Nine Northside schools awarded more than $1 million
NISD Communications Department
August 9, 2006
Employees at seven elementary schools and two middle schools in Northside ISD will receive bonuses through Texas’ Educator Excellence Award program, Superintendent John Folks announced recently.
Linton, Esparza, Passmore, Lackland City, Powell, Westwood Terrace, and Meadow Village elementary schools and Ross and Pease middle schools will receive grants of between $90,000 and $135,000 each, depending on the size of the school. In addition, Jones Middle School will be participating in the incentive program for the second year in a row. Altogether, the grants total $1,115,000.
"While I have some concerns about test scores being tied to 'incentive pay,' we're thrilled we have this opportunity to say more than just 'thank you' to staff who work so hard every day to make sure all students are successful," Folks said.
Gov. Rick Perry established the statewide, $10 million grant program last year for schools that have high percentages of economically disadvantaged students and that have shown high levels of student achievement or significant improvement on standardized test scores. All schools must be rated Recognized or Exemplary under the state’s accountability system, or show strong performance gains in math and reading, according to TEA.
"I think it will be affirming for our teachers to know their work is being acknowledged and recognized," said Melva Matkin, principal at Esparza Elementary. "I do believe it will be an incentive for us to see even greater gains as we focus on student needs."
The grant requires staff members of each school to decide how the money is doled out. The state recommends teacher bonuses of between $3,000 and $10,000, and schools can choose, for example, to give larger bonuses to colleagues who teach subjects tested on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The school also can decide to share funds with administrators, counselors, speech therapists, nurses, librarians, cafeteria workers or custodial staff.
Teachers and staff at Jones Middle School will receive their first round of checks this month. Initially, it was a challenge to figure out how to dole out the money fairly, but ultimately, the school decided every employee should receive something, Principal Erika Foerster said. The bonuses range from $138 for cafeteria workers and custodians to more than $4,000 for teachers whose students received high scores on TAKS.
The extra money is particularly meaningful for a school that sometimes is known more for its challenging demographics than its Recognized rating from the state, Foerster said.
"I think it's a very positive thing," Foerster said. "The ability to give our teachers extra money is awesome. It’s the best thing in the world."
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