HISD Teachers and Campus Staff Earn $18.2 Million Based on Students’ Academic Progress and Achievement

Superintendent Terry Grier recognizes teachers and staff

Students across the Houston Independent School District achieved significant success in the classroom during the 2012–2013 school year, and the educators most responsible for the gains recently earned financial awards.

Earlier this month, HISD awarded a total of $18.2 million to 5,180 campus-based teachers and staff under the ASPIRE Award Program. ASPIRE award payouts for teachers in core subjects, such as math, science, social studies, and language arts, are based on their students’ academic gains compared to their peers.

“Our teachers embody our core belief in the ability of every child to succeed in the classroom, under the guidance of effective teachers,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “Every day, campus leaders, peers, parents, families and students thank their teachers for their hard work. This is another way HISD leadership can recognize the highest levels of effective teaching.”

Top Campuses
Schools with the highest average core teacher awards for 2012–2013 are:

Elementary Schools
West University Elementary – $5901.75
Texas Connections Academy – $5240.91
Field Elementary – $5019.23
River Oaks Elementary – $4951.47
Scarborough Elementary – $4718.10

Middle Schools
Burbank Middle – $8769.84
Energized for STEM Academy West – $8333.33
Energized for Excellence Middle – $6000.00
Stevenson Middle – $5660.59
Ortiz Middle – $5403.13

High Schools
DeBakey HSHP – $9227.27
Challenge HS – $8807.69
Carnegie Vanguard HS – $8166.67
Sharpstown International HS – $7098.96
High School for Performing and Visual Arts – $6985.29

“This year’s total payout was higher than last year’s $17.6 million due to an increase in maximum award amounts,” Grier said. “We went this route for core foundation teachers, for example, with the total eligible payout set at $13,000 compared to last year’s $9,000. This is aligned with HISD priorities for excellence.”

The ASPIRE program has been in place since the 2006–2007 school year.

Other ASPIRE award amounts were based on campus-wide academic performance. The following HISD employee groups received ASPIRE awards:

  • Core foundation teachers received $500−$13,000, with an average award of $4,465 among 3,469 teachers.
  • Non-core foundation teachers received $245−$3,000, with an average award of $1,724 among 571 teachers.
  • Instructional support staff received $147−$1,350, with an average award of $721 among 374 staff.
  • Teaching assistants received $200−$1,150, with an average award of $607 among 330 teaching assistants.
  • Operational support staff received $250−$500, with an average award of $498 among 262 staff members.
  • Assistant principals and deans of instruction received $1,250−$7,500, with an average award of $4,867 among 94 assistant principals and deans.
  • Principals received $1,250−$15,000, with an average award of $8,609 among 80 principals.

The district is working continually to improve ASPIRE. The program is designed to recognize student academic growth among the top 20-30 percent of campuses and for teachers with above-average teacher effectiveness. Not obtaining an award does not necessarily mean that an employee’s students or their campus did not experience growth, only that growth was not high enough to be rewarded based upon the criteria for ASPIRE.

HISD received support for the 2012−2013 ASPIRE Award Program from the U.S. Department of Education Teacher Incentive Fund 2012 (TIF Cycle 4) grant, the U.S. Department of Education Teacher Incentive Fund 2010 (TIF Cycle 3) grant, the Texas District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) grant, and local general funds.