Mar. 23

Apr. 17

 December 16, 2008

1. If a teacher has four 45 minute classes of ESL Math, and works inclusion the rest of the day, would this teacher qualify under Part 1?

ANSWER:  This teacher would qualify under Part 2, not Part 1.  A Part 1 teacher must teach a minimum of 4 hours per day in a classroom in which they are the Teacher of Record.

2. If a person is a rehire/retire, and only works 50% of the time, can they qualify for either Part 1 or Part 2?

ANSWER:  An employee must be in the classroom at least 4 hours per day to qualify for DATE.  A 50% person would likely not qualify.

3. I don’t want to mess with any of this, including mentoring and lesson plans.  How do I opt out? 

ANSWER:  At this point you do not have to do anything other than create an online DATE account.  You do not have to mentor or work with your lesson plans for DATE.  If your campus otherwise qualifies, then you would need to check the box indicating you choose not to participate and turn it in to your principal.

4. Two elementary 4th grade teachers job share, working every other day and every other Friday.  Do they both qualify for DATE?

ANSWER:  An employee must be in the classroom at least 4 hours per day to qualify for DATE, or an average of 4 hours per day.  While the schedule for the two job sharing teachers needs to be reviewed, it is likely that both teachers would not qualify, as they would not be in the classroom with students an average of 4 hours per day.

5. If a teacher is out on Family Medical Leave (FMLA) for up to 12 weeks, is he/she still eligible for DATE?

ANSWER:  A person on approved FMLA cannot be penalized, so the short answer is the person can qualify.  However, the 9 contact units for mentoring still applies, as does the lesson plan requirement, if applicable.

6. How does a middle school librarian qualify?

ANSWER:  Yes, Librarians can qualify for Part 2 of the DATE program if their campus is either Recognized or Exemplary, and they have completed the required mentoring.

7. What do I have to do before the Christmas holidays?

ANSWER:  All campus professional employees need to go to the DATE website (www.irvingisd.net/DATE) and create an account.

8. If there are electronic records, why do we need paper documentation?

ANSWER:  You don’t.  All records will be kept on the DATE account, although you will need to print a copy for the June 5th signatures on mentoring and lesson plans, as well as the final application due on September 1st..

9. I teach 2 sections of Resource Math, 2 English, and 2 Reading?  Which department do I need to be associated with?

ANSWER:  You must be the Teacher of Record in at least one section, so if your campus qualifies in any of those areas, you would qualify for one share of the Part 1 DATE plan.  No one employee can receive more than one share in either Part 1 or Part 2.

10.  Can elementary teachers tutor students after school?

ANSWER:  Yes, as long as they are not responsible for students at that time and they are providing meaningful mentoring that involves not only tutoring, but creating a relationship of support.

11.  Do LIFE special education teachers qualify?

ANSWER:  For sure under Part 2.  They might qualify under Part 1 if they teach the core subjects in their curriculum, and infuse TAKS Objectives into their lesson plans.

12.  Counselors sometimes wait with students while waiting on parents to arrive.  Can this be used as mentoring time?

ANSWER:  As long as their presence with the students is not required.  Mentoring must be when not responsible for other duties.

13.  My students take TAKS Alt.  Does that qualify me for Part 1?

ANSWER:  TAKS-Alt is not counted in the Accountability Rating, but yes you could qualify in Part 1 if you are teaching one or more of the Core Areas, and you document the TAKS objectives into your lesson plans.

14.  If I teach multiple subjects, what do I indicate on the DATE Account? 

ANSWER:  Just click on one of the subjects you teach.  This does not qualify or disqualify someone based on their answer in creating a DATE Account.

15.  If I have a Probationary Certificate, does that disqualify me from DATE?

ANSWER:  A Probationary Certificate holder is considered a Highly Qualified teacher and qualifies for the DATE program.

16.  Must a teacher return to Irving ISD in the 2009-2010 school year to receive their DATE award? 

ANSWER:  No, you only must be employed from October 31, 2008 through June 5, 2009.

17.  As a school nurse, I am on duty from 7:30 to 3:30, but the students are gone by 3:00 PM.  Can I mentor from 3 to 3:30? 

