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U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced a $5,510,860 grant to the Ohio Department of Education to provide financial incentives to teachers and principals who improve student achievement in high-poverty schools. The grant will also be used to recruit effective teachers to those schools, particularly for hard-to-staff subjects like math and science. The grant is expected to be funded for five years for a total of some $20 million.

At an event in Columbus, Ohio, where she was joined by Rep. Ralph Regula, Spellings said, "Nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher-and research shows that rewarding teachers for results can improve student performance. I am delighted to be here in Columbus to make the first Teacher Incentive Fund grant to the Ohio Department of Education, which will encourage more experienced teachers to work at high-poverty schools where they can make a real difference in raising student achievement."

"I am extremely pleased that the Department of Education has selected Ohio as one of its demonstration sites for the Teacher Incentive Fund. Outstanding teachers make the difference in improving student achievement, particularly in districts where student achievement continues to lag and in critical subject areas such as math and science. I am optimistic that this program will further improve student achievement in our state," Regula stated.

The Ohio Department of Education will use its grant to develop or expand current compensation systems for teachers and principals in four major urban city school districts: Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo. The funds also will be used to develop teacher and principal evaluations that will be based primarily on measuring increases in student achievement and reductions in the achievement gap. In addition, the grant will pay stipends to master and mentor teachers to conduct workshops for their colleagues on the skills and strategies they've used successfully in the classroom to raise student achievement.

"Teachers are the key to preparing our students for the future," said Susan Tave Zelman, Ohio superintendent of public instruction. "This grant will help make teaching a more valued and honored profession by rewarding high-quality educators who help other teachers increase student achievement."

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. The award in Ohio is the first of 16 to be announced, for a total of $42,078,259. Another $43.1 million will be awarded in spring 2007. For more information about the Teacher Incentive Fund visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/faq.html

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