$5.25M awarded to K-12 educators through Arizona Ready-for-Rigor Project

For their leadership in increasing their student and school achievement, more than 2,200 educators from 58 schools in 10 districts received over $5.25 million in performance-based payouts for participating in the Arizona Ready-for-Rigor (AZRfR) Project during the 2014-2015 academic year.

This is the final annual payout of the five-year U. S. Department of Education Teacher Incentive Fund Grant awarded to Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College in 2010. Over the life of the project, more than $20.5 million was awarded to Arizona teacher, principals and assistant principals.

“The value of this amount goes beyond the dollars as the hard work and dedication of these teachers and schools administrators is helping to develop more effective teachers and leaders in Arizona’s classrooms,” said executive director Virginia McElyea. “As this project winds down, we hope for the continued advancement of educators to increase teacher and student achievement.”

Utilizing TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, the AZRfR Project provides the participating schools with continuous assistance and support from master and mentor teachers within their schools, professional development opportunities, and competitive payouts based on effectiveness ratings generated through classroom observations and growth in student achievement.

The $5.25 million was awarded to 2,109 teachers and 99 administrators involved in the project during the 2014-2015 academic year. In total, the teachers received $4,900,000; principals and assistant principals received $340,000. Teachers earned an average of $2,334 per payout, which were based on a combination of multiple observations, and student and/or school-wide testing results.

The 58 schools entered the project over a three-year period and the 10 districts earned the following amounts:

• Avondale Elementary: eight schools, 285 educators (teacher, principals and assistant principals), $737,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $2.54 million during its four years in the project.

• Chinle Unified:  seven schools, 261 educators, $661,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $2.56 million during its four years in the project.

• Coolidge Unified: six schools, 186 educators, $255,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $880,000 during its three years in the project.

• Deer Valley Unified: four schools, 168 educators, $470,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $1.55 million during its four years in the project.

• Gadsden Elementary: eight schools, 217 educators, $714,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $3.14 million during its five years in the project.

• Glendale Elementary: five schools, 218 educators, $328,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $1.46 million during its five years in the project.

• Littleton Elementary: six schools, 330 educators, $750,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $2.38 million during its three years in the project.

• Mesa Public Schools: six schools, 252 educators, $329,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $1.46 million during its five years in the project.

• Osborn Elementary: five schools, 177 educators, $532,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $2.59 million during its five years in the project.

• San Carlos Unified: two schools, 114 educators, $293,000 in 2014-15 payouts, and $957,000 during its four years in the project.

Of the $20.5 million distributed over the life of the grant, $1.1 million was awarded to 17 schools during the 2010-2011 school year. The program expanded to 48 schools for 2011-2012, with $4 million in payouts; $5.1 million was distributed to 59 schools for the 2012-2013 school year; $5 million to 59 school for the 2013-2014 academic year, and $5.25 million this year to 58 schools.