July 30, 2008 - Superintendent Pat Forgione, joined by Education Austin President Louis Malfaro and Bill Cryer, representing the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, today announced nearly $1 million in payments to 410 teachers and principals at nine schools participating in the Austin School District’s Strategic Compensation pilot program.

“The Austin School District is one of a handful of innovative school districts across the nation that is providing a compensation package for those who meet or exceed established, locally developed student performance measures,” Superintendent Forgione said. “Today, we are announcing that nine principals and 401 teachers will receive bonuses totaling nearly $1 million this month. These educators are part of a research-based initiative to raise student achievement by recruiting, retaining, and strengthening the expertise of teachers and principals.”  
 
“The School District received strong community support in developing this initiative,” said David Lussier, Director of the Strategic Compensation Program. “We are fortunate to have both the Austin Chamber and Education Austin as partners in this effort. Both the business community and the teachers’ union recognize the value of reaching beyond state and federal accountability to advance school improvement in a way that empowers and rewards teachers and principals for innovation in the classroom.”  
 
“Despite competing theories on how to boost student achievement, there is broad consensus and a body of research that indicates a strong link between teacher quality and student performance,” said Louis Malfaro, President of Education Austin. “The pilot asks teachers to perform a comprehensive review of students’ baseline skills and prior achievement in order to establish goals for improvement and demonstrated growth by the end of the term. This approach to using best available data coupled with new support for teachers will inform us about both student achievement and teacher professional growth.”  
 
“The Greater Austin Chamber is pleased to be a partner in this important pilot, “ said Marcia Silverberg, Chair of the Chamber’s Strategic Compensation Task Force. “This is not only an important teaching and learning initiative, but it is also an investment in Austin’s future. By supporting and retaining teachers and principals—and rewarding them when their students raise their level of achievement—we strengthen the quality of life for our entire community.”  
 
Other key components of the strategic compensation program, now called AISD REACH: Supporting & Rewarding Success in the Classroom, are teacher mentoring and preparing teachers for national board certification.  
 
The first payouts in the pilot are for the achievement of Student Learning Objectives and for novice teacher mentoring. The total range of payouts in these areas for eligible teachers and principals who participated in the pilot was $1,000 to $5,000. In addition, teachers may still be eligible for a campus-based payment in January 2009, if their campus meets the growth standards for TAKS. Additional payments for educators participating in the pilot will also be available in the fall, when those data become available.  
 
The nine participating campuses for 2007-2008 were Barton Hills Elementary, Dobie Middle School, Hart Elementary, Lanier High School, Menchaca Elementary, O. Henry Middle School, Rodriquez Elementary, Sims Elementary, and Sunset Valley Elementary.