CREEED & El Paso Community Foundation supported school districts in obtaining Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) designation for 155 teachers in the El Paso region
El Paso, TX – CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation announced today that five school districts in El Paso – Anthony, Canutillo, Fabens, San Elizario, and Tornillo – have collectively secured $1,674,000 in state funding for the 2023-2024 school year to support teachers in the region through the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program.
Established through the Texas school funding bill (House Bill 3), TIA allows school districts to identify and designate outstanding teachers, providing them with financial incentives, based on student academic performance and growth. Any school district can apply to provide teachers with a TIA designation. In 2024, a total of 155 teachers from these school districts received one of the three TIA designations – Recognized, Exemplary, or Master – which makes them eligible for anywhere between $3,000 to $32,000 in additional compensation added to their base salaries each year for five years. This additional compensation comes at no cost to local school districts, since the source of funding is directly through the State of Texas
“Teachers are vital to the academic success of their students, and we are proud to partner with school districts and provide them with the assistance they need to develop local designation plans and apply for TIA designation so they can reward high-performing teachers,” said Nadia Tellez, Choose to Excel Director at CREEED. “These are state funds specifically designed to help districts retain high-performing teachers so it’s important that El Paso does not leave that money sitting on a table, but rather we access those funds to support increased teacher pay in our region.”
“We are thrilled to support districts in their effort to obtain TIA funding to recognize exceptional educators. This is critical to ensure master teachers stay in the classroom, inspiring and nurturing the next generation for our community,” said Stephanie Otero, Vice President of Operations at El Paso Community Foundation.
CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation provided these school districts with technical assistance, funding, and dedicated staffing to help them navigate the TIA designation process and develop their district plans. Separately, Clint ISD has also developed a local designation system and helped 158 of their teachers obtain TIA designation since the program went into effect. Each school district has been able to secure the following additional funding through TIA:
- Anthony ISD – $46,520
- Canutillo ISD – $866,358
- Fabens ISD – $471,422
- San Elizario – $57,878
- Tornillo – $232,000
“Canutillo ISD currently has 98 TIA designated teachers and 15 National Board Certified teachers. We are proud to say that since 2020, we have received over $1.5 million dollars in performance compensation for our teachers. This has increased annually and this past year, we received our largest payout, which was $866,358. Our district has been repeatedly spotlighted by the Texas Education Agency as having one of the most successful, most expansive systems in the state, allowing for a high number of teachers to become designated,” said Debra Kerney, Ph.D., Associate Superintendent at Canutillo ISD. “We attribute our success to the support we have received through CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation. Truly, the great work we have done with TIA would not have been possible without their efforts and for that, we are truly grateful.”
Once a teacher receives one of the three TIA designations (Recognized, Exemplary, or Master) that designation remains valid for five school years and the district will continue to receive the additional funds for each teacher during those five school years as long as the teacher remains employed within the same district. Qualifying teachers can apply to receive a higher designation if they meet their district’s performance criteria.
“While the financial reward is enticing and helps lessen some of the financial burdens teachers face, receiving the TIA designation is validation that we are making academic progress in the lives of our students – we know what we are being measured on, and we can point to that measure as the impact we are making in the lives of students,” said Myla Dayrit, a 4th grade teacher at Canutillo ISD who received TIA designation in 2023. “We have built a community at Canutillo of teachers helping each other understand the designation process and obtain TIA designation because we see the value in it.”
CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation will continue working with school districts in our region to grow the number of TIA designated teachers and increase the state funding they are able to draw down through their designation plan.
To learn more about the Teacher Incentive Allotment and how CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation is helping school districts navigate this process, please contact Kayla Suarez at ksuarez@rabengroup.com.
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About CREEED
CREEED is a non-profit organization focused on increasing college readiness and completion rates. We invest in high-performing schools and high-quality initiatives that have shown success in closing the achievement gap for all El Paso County students. CREEED supports organizations, initiatives, and policies across four focus areas: Students & Schools; Educators; College & Career; and Parent & Community Engagement.
About El Paso Community Foundation
Founded in 1977 as a permanent endowment for El Paso and the surrounding borderland region, the El Paso Community Foundation has given back more than $267 million to a wide variety of organizations and projects in education, health, human services, arts, environment, and animals. The Foundation is more than a grant maker, it acts as a leader and convener to support numerous projects and initiatives across our region. More info available at epcf.org.