R9 TIA News & Notes - November 2024

Dear TIA Leads,

As we approach this time of year, we are excited to support districts looking to enhance or adjust their local designation systems. This is a great opportunity to make more teacher assignments eligible or to improve existing processes. To assist with this, an expand/modify application is available on the TIA website.

While there is some work involved, including stakeholder engagement and completing the application, the process is significantly less time-consuming than the initial application. Additionally, we’re offering a few informative sessions at Region 9 ESC that you may find beneficial as you do the work to expand/modify.

If you have new TIA Leads in your district, these sessions will be especially beneficial for them as well. You are invited to attend the following professional development opportunities in November and December. Click the buttons below to register!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,

The Region 9 TIA Team

Region 9 will be hosting an R9 TIA Office Hours on the second Tuesday of every month from 9am-10am. The next one will be on November 12th. This Office Hours will be a Zoom only for Region 9 districts. We’ll start each Office Hours with any updates you need to know, and then give you time to ask our TIA Team any specific questions that you have about your designation system, your data for submission or anything else related to TIA.

Once you register, open the zoom registration email and add it to your calendar. This will add all of the dates for the year!

💻TEA offers high quality zoom trainings throughout the school year. There are often testimonials from district personnel, and you can get your questions answered straight from the source! Click the image below to access the link.

The 2025 TIA Conference will be held in San Antonio June 9th-June 11th, 2025! Conference registration will open soon, and the cost will be between $300 and $400 per person. If you present at the conference, your registration fee will be waived!

Please consider submitting a proposal on the conference website. You can also review the Proposal Guidebook for more information. The deadline for proposals is December 13, 2024.

The Vendor zoom session held in October was well-received by attendees who were hoping to learn about options for Student Growth Measures for their TIA plans. If you were unable to make it but are interested in learning more about the vendors listed below, please click here or click the image below to access the resources and recordings linked.

When educators seek a new school district to call home, their journey often begins with your job posting. A warm, one-paragraph introduction that highlights your district’s unique community and culture can make all the difference. Consider the samples below as inspiration (make your own copy).

🔔If you decide to create your own introduction, please email it to Debbie Cummings at debbie.cummings@esc9.net to add to our records for future job postings.

Do your teachers have questions? We've got answers! Teachers can join us to learn the basics of TIA at our sessions listed on the flyer below. This informational session is for any teacher who wants to learn more about TIA, even in districts with established Local Designation Systems. Click the image to access the zoom links. You can also email the PDF directly to your teachers by clicking the download link below! Email chelsea.howells@esc9.net with any questions.

Look down in the appropriate category below to keep track of PD opportunities, action items, and deadlines. Each section is a one stop shop for all timely information for your category. We hope that this newsletter keeps you up to date with everything that you need to know in the world of TIA!

It is an important time to be engaging with your stakeholders. Be sure to check-in with your teachers and other stakeholders to ensure open communication and support. TEA has created some stakeholder engagement resources beyond the ones you received at our October zoom.

The next mandatory session will focus on Student Growth Measures and Teacher Observation Protocols. The decisions you'll make on this topic will guide you in implementing your TIA plan in future years!

Date: November 18, 2024

Time: 9am-4pm

Location: Region 9 ESC Face to Face

Who should attend: TIA Lead (required); strongly recommend the full Admin Team; teachers should not attend

Click here to register

The December zoom session will cover creating a Spending Plan and Data Validation. The TIA Lead must attend, and the Business Manager should plan to attend for the morning Spending Plan section.

🧭Save the Date: December 3, 2024 9am-4pm via zoom

This is a good time of year to review your district’s TIA spending plan and assess whether it is working to meet your district goals around teacher retention. The TIA Spending: Best Practices and Exemplar Spend Plans resource includes guidance for applying districts that are developing a spending plan, but also contains general spending guidance for districts that may want to modify their spending plan to align with district goals. As the school year gets into full swing, it is always best practice to communicate spending plan details with teachers in writing.

Congratulations to our districts that submitted data this year. All of you got the submission in by the deadline. The next step in the process is that you will be receiving an email from TEA (if you haven't already) with one of two messages:

Data Accepted- Your data has been accepted by TEA with no errors and will be pushed forward for review. Data accepted DOES NOT MEAN your data has been approved. It just means that there are no data errors that need to be corrected. You do not need to do anything else.

Data Needs to be Corrected and Resubmitted- This means that there are formatting errors in your data submission that need to be corrected and then resubmitted. The email will specifically state what needs to be corrected and then you'll need to resubmit in the TIA Data Portal. If you receive this email, please contact Scott Slater at ESC 9, scott.slater@esc9.net. He can support you with any corrections that need to be made before you resubmit.

Once the file has been reviewed and accepted, it is considered final. No additions or changes can be made as the file will enter Data Validation with Texas Tech University. Please ensure that you have submitted accurate designation data.

Data Submission FAQ #19:

What if we discover an error in our data or teacher designations after the data submission deadline has passed and our file has been accepted?

