Midway ISD projects nearly $3.8 million in additional teacher compensation through the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment this school year, with 335 teachers included in its latest designation totals.
The Midway ISD Board of Trustees received the update during its regular October meeting, outlining substantial growth in teacher participation, higher performance designations and financial rewards for classroom success.
The district’s projected total is up from approximately $1.99 million and 223 designated teachers last year. That represents a 50% increase in designated teachers and a 90% increase in projected incentive funding in one year.
Final designations and allotments are subject to state verification in April 2027, with teacher payments planned for May.
The Teacher Incentive Allotment, known as TIA, provides additional state funding to recognize effective teaching and help districts attract and retain successful educators. For teachers, it offers a way to substantially increase earnings while continuing their work in the classroom.
Teachers earn one of four designations—Acknowledged, Recognized, Exemplary or Master—by meeting progressively higher criteria for classroom instruction and student academic growth. Midway weighs those two measures equally. Higher designations qualify teachers for larger annual payments in addition to their regular salaries.
Projected annual payments are $3,000 for Acknowledged teachers, $5,000 for Recognized teachers and $9,000 for Exemplary teachers. Master-level payments range from approximately $12,753 to $17,171, depending on the campus. These stipends are paid in addition to regular salaries.
The largest designation growth came at the Master level, the highest designation in Midway’s local system. The district’s latest totals include 182 Master teachers, compared with 80 last year. Master teachers now account for more than half of Midway’s projected designated teachers.
Seventy-two teachers also qualified to move to higher levels: 23 from Recognized to Exemplary, 12 from Recognized to Master and 37 from Exemplary to Master. Those advances recognize their classroom results and qualify them for larger payments.
Midway began developing its local designation system in 2021 and submitted its first teacher designations in fall 2023. Since then, the program has grown from 92 designated teachers and approximately $661,000 in funding to this year’s projected 335 teachers and nearly $3.8 million. The designated teacher count has more than tripled, while annual funding has grown to more than five times its initial level.
Midway has also expanded access to the program. Its initial data collection included five eligibility groups covering assignments such as prekindergarten, elementary reading and mathematics, selected secondary core subjects and physical education.
Additional groups have brought opportunities to more teachers, including those in science, social studies, Spanish and special education.
The district’s 2026–27 plan includes fine arts and a career and technical education pilot, continuing efforts to recognize effective teaching across more subjects and classrooms.
The growth reflects a broader investment in performance-based teacher compensation across Texas. The Texas Education Agency reported more than $481 million in TIA funding for over 42,000 designated teachers during the 2024–25 school year. TEA also reported that designated teachers were retained at a rate nine percentage points higher than their non-designated peers.
For Midway, the expanding program means more teachers can earn meaningful financial recognition for their classroom work—and continue building their careers serving students.
