Hundreds of Harmony Public Schools teachers across Houston to receive up to an additional $22,000 in salary through TEA’s Teacher Incentive Allotment
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 8/30/2022, 12:43 p.m.
Harmony Public Schools is proud to announce that 227 teachers in the Greater Houston area are recipients of the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a special fund created to reward the state’s highest-performing teachers.
The recognition means these Harmony teachers will receive up to $22,000 in additional salary starting this fall and again for the next four years. 50 of those teachers received a "Master" designation and will earn the maximum allotment for their extraordinary efforts in helping boost student achievement.
“We are honored to have some of the best and brightest educators shaping the minds of students,” said Ramazan Coskuner, Harmony Public Schools Houston South & West Districts Superintendent. “We are so thankful to the TEA for recognizing their diligent contributions.”
“This designation means to me that my hard work is paying off. That I work as strategically as possible to group my students and teach my students to become successful. Harmony has helped me greatly to reach this designation,” said Suzanne Wu, a first-grade teacher at Harmony School of Exploration.
The Teacher Incentive Allotment was created by the Texas Legislature in 2019 as part of the state’s new education bill, known as HB3. The primary purpose of HB3 was to provide new funds for across-the-board pay raises for Texas teachers. Harmony used those funds as well as others for one of the state’s most comprehensive pay increases for its staff, including $3,000-$5,000 raises for each of its teachers in base pay, with additional dollars for working hard-to-staff subjects and for the length of service.
Additionally, HB3 also created a separate funding pool - known as the Teacher Incentive Allotment - for the specific purpose of providing an additional salary for teachers who demonstrated exceptional performance in hard-to-staff teaching positions, including in low-income and rural communities.
Harmony Public Schools is a Texas-born, Texas-wide public charter school system with campuses serving PreK-Grade 12 students in 23 cities across the state, including Greater Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco, Lubbock, Odessa, Bryan, Beaumont, and the Rio Grande Valley. 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 2022-2023 school year for both students and team members.
About Harmony Public Schools
Harmony Public Schools are 60 high-performing PreK-12 college preparatory charter schools throughout Texas. Harmony blends the highest standards and expectations, with a rigorous math- and science-centered curriculum and dedicated and engaged teachers and families to cultivate excellence and prepare students to succeed in college, careers and life. At Harmony Public Schools, we believe every child can succeed, and we are committed to helping them realize their full potential. To learn more about Harmony Public Schools and our 60 campuses across Texas, please visit: www.harmonytx.org, and follow us on Twitter at @HarmonyEdu and ‘Like’ us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarmonyTexas.