Sharyland ISD to expand teacher incentive program

For the past two years, Sharyland ISD has been working to make its teachers eligible for state funds that would go toward their salaries. The district began the process by making 188 teachers eligible, but SISD plans to expand the program.

The Texas government established the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) to help teachers earn more money and increase retention. However, becoming a TIA district is a lengthy process that takes years and ultimately depends on Texas Education Agency (TEA) approval. TEA has yet to approve Sharyland ISD as a TIA district and deem the first round of teachers TIA-designated — that won’t come until April 2026. But SISD leadership is confident in their formula and is already planning the next phase of the program.

“We have worked on an expansion plan to whereby the end of 2028, every single one of the Sharyland ISD teachers will be eligible for the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which is a very big deal,” said Pamela Montalvo, assistant superintendent for student and support services. “I’m not going to lie, it’s an aggressive plan. But I know it’s very much needed because [teachers] need to be paid more and this is another way to improve, retain and reward the teachers that we do have.”

To become a TIA district, Sharyland ISD must capture data that shows student growth. The district had to develop its own data capturing system and grading rubric, which they use to evaluate teachers. But it’s a process that occurs in phases.

SISD spent the 2024-25 school year capturing data for 188 teachers in specific subjects and grade levels. In October, the district will submit the 2024-25 data and the first phase of teachers for TEA review. If TEA approves, that first teacher cohort will become TIA designated and receive their first TIA checks in August 2026. They’ll stay TIA-designated teachers for five years, and the designation stays with them if they move districts.

However, Sharyland is already working on phasing in a new set of teachers in different grade levels and subjects to become TIA-eligible, focusing on pre-k to second grade reading programs.

“Our expansion for next year is looking at our littles through literacy,” Montalvo said. “[The superintendent] has talked about how we want to focus on our foundation and how high we can take our students.”

Additionally, the district wants to phase in other STAAR-tested subject areas like third grade reading and math, fifth and eighth grade science and high school biology and U.S. history. Sharyland ISD also wants to look at rewarding teachers for getting students college-ready and beyond.

The designation applications for the first phase teachers from the 2024-25 cohort will cost SISD $94,000 or $500 per teacher, but the district will get that money back with TEA approval.

“At the beginning, we up front the money and then after that, the money will come in for the teachers. And 90% of that goes out to teachers on the campuses and then 10% retains at the district level,” Montalvo explained. “So we can expand some of these programs, get in more professional development and find other ways to get all of our teachers certified.”

Through the Teacher Incentive Allotment, classroom educators have the opportunity to earn six figures by combining the state funds with their district salaries. Nearby school systems have earned millions in recent years, with Mission CISD’s 300 TIA-designated teachers earning $3.5 million for 2023-24 and La Joya ISD’s 243 designated teachers earning more than $3 million for 2024-25.