Teacher Incentive Allotment Program Nears $2 Million Impact for Midway Educators

Midway ISD’s participation in the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program continues to grow rapidly, generating nearly $2 million this year for high-performing educators and reinforcing the district’s commitment to attracting, supporting, and retaining exceptional teachers.

This year, Midway ISD reached 223 designated teachers through its local designation system and National Board Certification pathway — an increase from 148 designated teachers the previous year and 92 teachers just two years ago.

“This growth reflects the incredible work happening in classrooms across Midway ISD,” Assistant Superintendent Dr. Becky Odajima said. “Our teachers continue to raise the bar for student learning, and the Teacher Incentive Allotment helps recognize and reward that excellence.”

The designations generated approximately $1.93 million in funding for Midway this year, with 90% paid directly to teachers and support staff based on earned designation levels.

The Teacher Incentive Allotment, created through House Bill 3 in 2019, is designed to provide pathways for effective educators to earn higher salaries while helping districts attract and retain strong teachers. Under the current program, teachers can earn Recognized, Exemplary, or Master designations, with House Bill 2 recently expanding future designation opportunities and increasing funding levels statewide.

Midway began developing its local designation system in 2021 and is now entering its third official designation cycle. The district’s local designation system evaluates educators using two major components:

• Teacher performance measures through T-TESS evaluations
• Student growth measures based on academic progress data

Dr. Odajima said Midway’s broader investment in teacher support and professional growth has helped contribute to the program’s success.

“In recent years, Midway ISD has expanded instructional support systems, including adding back Professional Learning Community (PLC) time in addition to conference periods at the secondary level to provide teachers with increased collaboration and planning opportunities,” she said. “That is an important benefit for teachers that we were intentional about protecting and providing.”

The district has also continued investing in professional learning, coaching, leadership development, and instructional support systems tied directly to student and teacher growth.

Data presented to the Board showed consistent improvement in teacher observation scores across multiple instructional categories over the last several years.

The district has also expanded the number of eligible teacher groups participating in TIA, now including areas such as fine arts, special education, secondary social studies, advanced academics, ESL, dyslexia, and physical education.

“Our teachers continue to do incredible work for students every day,” Midway ISD Superintendent Dr. Chris Allen said. “This program recognizes excellence while helping Midway remain competitive in recruiting and retaining outstanding educators.”