Bullard, TX—Today, Bullard ISD recognized 14 teachers for earning Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) designations awarded by the Texas Education Agency. These fourteen teachers earned a TEA designation for the first time or moved up to a designation level higher than they earned last year.
Funded in House Bill 3 (HB 3) by the 86th Texas Legislature in June 2019, the bill established an optional TIA system to provide incentive funding to help recruit, retain, and reward exceptional teachers. Each local school system creates a TIA plan that awards state funding to teachers based on three designation levels: Master, Exemplary, and Recognized. Bullard ISD’s approved local designation system uses data captured through student growth measures and teacher evaluations through the Texas Teacher and Evaluation Support System (T-Tess). After this data is submitted, TEA awards the designations.
The designations earned this year are based on teacher performance during the 2023-2024 school year. This is the second year Bullard ISD has qualified teachers for the program. In its first year, TEA awarded 29 Bullard ISD teachers with designations based on the 2022-2023 school year.
Bullard ISD Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee and Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Hendrix visited the designees in their classrooms to inform them of their designation level and the allotment amounts. The designations provide monetary awards of approximately $5,000 for Recognized designees, $10,000 for Exemplary, and $19,000 for Master designees. Overall, two teachers received Master designations, five received Exemplary, and seven received Recognized designations. According to Bullard ISD’s approved TIA plan, teachers receive 90% of the TIA allotment amount generated for their campus, provided the district employs them at the time of payout. The district will utilize the remaining 10% to support TIA efforts at the campus.
“We call teachers in our local TIA program ‘Bullard ELITE’ because they are Exceptional Leaders In Teaching Excellence,” Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee said. “We have excellent teachers in our schools, and we are excited that TEA also recognizes this excellence by granting them a designation.”
