Groveland, Fla. — U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon today joined U.S. Senator Mel Martinez to announce $13.6 million in Teacher Incentive Fund grants for four Florida school districts to reward teachers and principals for making progress in challenging school environments. These grants are expected to be funded over five years for a total of some $81.5 million for Florida educators.

The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (Lake County, Florida); the School Board of Orange County; Hillsborough County Public Schools; and the School Board of Miami-Dade County will each receive one of 18 grants awarded in this round of the Teacher Incentive Fund grant program. In total, the 18 grants will provide $38,248,518 for school districts throughout the country to reward effective teachers and principals.

Launched by President Bush in 2006 as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, the Teacher Incentive Fund enables states and school districts to provide financial incentives to educators for raising student achievement or closing the achievement gaps, as well as teachers who choose to serve in our nation's neediest schools. The grants will also be used to recruit effective teachers to those schools, particularly for hard-to-staff subjects like math, science and special education.

"Through Teacher Incentive Fund grants, Florida schools can reward teachers who are making an essential contribution by helping students achieve the goals of No Child Left Behind," Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon said. "Nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher, and we must ensure that we have the best teachers in our most challenging classrooms."

"Florida continues to face a shortage of teachers. Improving teacher pay and incentives will have a direct positive impact on our children," said Senator Martinez. "These funds will help good teachers to be even more effective and will assist in attracting talented individuals to classrooms. I thank Secretary Spellings and Deputy Secretary Simon for their continued support of programs that help Florida's children succeed."

Today's announcement, made at Cecil Gray Middle School, highlights President Bush's commitment to ensuring teachers are rewarded for demonstrating progress in helping students succeed. In urging Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this year, the President has proposed inclusion of the Teacher Incentive Fund in the renewed law. Additionally, the President's latest budget calls for increased funding for the initiative to $199 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," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said. "These grants will help encourage our most effective teachers to work in challenging schools where they can make a real difference in the lives of young people."

Following is additional information for the four Teacher Incentive Grants awarded to Florida school districts:

• The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (Lake County, Florida):
  The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching will receive $1,219,957 and are expected to receive $20.5 million over five years. The grant will fund the Schools Under Performance Pay Offer Remarkable Teaching (SUPPORT) program, which provides incentives for teachers in Lake County's high-needs schools through professional growth and development to better serve the districts underperforming students.

• The School Board of Orange County:
  Orange County Public Schools will receive $6,595,095 and are expected to receive $27.3 million over five years. The grant will fund Recognizing Excellence in Achievement and Professionalism (Project REAP) program in Orange County for professional development training to attract highly qualified teachers and enhance student achievement levels in the district.

• Hillsborough County Public Schools:
  Hillsborough County Public Schools will receive $3,088,827 and are expected to receive $15.4 million over five years. The grant will be used to fund the Performance Optimized With Effective Rewards (POWER) initiative to teachers in 116 high-needs schools in the district, which is the 8th largest school system in the nation.

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools:
  Miami-Dade County Public Schools will receive $2,691,841 and are expected to receive $18.3 million over five years. The grant will be used to fund the Rewards and Incentives for School Educators (Project RISE) program to provide a jump-start to 36 low-performing schools by creating learning communities and enhancing professional development of teachers in the nation's fourth largest school district.

For more information about the Teacher Incentive Fund visit: http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/faq.html.

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