Using ARRA Funds to Improve Teacher Effectiveness and Equitable Distribution: An Interactive Mapping Tool

Component 7: Leadership Development

Nexus Point Icon Nexus Point: Use evaluation instruments to identify and train teachers to serve as leaders.

Intersects With: Performance Management

Funding Stream: Title I, Educational Technology State Grants, State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) Program, Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) Program

Release of Funds: These funds are available during Phases 1 and 2.

Citation: Title I Guidance, SFSF Guidance

Readiness to Pursue Steps

  • Establish a working group comprised of teachers, principals, union representatives, district administration, and state education agency (SEA) staff.
  • Create state standards for effective teaching practice.
  • Determine whether the SEA has sufficient information technology capacity to collect the necessary data.
  • Develop a plan to implement the new teacher evaluation system.
  • Estimate the cost of developing new evaluation instruments and ongoing implementation costs.
  • Develop a plan to identify funding sources beyond ARRA, if needed, for sustainability.
  • Establish and implement a fair and reliable teacher evaluation system that provides ongoing feedback to teachers about their performance based on objective measures.

Promising Practices

The Center for Educator Compensation Reform (CECR), a center funded by the U.S. Department of Education and created to support the TIF grantees, developed a national map that highlights compensation reforms across the country and provides links to more information. See http://cecr.ed.gov/initiatives/maps/ for more information. These profiles provide examples of the vast array of performance-based compensation programs across the country, including the use of evaluation instruments to base teacher pay on classroom performance.


Nexus Point Icon Nexus Point: Use evaluation instruments to provide incentives to effective teachers, teacher leaders, and principals.

Intersects With: Performance Management and Compensation and Incentives

Funding Stream: Title I, Educational Technology State Grants, SFSF Program, TIF Program

Release of Funds: These funds are available in Phases 1 and 2.

Citation: Title I Guidance, SFSF Guidance

Readiness to Pursue Steps

  • Establish a working group comprised of teachers, principals, union representatives, district administration, and SEA staff.
  • Create state standards for effective teaching practice.
  • Determine whether the SEA has sufficient information technology capacity to collect the necessary data.
  • Develop a plan to implement the new teacher evaluation system.
  • Estimate the cost of developing new evaluation instruments and ongoing implementation costs.
  • Develop a plan to identify funding sources beyond ARRA, if needed, for sustainability.
  • Establish and implement a fair and reliable teacher evaluation system that provides ongoing feedback to teachers about their performance based on objective measures.

Promising Practices

CECR, a center funded by the U.S. Department of Education and created to support the TIF grantees, developed a national map that highlights compensation reforms across the country and provides links to more information. See http://cecr.ed.gov/initiatives/maps/ for more information. These profiles provide examples of the vast array of performance-based compensation programs across the country, including the use of evaluation instruments to base teacher pay on classroom performance.


Timing and Requirements for ARRA Funding

Title I

  • The second phase of Title I ARRA funds were scheduled for distribution on September 30, 2009. On Monday, August 3, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a press release announcing that the release of the second half of these funds will accelerate to “on or around September 1, 2009.”
  • The Title I fact sheet issued on April 1, 2009 stated, “In order to receive the remaining Title I, Part A ARRA funds, a state must submit, for review and approval by the Department, additional information that addresses how the state will meet the accountability and reporting requirements in section 1512 of the ARRA.” At the Title I directors meeting held the last week in July, however, ED announced that no additional information would be required to receive the second half of the Title I ARRA funds.

SFSF

TIF

  • A fact sheet on the TIF ARRA on the ED website states that ED anticipates the proposed program requirements will be published in the Federal Register before the end of August 2009.

Enhancing Education Through Technology State Grants (ED Tech)

  • Guidance was published in July 2009 by ED.