The Texas Education Agency has announced that all Harmony Public Schools teachers will be eligible for up to $32,000 in additional compensation in 2024-25 after designating all seven Harmony regional districts as Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) designees.
A catalyst for helping high-quality teachers remain in the classroom, TIA was created during the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019 in order to reward and retain highly-qualified teachers. A recent TEA study conducted during the 2023-24 school year showed that designated teacher retention exceeded the statewide teacher retention rate by 8 percentage points.
About 25,000 educators statewide received the award in 2023-24. More than 1,000 Harmony teachers received a TIA bonus that year. Of those Harmony teachers, more than 100 received $15,000 or more. More than 30 teachers received $20,000 or more, a news release said.
Harmony also recently approved a new sign-on bonus for teachers who received TIA bonuses elsewhere, but are now looking for new career opportunities. Harmony will pay new teachers who were previously designated as TIA recipients elsewhere up to $10,000 as a one-time bonus for joining Harmony.
School systems participating in TIA determine teacher designations using data from classroom observations and student growth outcomes.
Designated teachers who remain in classroom teaching positions generate annual funding for teacher compensation.
Harmony’s curriculum places a heavy focus on STEM skills, Character Education, project-based learning, and college readiness.
Harmony Public Schools is currently accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year for both students and team members.
