of curriculum and instructional strategies within and between grade levels and subjects can raise the achievement of all students.

Tier 3 – Campus Improvement Award (Part II)

• All instructional and administrative staff members who are not included in Part I are eligible for this award.
• There are 6 (elementary) or 7 (middle) criteria for each campus. Award amounts are based on the number of criteria met by the campus.

Rationale:

• All instructional and administrative staff impact student achievement even if their impact is not directly measured by TAKS or other tests.

Other Part II Expenditures

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Staff development activities will include but are not limited to:

• training directly related to transitioning into the K/6, 7/8 campus configuration,
• training designed to target the greatest area of need (GAN) for each campus as identified in their Campus Improvement Plan,
• training designed to close the achievement gap between identified subgroups,
• training in higher order thinking and questioning strategies and
• training in Response to Intervention and Differentiated Instruction.

Stipends will be paid at a flat rate of $100 per day for approved professional development activities. Approved activities for which teachers are eligible to receive a stipend must occur during off-contract hours.

LOCAL DATA CAPABILITIES TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

• To enable the district to design, develop, and implement data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student to teacher data.
• Purchase of the Inova system to assist the district and the DATE campuses in generating and using accurate and timely data to support teacher instruction.

ADMINISTRATIVE FEES

• Payroll costs for Grant Coordinator, Data Specialist, and Clerk – Responsible for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and reporting data; communications, project implementation, fiscal management, and all other functions pertinent to the administration of the DATE project.
• Stipends for Campus Liaisons
• Professional and Contracted Services – Consultant fees for additional training in the Inova Process; fees for other professional consultants
• Supplies and Materials – Printing and other material needed to effectively manage and implement the grant program
• Travel fees for technical assistance training