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Questions & Answers
Q
– Why
isn’t every teacher in the District eligible?
A
– By
state rule, every eligible teacher in the DATE program must be
guaranteed a minimum of $1000. Dividing the total award ($1,498,103.80)
by the number of teachers in Irving ISD (approximately 2200) would bring
the minimum award to less than $1000. It was never the intent of the
Legislature, nor TEA, to have a program in which every teacher could
qualify.
Q
– How
did the Texas Education Agency determine the Total Award amount of
$1,498,103.80?
A
– The
state has budgeted $147,500,000 for the DATE program. The District’s
share is determined by the number of Texas districts participating in
the plan, and by the district’s average daily attendance. The larger
the district, the more money it receives.
Q
– Could
the total amount be changed before implementation of the program?
A
– It is
possible. The total amount is divided by the number of participating
school districts, based on their average daily attendance. If the
number of participating districts decline, then Irving ISD could see
more money in the total award. It will not, however, be any less than
$1,498,103.80
Q
– Why
are the total funds split between Part 1 and Part 2 at 67% and 33%
A
– TEA
required the split to be a minimum of 60% in Part 1. The DATE Committee
decided to go with 67% to maximize the number of teachers eligible under
Part 1, yet keep a significant amount of money in Part 2.
Q
– When
is the timeline for the implementation of the DATE program, as well as
when will eligible teachers get paid?
A
– The
program is in effect for the 2008-2009 school year, and payments will be
made in September 2009 to those who qualify.
Q
– Are
part time teachers eligible?
A
– No,
according to TEA rules, a educator must teach in an instructional
setting for at least four hours per day.
Q
– What
does “Teacher of Record” mean?
A
– A
“Teacher of Record” is one who plans and implements instruction in a
classroom, and is the primary person responsible for assigning grades to
students. A regular third grade teacher with 22 students assigned to
his/her classroom is the Teacher of Record. A teacher who works with
individual students in several classrooms, such as an inclusion special
education teacher, is not the Teacher of Record.
Q
– Why
are only 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
teachers included in elementary Part 1?
A
– In
an attempt to narrow down the number of eligible teachers, the Committee
determined that eligible teachers at the elementary level should be
restricted to just the TAKS administration levels.
Q
–
First and second grade teachers contribute to the TAKS scores in upper
grade levels, as do special education, music, PE, and other non-TAKS
grade level teachers. Are they not as important?
A
–
Absolutely! The DATE plan is not intended to indicate that 3rd,
4th, and 5th grade teachers are any better or any
more important. However, when required to directly tie achievement to
the DATE program, this was the best group of teachers to identify.
Remember, the DATE program does not allow all teachers to be eligible,
so the DATE Committee had to make some very hard decisions.
Q
– Is
the secondary Part 1 program by school or by subject?
A
–
Actually both. If the subject area TAKS scores on a secondary campus
reach the minimum qualifications, then all the teachers on that campus
who teach that subject will qualify for the award.
Q
– So,
if a teacher only teaches one social studies class, and the social
studies TAKS scores meet the minimum, then that teacher qualifies for
the award – the same as a teacher who teaches six sections?
A
– That
is correct. All teachers, whether teaching one section or six,
contributes to the TAKS score in that subject. This will also encourage
more teamwork in planning and evaluation. The Committee considered a
tiered award system, but with a minimum of $1000 that had to be
guaranteed, the money did not work.
Q
– What
about Government teachers who teach only seniors? Why should they be
included if they don’t directly teach for TAKS assessment.
A
–
Government TEKS are sprinkled throughout the Social Studies curriculum,
and at the secondary level, the Committee wants to encourage teamwork
within a department. This would encourage a senior Government teacher
to do some tutoring with TAKS tested students at lower grade levels, as
well as work harder at planning with fellow teachers to make sure
Government TEKS are taught well at the lower grades.
Q
– Why
does Writing/Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies require 90%, and
science and math only require 70%?
A
– Our
current students testing in Writing, Reading, Language Arts, and Social
Studies are already achieving at a high level, while math and science
are not as high. The Committee wanted to set the bar high for each
level, yet be realistic and attainable.
Q
– Why
is Reading and Writing not separated at Middle School? Our writing
scores make it much easier for English teachers to be awarded if we
don’t include Reading scores.
A
– The
Committee believes teamwork is an important aspect of teaching, and the
TEKS are the same for both subject areas. The District has also had a
philosophy that you must read well to write well and vice versa, and
balanced literacy supports teaching both in all curriculum areas.
Combining Reading and Writing in middle school seems to best support the
District’s current goals and philosophies.
