Secretary Spellings Announces $38.2 Million for 18 Grants to Reward Effective Teaching and Leadership

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of $38.2 million for 18 grants that will provide financial incentives to teachers and principals who improve student achievement and close achievement gaps in high-poverty schools. The grants may also be used to recruit effective teachers to those schools, particularly for hard-to-staff subjects like math, science and special education. The grants are projected to be funded for five years for a total of some $237.4 million.

“If we expect results for every child, as we do with No Child Left Behind, then we must support teachers who get the job done in America’s toughest classrooms,” Spellings said. “These grants will help encourage our most effective teachers and principals to work in challenging schools where they can make a real difference in the lives of young people.”

Funded for the first time in 2006, the Teacher Incentive Fund program is President Bush’s initiative to develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal compensation systems in high-need, disadvantaged schools, where at least 30 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The goals of the program are to improve student achievement by increasing the effectiveness of principals and teachers, and, at the same time, increase the number of effective teachers for minority and disadvantaged students. For more information about the Teacher Incentive Fund visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/faq.html