MDE Announces Teacher Stipends for TIF Grant Schools Achieving Student Growth

December 5, 2012

JACKSON, Miss. – Through the national Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant, 281 certified educators in seven Mississippi schools will receive $1,000 stipends this month for their hard work in improving student achievement.

The educators are at Bruce Upper Elementary in Calhoun County, Van Winkle Elementary in Jackson, Cook Elementary and Franklin Academy in Columbus, North Jones Elementary in Jones County, Central Elementary in George County, and Magee Middle School in Simpson County. The growth component of the state accountability model was used to determine whether the schools met student academic growth.

In 2010, the Mississippi Department of Education received one of the highly competitive five-year federal grants to improve student learning. The TIF grant, also known as the Terrific Schools Initiative, is designed to motivate the academic performance of students through strong leadership of teachers and administrators. The program measures an educator’s performance by student outcomes.

As part of the initiative, MDE offered professional development throughout the school year, and new teachers received ongoing guidance from highly trained mentor teachers. In addition, MDE piloted a new teacher evaluation system in these schools, the Mississippi Statewide Teacher Appraisal Rubric (M-STAR). As part of the grant, a performance-based compensation system was created to reward educators for increased student performance.

The MDE selected 10 schools to participate in the initiative, but three schools have not yet shown student growth. They are Oak Forest Elementary in Jackson, Mendenhall Jr. High in Simpson County, and Buckatunna Elementary in Wayne County.

“We are very proud of the schools selected to participate in this grant. In a short time, they have already shown marked improvement and academic progress. We support their hard work and look forward to their continued success in the coming years,” said Dr. Daphne Buckley, deputy state superintendent of education.