Q
– Can
a person teach part of the year and be eligible?
A
– A
teacher must be on duty no later than the last Friday in October and
continue to be employed through the last day of duty in the 2008-2009
school year.
Q
– Why
are not more subgroups included besides “Economically Disadvantaged?”
A
– Our
data has indicated that it is the Economically Disadvantaged student
that is most at-risk in any of the sub-groups. If the District’s TAKS
scores can rise in this category, it is our belief they will rise in all
categories.
Q
– With
the understanding that $1000 is the minimum payout for Part 1, what can
a qualified realistically expect to receive in 2009?
A
–
Looking at our latest scores, from the TAKS administration in 2007, 192
teachers would qualify at both the elementary and secondary level, which
would result in a payment of $5208.33 per teacher. By 2009, it is
expected that our TAKS scores will increase, qualifying more teachers.
However, more teachers qualifying means a lower payment per teacher.
Q
– If a
teacher retires, resigns, and/or leaves for any reason after completing
the 2008-2009 school year, will he/she still participate in the award?
A
– Yes,
any teacher who is eligible and qualified will participate in the reward
for their contributions during the implementation year. Checks will be
mailed to their forwarding address.
Q
– Why
are the Committee members receiving a $500 stipend for simply coming to
meetings?
A
– The
DATE Committee spent many hours developing this plan, and will continue
to spend many hours as the plan is implemented. This is just a small
token for their hard work. It is only 2% of the Part 2 Funds, and the
District was allowed to spend up to 5% for administrative costs.
Q
– Who
is the DATE Committee?
A
– The
DATE Committee is a subcommittee of the District Improvement Committee.
The voting members include three persons from the DIC, plus 16 other
teachers and campus administrators from across the District. Several
central office administrators served as facilitators. The complete list
is attached.
Q
– Why
are Wheeler and Secondary Reassignment Center teachers receiving a
stipend?
A
– Both
schools do not receive a rating, nor are TAKS scores directly correlated
to those schools. Yet, these teachers do contribute to the overall
academic achievement of the District. So, if the District reaches
Recognized or Exemplary, they will receive a $500 stipend. If the
District does not reach one of those two levels, the money will go into
the Group 3 funds under Part 2.
Q
– Most
of the Part 2 money is to be spend on campuses that are either
Recognized or Exemplary? Why not use some of this money to reward
teachers in critical needs areas, teaching on difficult campuses,
retention bonuses, master degreed teachers, etc.?
A
–
While the suggestions are all valid, the Committee focused on student
achievement. With a limited amount of money, and $475,000 does not go
very far, it was decided to make these funds available to all certified
teachers who help their campuses reach high levels of achievement. This
is an opportunity for teachers in other grades and subject areas not
covered in Part 1 to receive an award.
Q
– With
the limited amount of money in Part 2, how much will a teacher receive
if the campus reaches Recognized?
A
–
Using 2007 Accountability Ratings, 277 teachers would have qualified for
an award of $1763.91.
Q
– Can
an administrator, or central office personnel, ever qualify for the DATE
plan, Parts 1 or 2?
A
– No,
administrators are excluded from the DATE plan.
Q
– Why
are paraprofessionals not included in the DATE plan? Don’t they work
hard toward increased student achievement?
A
–
Without a doubt paraprofessionals are an important group of employees
for Irving ISD that have a significant impact on student learning.
However, TEA excludes everyone but classroom teachers from Part 1. Part
2 could include paraprofessionals and classified employees, but the
amount of available money would make the award insignificant.
Q
– How
do you calculate how much each employee would get in Part 2, Group 3?
A
– You
would take the total amount allocated to Group 3 ($475,603.80) and
divide by the number of certified educators on each Recognized/Exemplary
Campus. For example, if 10 campuses earned Recognized or Exemplary, and
each campus had 50 certified employees, for a total of 500 qualified
educators. Each educator in this scenario would receive $951.20.
Q
– Can a
person receive an award in Part 1 and Part 2?
A
– No,
if an employee receives Part 1 funds, they are not eligible for Part 2
funds.
Q.-
Which state assessment scores are included in DATE?
A -
The state assessment scores that will be included in the state
accountability ratings of campuses and districts in 2009 are included in
DATE. For 2009, those assessments include TAKS and TAKS-Accommodated
for students in grades 3-11. TAKS-Accommodated will be calculated into
TAKS passing rates in science (grades 5, 8, 10 and 11), social studies
(grades 8, 10 and 11), ELA (grade 11) and math (grade 11). In the SSI
grades the results for the first and second administration of reading
(grades 3, 5 and 8) and mathematics (grades 5 and 8) will be included.
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