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Teachers at eight Bryan schools will get more than $6 million in merit-based incentives over the next five years, a school administrator said Monday.
The district received three separate grants that will go into effect this fall to finance a program meant to attract and retain talented teachers, said Frances McArthur, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
She told Bryan trustees Monday that she, along with other administrators, hope the added incentives will help raise test scores and improve teacher retention at some of Bryan's low-performing campuses, McArthur said.
"This is basically a way to encourage your strongest teachers to go to your most disadvantaged campuses," she said after the school board's regular meeting.
The district received just over $6.6 million through state grants to institute the Teacher Advancement Program, a teacher career development strategy for schools developed by the Milken Family Foundation and used by schools across Texas to improve teacher performance, officials said.
McArthur told board members that the majority of that money will go directly to the 300 teachers who work at the eight schools.
The schools -- Anson Jones, Kemp, Milam, Crockett, Fannin and Neal elementary schools and Jane Long and Stephen F. Austin middle schools -- were chosen by a committee of teachers, administrators and parents who met for more than eight months to determine the district's neediest schools.
McArthur said committee members looked at turnover rates among teachers, student test scores and percentage of teachers with less than five years of experience at each school in the district.
Although these schools need the most help, McArthur said that will change quickly. She expects to see an influx of teachers wanting to move because of the chance to earn more money.
Officials are hoping to hire 19 master teachers and 40 mentor teachers through the Teacher Advancement Program this summer. The incentive pay would call for those designated as master and mentor teachers to receive $10,000 and $5,000 per year, respectively, in addition to their regular salary.
Merit-based incentives for teachers can be controversial, McArthur said, but the Teacher Advancement Program levels the field by allocating incentives based on a combination of a teacher's knowledge and objective comparison of student achievements.
Eventually, McArthur said, administrators would like to see the program implemented at all Bryan schools.
"I feel very confident that we're going to see great success with this because it's about a whole lot more than teacher incentives," she said. "It's about valuing teachers as professionals and providing them career growth opportunities they deserve."
• Janet Phelps' e-mail address is janet.phelps@theeagle.com.
