DATE Technical Assistance Center

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A Strategic Compensation Partner for Texas Schools

Overview

Since the creation of DATE in 2006, Texas has spent nearly $550 million to allow districts to design their own strategic compensation programs, or implement the TAP System. This is the largest state-level strategic compensation program in the United States.

For the 2010-2011 school year, over 300 districts will be implementing a program. The districts represent over half of Texas' student and teacher population.

One of the unique aspects of DATE is legislative-mandated state level technical assistance. Run by the Institute for Public School Initiatives (IPSI) at The University of Texas-Austin, Techical Assistance staff members have maintained a call center, website, and have traveled throughout Texas to provide Texas districts comprehensive support on every aspect of DATE program design and implementation.

Although strategic compensation reform has grown in popularity, there are still relatively few examples of successful strategic compensation awards programs. The Texas Legislature recognized the novelty and complexity of this reform and mandated technical assistance when it authorized the DATE grant in 2006.

The mission of the DATE Technical Assistance Center, operated by the Institute for Public School Initiatives at The University of Texas-Austin, is to help districts use their grant as part of a holistic effort to recruit, retain, and develop high-quality educators throughout the state of Texas.

Technical Assistance Services

The Technical Assistance Center offers the following services:

• Call Center: Technical Assistance staff members are available by phone Monday through Friday at 512-232-2255
• Workshops & Training: The staff has partnered with the 20 Regional Service Centers to offer highly interactive workshops and trainings on DATE design and implementation. For a list of upcoming events, click here.
• Program Consultations: Technical assistance staff members will travel to any district who requests one-on-one support with its DATE planning committee.
• Research Conferences: In order to better educate districts, Technical Assistance has sponsored multiple conferences, assembling experts from around the nation on the latest in this important reform.
• Comprehensive Website: This website contains a myriad of resources pertaining to DATE including: all the materials from our previous workshops, model programs, a performance measure database, timely research and policy briefs, and videos from our earlier events.

District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) Overview

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About DATE

In 2006, Texas Legislature passed House Bill One creating the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) grant. It is a non-competitive grant, with nearly $550 million in funding for districts to design and implement a strategic compensation program. Over 300 districts chose to be part of either Cycle 1, which began implementation in 2008-2009 or Cycle 2, which started implementation in 2010-2011.

These districts represent over half of Texas teacher and student population and:

• 56.5% of Texas’ total Hispanic student population
• 64.6% of Texas’ African American population
• 65.8% of Texas’ economically disadvantaged students
• 60.2% of Texas’ special education population

Structure of the Grant

DATE requires districts to develop and implement an award plan either district-wide or with a selection of participating campuses. Grant awards are divided into two parts. Part I funds make up at least 60 percent of the grant award and must be used to award classroom teachers or principals who are the most effective at improving student performance in Texas school districts and who meet the Texas Education Code (TEC) definition of a classroom teacher. Part II funds, up to 40 percent of the grant award, can be used on teacher stipends, teacher mentors, principal incentives, awards to other campus employees, professional development, or improvements to data capacity.

Districts may design their own program or use funds to implement the TAP System. Additionally, districts can choose to implement a district-wide program, or target high needs campuses.

Funding is intended to support the establishment of district award programs encourage the recruitment, retention and development of high quality educators through:

• Awarding teachers for positively impacting student achievement
• Creating capacity and sustainability for improved instruction within the district
• Alignment with overall district goals

For more information, contact us or go to the Texas Education Agency DATE Main Page.

TAP System Overview

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About TAP System

TAP is a comprehensive research-based reform model that provides differentiated compensation for teachers and principals based on teachers' performance in the classroom and the academic performance of their students. TAP balances a rigorous accountability system with strong support for teachers and school leaders. The program provides career advancement opportunities for teachers--including differentiated salary augmentations for increased responsibilities and duties--and time for ongoing applied professional growth during the school day.

Developed in 1998 by researchers at the Milken Family Foundation, the Teacher Advancement Program is administered through the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) at the national level and through the University of Texas System at the state level in Texas. The core elements of TAP are supported by a rich body of scientific research as well as practice in the field. Further, the TAP process is consistent with successful business models, which emphasize the importance of incentives, accountability, on-the-job support and career paths in order to motivate and develop effective employees. The TAP process, currently used at more than 125 U.S. schools, impacting more than 56,000 students and 3,500 teachers, is showing remarkable promise as reported in a recent study conducted by NIET.

TAP is dedicated to attracting, developing, motivating and retaining high-caliber educators in order to raise achievement levels for all students. To reach this goal, TAP provides incentives for career advancement, ongoing professional development, instructionally focused accountability, and performance pay - all of which are intended to maximize effective teaching. The TAP program seeks to create an environment where both teachers and students excel, where teachers and principals work together to improve instructional practice, and where teachers and principals are rewarded for success.

For more information on TAP, visit www.talentedteachers.org or contact the Texas TAP office at (512) 499-4512.

Institute for Public School Initiatives

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Mission

The mission of the Institute for Public School Initiatives (IPSI) is to improve the quality of academic outcomes for public education in Texas by building awareness and alignment between P-12 and higher education. IPSI's P-16 initiatives include innovative approaches and tools for students, teachers, and administrators to improve student college readiness, access and success.

Background

The Institute for Public School Initiatives (IPSI), created in 2004, focuses on improving student performance from preschool through high school via strategic partnerships with the institutions of The University of Texas, community colleges, school districts and state agencies. Funding for IPSI is made possible through generous contributions from private foundations and public agencies not directly affiliated with The University of Texas at Austin. With $56 million in grant funds last year, IPSI launched a number of programs preparing students to enter and move through the educational pipeline with the appropriate pre-requisite skills and knowledge, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or school location. IPSI focuses on the most powerful factors that influence access to high-quality instruction such as educator quality, new program models, early college preparation, and financial support for college.

IPSI works across the 15 University of Texas institutions to identify and develop state of the science theories, practices, and tools. In partnerships with public education these innovations are tested through real world application. All program efforts are thoroughly evaluated through rigorous data collection and efficacy analysis. IPSI invests only in reforms that are truly scaleable with the highest impact on student and educator performance. Through IPSI, The University of Texas at Austin demonstrates its commitment to improving public education.