Congratulations to the Austin educators who participated in the first year of AISD REACH, the District's strategic compensation initiative. This program is a new venture within the Austin School District aimed at supporting and rewarding success in the classroom. From its inception, this initiative has involved AISD teachers, principals, parents, and community members who have led the work of developing the program.

In 2007-2008, teachers and principals at nine campuses from across the District were selected to pilot a set of programs that included:

• Setting learning goals to raise student achievement for students.
• Providing high-quality mentoring to support novice teachers who were in their first, second, and third years in the classroom.
• Participating in rigorous professional development to enhance overall professional growth.

While still in its early stages, this pilot has become a laboratory for teacher and principal innovation and leadership. With the start of the 2008-2009 school year approaching, we look forward to implementing a number of improvements to the pilot to ensure its continued success. Some refinements will include:

• Providing more targeted professional development for educators.
• Providing educators with new assessment tools.
• Expanding program eligibility to include assistant principals, instructional specialists and librarians.

As we move forward to the next phase of this pilot, we look forward to working with the 11 schools that will participate in AISD REACH during the 2008-2009 school year.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

David Lussier
Special Assistant to the Superintendent