Data submission is final. Districts may not add or remove teachers, change teacher designations, or edit performance data after your data submission file is accepted. Some best practices for checking the file before data submission may include:

• Require campus administrators and human resources leads to ensure all teachers in eligible assignments are accounted for in the data capture and submission.

• Allow teachers and/or campus administrators to verify teacher-student rosters before calculating student growth ratings. Districts may set local business rules to determine which students should be included. This may require reviewing student enrollment dates, mid-year class transfers, and teacher assignment transfers.

• Campus administrators verify final observation and student growth scores.

• Provide teacher scorecards with final observation rating, final student growth rating, level of designation, and process for calculating and determining designations.

• Establish an internal appeals process in cases of score discrepancies.

• Ensure data and unique identifiers are correct for all teachers; pay careful attention to teachers with similar names.

• Allow multiple reviews of the final data file to ensure alignment with teacher score cards and eligible teacher lists. This is particularly important if the district uses a third-party vendor or data analyst with fully automated processes. Districts must confirm that the correct information is being tied to the correct teacher before submission.

Districts will receive email notification that their file has been accepted following the System Alignment Review. The email will include information regarding fee amounts due ($500 per proposed designee) and payment instructions in the SCOMS online pay system (through ACH or credit card). Do not send a mailed check or remit payment outside the system. See the SCOMS Fee Payment Instructions for more information. Do not send payment until you have received this email.

Overview of TIA System Alignment Review

Additional information regarding SAR can be found in the Overview of TIA System Alignment Review resource.

TIA Spending Guidance

Additional information regarding the allotment and spending requirements, along with business office considerations for issuing payouts, can be found in the TIA Spending Guidance for District Business Offices resource.

This is a good time of year to review your district’s TIA spending plan and assess whether it is working to meet your district goals around teacher retention. The TIA Spending: Best Practices and Exemplar Spend Plans resource includes guidance for applying districts that are developing a spending plan, but also contains general spending guidance for districts that may want to modify their spending plan to align with district goals. As the school year gets into full swing, it is always best practice to communicate spending plan details with teachers in writing.

Congratulations to our districts that submitted data this year. All of you got the submission in by the deadline. With the deadline passed, district data files will enter the System Alignment Review to ensure that the data align to the district’s accepted system of record for the 2023-24 school year. The next step in the process is that you will be receiving an email from TEA (if you haven't already) with one of two messages:

Data Accepted- Your data has been accepted by TEA with no errors and will be pushed forward for review. Data accepted DOES NOT MEAN your data has been approved. It just means that there are no data errors that need to be corrected. You do not need to do anything else.

Data Needs to be Corrected and Resubmitted- This means that there are formatting errors in your data submission that need to be corrected and then resubmitted. The email will specifically state what needs to be corrected and then you'll need to resubmit in the TIA Data Portal. If you receive this email, please contact Scott Slater at ESC 9, scott.slater@esc9.net. He can support you with any corrections that need to be made before you resubmit.

Once the file has been reviewed and accepted, it is considered final. No additions or changes can be made as the file will enter Data Validation with Texas Tech University. Please ensure that you have submitted accurate designation data.

Data Submission FAQ #19:

What if we discover an error in our data or teacher designations after the data submission deadline has passed and our file has been accepted?

Data submission is final. Districts may not add or remove teachers, change teacher designations, or edit performance data after your data submission file is accepted. Some best practices for checking the file before data submission may include:

• Require campus administrators and human resources leads to ensure all teachers in eligible assignments are accounted for in the data capture and submission.

• Allow teachers and/or campus administrators to verify teacher-student rosters before calculating student growth ratings. Districts may set local business rules to determine which students should be included. This may require reviewing student enrollment dates, mid-year class transfers, and teacher assignment transfers.

• Campus administrators verify final observation and student growth scores.

• Provide teacher scorecards with final observation rating, final student growth rating, level of designation, and process for calculating and determining designations.

• Establish an internal appeals process in cases of score discrepancies.

• Ensure data and unique identifiers are correct for all teachers; pay careful attention to teachers with similar names.

• Allow multiple reviews of the final data file to ensure alignment with teacher score cards and eligible teacher lists. This is particularly important if the district uses a third-party vendor or data analyst with fully automated processes. Districts must confirm that the correct information is being tied to the correct teacher before submission.

Districts will receive email notification that their file has been accepted following the System Alignment Review. The email will include information regarding fee amounts due ($500 per proposed designee) and payment instructions in the SCOMS online pay system (through ACH or credit card). Do not send a mailed check or remit payment outside the system. See the SCOMS Fee Payment Instructions for more information. Do not send payment until you have received this email.

Overview of TIA System Alignment Review

Additional information regarding SAR can be found in the Overview of TIA System Alignment Review resource.

TIA Spending Guidance

Additional information regarding the allotment and spending requirements, along with business office considerations for issuing payouts, can be found in the TIA Spending Guidance for District Business Offices resource.

Click any image below to access the resource!

Check them out below:

2024-2025

October 2024 September 2024