Teacher Incentive Fund
Grant: Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF)
Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Division: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
Deadline: This competition is closed. The deadline was July 27, 2012.
Description: This program supports projects that develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems (PBCS) in high-need schools as a means to increase educator effectiveness and student achievement.
PBCS must consider gains in student academic achievement as well as classroom evaluations conducted multiple times during each school year among other factors and provide educators with incentives to take on additional responsibilities and leadership roles.
In 2012, the DOE established five priorities, three of which are absolute priorities and two are competitive preference priorities. Those applicants wishing to apply for the traditional TIF program must address the first two priorities in their application. Additionally, this year applicants may apply for a STEM focused TIF program. These STEM focused projects must address all three of the following absolute priorities in their application. See the program notice for more details.
Absolute priorities include projects that incorporate the following:
- Local Educational Agency (LEA)-wide Human Capital Management system with Educator Evaluation Systems at the Center (HCMS).
- LEA-wide Educator Evaluation Systems Based on Student Growth.
- Improving Student Achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Competitive preference priorities include:
- New or Rural Applicants to the Teacher Incentive Fund (up to an additional 10 points).
- An Educator Salary Structure Based on Effectiveness (up to an additional 20 points).
Two of the TIF absolute priorities include projects that incorporate high-quality professional development activities which increase the capacity of teachers and principals to raise student achievement, both in traditional education as well as in STEM focused instruction. The professional development component of the PBCS must be tailored to specific measures and outcomes and include a process for regularly assessing effectiveness of the professional development activities and have the ability to constantly evolve based on those assessments.
To assist potential applicants, pre-application workshops will be held for this competition in June. The workshops are intended to provide technical assistance to all interested grant applicants. Detailed information regarding times, and on-line registration can be found on the Teacher Incentive Fund’s website.
Fit for public broadcasting: This may be a partnership opportunity for stations who are involved in teacher and principal professional development and are willing to work with their State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and their Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) on the professional development component of this project. Interested stations should contact their SEAs and LEAs to determine whether they are submitting applications for either the traditional or STEM focused TIF grant program. If they are, stations are encouraged to offer their expertise in professional development.
Eligibility: LEAs, including charter schools that are LEAs in their state, SEAs, or partnerships of (1) an LEA, an SEA, or both, and (2) at least one nonprofit organization.
Anticipated funding: $284,461,350 for 30 awards ranging from $500,000 - $12,000,000.
How to apply: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the grant deadline.
Resources:
Program notice
Program website