ANSWER:  Depends.  If you have no other student or teacher responsibilities, and you can complete your paperwork at another time, then yes.

18.  In science, we may work two days on one lab.  Is that one or two lessons?

ANSWER:  A lesson plan is not necessarily tied to one day or one period, so there could be a lesson that takes more than one day to complete, and there could be multiple lessons within one class period.

19.  If my elementary school does not reach 80% in the TAKS results, does that mean no one qualifies under Part 1 or Part 2?

ANSWER:  The teachers would not qualify under Part 1, but could qualify under Part 2.  The rules for making Recognized and Exemplary take other factors into account.

20.  I am a full time employee of Irving ISD, but only part time on two or more campuses.  Which campus I am affiliated with for DATE?

ANSWER:  Employees who work at multiple campuses are assigned to their “HOME” campus according to DATE.  The HOME campus is typically the one where a person’s check (or check statement) is sent..

21.  If I mentor 3 students at the same time for 30 minutes, is that one or three contact units for me to count?

ANSWER:  It would be one contact unit.  Contact units are defined by time, not by the number of students.

22.  What if I teach two TAKS subject areas in high school?

ANSWER:  Then you have two opportunities to qualify for one share of Part 1 DATE funds.

23. I am not an employee of Irving ISD, but I work daily in the schools as a Contract Worker.  Do I qualify for DATE?

ANSWER:  No, you must be an employee of Irving ISD from October 31, 2008 through June 5, 2009.  Contract workers, while they provide valuable service to our students, are not employees of Irving ISD.

24. Are CATE (Career & Technology Educators) eligible for Part 1 or Part 2?

ANSWER:  Part 2.  CATE Teachers are not teachers of record in the core subject areas.

25.  AP Computer Science is a course in which students receive a math credit.  Would this qualify me as a math teacher under Part 1?

ANSWER:  Yes, if the course counts as a math credit, no matter the course title, then the teacher is eligible for Part 1 as a math teacher.

26.  If a teacher is eligible for Part 2 and mentors in a specific subject area, must the entire school be Recognized or only that subject area?

ANSWER:  The Accountability Ratings (Recognized, Exemplary) are only calculated at the campus level, not for individual subject areas.  All teachers on a campus that is Recognized and fulfills the mentoring requirement would be eligible for Part 2 – unless one qualifies under Part 1.

27.  Will non-TAKS teachers have an opportunity to keep up with raises in the future?

ANSWER:  DATE is only funded for 2008-2009, and any monetary awards supplement one of the best salaries in the state.  Irving ISD, under current conditions, plans to continue to be competitive with base salaries for all classroom teachers.

28.  Do teachers of only exempt ESL students (Level 1 and Level 2 students) qualify for Part 1, since the students will eventually take the TAKS?

ANSWER:  Eligibility for Secondary Part 1 depends on the subject one teaches, not necessarily whether their students take the TAKS test.  An ESL teacher teaches Language Arts, and that qualifies for Part 1.  However, since their students do not take the TAKS that year, the teacher needs to complete the Lesson Plan requirements.

29. Do teachers of only exempt ESL students (Level 1 and Level 2 students) qualify for Part 1, since the students will eventually take the TAKS?

ANSWER:  Eligibility for Secondary Part 1 depends on the subject one teaches, not necessarily whether their students take the TAKS test.  An ESL teacher teaches Language Arts, and that qualifies for Part 1.  However, since their students do not take the TAKS that year, the teacher needs to complete the Lesson Plan requirements.

30.   We were advised that even though we are a teacher of record and a TAKS tested subject that we should go ahead and make the documentation for part 2.   This was to make sure we would get Part 2 in the event the campus did not meet the total student score criteria.  Although we can only receive Part 1 OR Part 2, would we need to check both boxes anyway?

ANSWER:  It is not necessary to check any boxes at this time on the final application.  An employee should wait until the scores are released in the summer, determine what the campus qualified for under DATE, check the most appropriate box, attach the Lesson Plan and/or Mentoring documentation, and then submit by September 1, 2009.