Edinburgh teachers won’t be getting a stipend after the school board determined the district no longer qualifies under the new standards.
Daily Journal file photo
House Enrolled Act 1001 outlines new changes in the teacher appreciation grant, TAG, for this school year, reducing how many of teachers who can qualify, and one local school is opting out.
TAG was established to “provide millions of dollars directly to schools and thousands of dollars to Indiana’s educators to attract, reward and retain teachers who significantly impact student outcomes,” according to the Indiana Department of Education.
The previous program, in place for almost a decade, awarded stipends to most teachers who were rated effective or highly effective.
Shifting to a more selective model, the new program recognizes no more than 20% of certified teachers in a district each year, based on a combination of student outcomes and performance criteria. With fewer teachers qualifying, there is more money to go around, and the teachers who do get a stipend are getting more money.
During a special board meeting at Edinburgh Community School Corp., Superintendent James Halik went over the changes to the TAG program and said the school district now “doesn’t qualify.”
“It’s completely unfair in all honesty,” he said.
Under the new TAG system, a recipient teacher will be selected for one of three stipend levels, depending on the criteria the teacher meets.
To be eligible under the new law, a teacher must:
- Have taught students in the same school or district for at least one school year prior to the award year;
- Remain employed at the same school or district at the time the grant is distributed;
- Be identified as having a “significant impact on student outcomes,” based on national, state or local assessment data.
Additional requirements apply based on the three stipend levels:
- Recognition ($3,500): Awarded to teachers who demonstrate high performance based on student outcomes.
- Exemplary ($5,000): Awarded to teachers who meet the above standard and one of the following: Mentor or coach another teacher to improve student outcomes, or work in a high-need subject or geographic shortage area (as determined by IDOE).
- Exemplary Plus ($7,500): Awarded to teachers who meet all the following: Demonstrate high performance on student outcomes; Serve as a mentor or instructional leader; Work in a high-need or shortage area.
Along with these additional requirements, “significantly impacting student outcomes” is interpreted as one year’s growth in one year for every student. Districts can set further specifics for each subject area on what constitutes “significant impact.”
Halik said that currently, the district does not have anyone who qualifies because they do not have any students who meet that definition.
Edinburgh School Corp. was notified of the new program and how teacher eligibility worked on Sept. 12, Halik said. He was told districts must notify IDOE by Friday if they plan to participate.
While the schools may have effective or highly effective teachers, some of the language in the additional requirements also do not have a clear definition, such as teacher leadership and committee involvement, Halik said.
“We don’t have a definition, and we would have had one if we knew it was important for teacher leadership responsibilities,” he said. “We don’t have a clear definition locally or by the state of what true leadership looks like.”
Halik said Edinburgh schools have some committees, but it’s not clearly defined what committee involvement needs to look like.
“I hope that the legislature looks at this and says that it’s created a little bit of a mess and some kind of animosity toward the purpose,” he said.
Halik also wonders if there will be repercussions for opting out.
“What scares me about it is here is the state wanting to give us money and then we reject it and then they say ‘but we offered you money last year and you didn’t take it,’” Halik said. “It’s not a happy game with the teacher appreciation grant right now.”
With the new requirements in mind, Halik and the school board decided collectively to opt out of the TAG program, meaning no educators in the district will receive a stipend.
“It’s disappointing that there isn’t some opportunity to provide some teacher or teachers’ financial growth, professional growth,” Halik said.
The Indiana State Teachers Association has publicly opposed the changes to the TAG program, saying, “while we support meaningful recognition for great teaching, the new model raises concerns about fairness, the erosion of collaboration and the exclusion of many deserving educators.”
