380 teachers in Harmony Public Schools' Houston Districts will receive bonuses this week equaling $3.2 million as part of the Texas Educations Agency's Teacher Incentive Allotment, a special fund created to reward the state’s highest-performing teachers. The recognition means that these Harmony teachers are receiving up to $18,760 in additional salary.

“Nothing we do in education can be achieved without the dedicated hard work of our teachers, said Ramazan Coskuner, Harmony Public Schools Houston South/West District Superintendent. "Their guiding hands lead our students to a pathway of success and we are so thankful to the TEA for recognizing their contributions.”

The teachers will receive the bonuses this fall and again in the next four years. 85 teachers received a "Master" designation and will earn the maximum allotment for their extraordinary efforts in helping boost student achievement.

"We recognize our teachers' exceptional achievements and understand that their influence reaches far beyond the confines of the classroom, said Recep Yilmaz, Harmony Public Schools Houston North District Superintendent. "Our teachers are not only educators, they are mentors, role models and innovative sources of inspiration. Their dedication shapes a brighter future for our students."

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 length of service.

Additionally, HB3 also created a separate funding pool - known as the Teacher Incentive Allotment - for the specific purpose of providing additional salary for teachers who demonstrated exceptional performance in hard-to-staff teaching positions, including low-income and rural communities.

Teachers selected can receive between $3,000-$32,000 per year for five years in added salary, directly from the TEA.

Harmony Public Schools is currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year for both students and team members.

To learn more about Harmony Public Schools and our 58 campuses across Texas, please visit: www.harmonytx.org, and follow us on Twitter at @HarmonyEdu and ‘Like’ us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarmonyTexas.