After months of stakeholder engagement aimed at designing HISD’s TIA program, the Talent Office is excited to announce it has submitted HISD’s TIA application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as part of Cohort F. The district will be notified of provisional approval in August.

If given preliminary approval, SY 2023-2024 will serve as the district’s data capture year and first year of TIA implementation in HISD. Teachers across HISD with select assessments will be eligible to earn designation, to be paid out the following school year if approved by the TEA. In Fall 2024, HISD will submit required performance data to the TEA for approval, with the first round of eligible teachers receiving notice of their designation status by Spring 2025.  The District’s long-term goal is for all teachers to be eligible to earn a TIA designation as additional assessments are phased in.

Texas Tech Teacher Survey: On April 27, Texas Tech University will release its annual survey to gauge teachers’ perceptions and support for the local teacher designation system. The survey will be sent to you directly by Texas Tech at your HISD email address, and the survey administration will close on May 13, 2023. We encourage you to respond to this survey.

Spring Student Feedback Surveys: In May, Student Feedback Surveys will be administered for the second time this year to eligible students in grades 3-12. Teachers will have access to the student feedback survey results for each topic through their Panorama dashboard in the fall of SY 2023-2024. Additionally, the results will be included on the 2022-2023 Performance Document. Scores from this year will not be factored into teacher evaluations, but will be used to inform individual teacher reflection. Beginning in SY 2023-2024, results will be considered as part of teachers’ summative evaluation ratings and will be factored into TIA designation decisions in SY 2024-2025. Survey leads will share additional information with teachers and have access to the HISD Best Practices Playbook.

T-TESS End-of-Year Conferences: This month, teachers participate in End-of-Year (EOY) Conferences with their appraisers. The deadline for holding EOY Conferences is April 28, 2023. Teachers hired on or after Feb. 3 will not participate in an EOY Conference.

Two years ago, HISD announced its plan to apply for the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). Since then, the district has engaged teachers, administrators, and staff in technical and design committees, administered stakeholder surveys, and held feedback groups to inform the details of HISD’s TIA design and implementation. Each month, we provide a monthly update to our community. All previous communication can be found on the TIA website.

TIA is a state-run initiative that supports the recruitment, retention, and placement of teachers through performance-based bonuses, particularly in high needs districts and schools. TIA will increase the total funds available in HISD for teacher compensation, support staff in schools where ongoing collaboration translates to student learning, and help us collectively ensure every child is served with excellence and equity.

HISD plans a phased approach to TIA implementation over several years with the goal of having all teachers eventually eligible to be able to earn designation. In SY 2023-2024, teachers across all HISD campuses with select assessments will be eligible to earn designation. In future years, TIA will expand to teachers across additional subjects and grade levels. Given feedback from teachers that showed strong support for sharing TIA funds, non-designated teachers and teacher assistants at designated teachers’ campuses will also have the opportunity to benefit from TIA in Year 1 and beyond.

Thank you for all of your work and engagement. Please reach out to TIA@houstonisd.org with any questions or concerns.