Nashville Tennessee Teachers at Tough Schools Eligible for Bonus Money

Teachers at some of the toughest schools in Tennessee are eligible for bonus money up to $10,000. The bonus money will come from a federal grant used to reward highly effective teachers. The state of Tennessee will receive $35 million for the program from the U.S. Department of Education as part of a Teacher Incentive Fund.

Teachers in 22 schools in Metro-Nashville Davidson county will be eligible for the bonus. The high schools involved are Stratford, Whites Creek, Antioch, Glencliff, Maplewood, and McGavock. The middle schools include Margaret Allen, Jere Baxter, Apollo, John Early Paideia, Bailey, Gra-Mar, Antioch, Brick Church, Litton, Wright, and Cameron. The elementary schools include Hattie Cotton, Chadwell, Lakeview, Napier, and Whitsitt.

The bonus money will be distributed over five years to educators in more than 100 schools. The schools targeted generally have high poverty and low student achievement scores. The bonus money can be awarded to the entire staff or individual educators. The state of Tennessee plans on distributing the bonuses starting in 2011 with the amounts ranging from $1,500 to $10,000. The total number of teachers awarded bonuses is estimated to be around 1,800.

Test scores will not be the only factor in determining bonuses. Various surveys and actual observations will be used to determine the "effective" educators.