WASHINGTON
—
U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and
Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) today announced the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has awarded a five-year, $7,351,028 grant to the Board of Education of Washington County to reward teachers and schools for improving the classroom performance of students.
“I congratulate the Washington County Public School system and its teachers for doing an outstanding job in educating our children. I am so pleased that this Teacher Incentive Fund Award will make it possible for Washington County to recognize and reward outstanding teachers who make a difference,” said
Senator Cardin. “Good teachers are the key to our nation’s future and Washington County’s teachers are among our State’s best.”
“We as a nation must do all we can to make sure no child is left out or left behind. We must create an environment for young students to succeed,”
Senator Mikulski said. “Each year, I fight to ensure children have the resources they need, and I will keep fighting to put funds in the federal checkbook for education in Western Maryland. I congratulate Washington County on winning this well-deserved grant.”
“We are very pleased that this funding will help support and incentivize teachers working in challenging schools,” said
Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, Superintendent of Washington County Public Schools and the American Association of School Administrators 2010 National Superintendent of the Year. “We hope our work will be a model for the state as well as school systems throughout the nation.”
The grant, awarded through DOE’s Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant competition, will provide the Washington County Board of Education with the funds needed to reward teachers who do well in the classroom and schools that improve student performance. The grant will be used to implement a performance-based compensation model that will reward effective teachers and administrators at high-need schools who raise the level of and maintain high standards for student achievement. Washington County employs approximately 1,500 teachers and has an annual student enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
Washington County’s TIF grant was one of 62 announced today by the DOE, with awards totaling $442 million. The purpose of the program is to strengthen the education profession by rewarding excellence, attracting teachers and principals to high-need and hard to staff areas, and providing all teachers and principals with the feedback and support they need to succeed.
