During the district’s TIA steering committee meetings, input was gathered on the development of the TIA spending plan. The steering committee is comprised of the superintendent, district chief officers, principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and teachers, who all played an important role in decision-making processes. While each district makes its own determination on how to distribute TIA funds to teachers, Texas Education Code 48.112 specifies “at least 90 percent of each allotment be used for compensation of teachers employed at the campus at which the teacher for whom the district received the allotment is employed.” The remaining 10 percent may be used by the district for “costs associated with implementing (TIA), including efforts to support teachers in obtaining designations.” Districts will make individual decisions regarding how the TIA funds will be distributed between the teacher earning the designation and the other teachers assigned to his or her campus.  Cityscape's TIA steering committee determined that 90 percent should be provided directly to the teacher of record, who will earn their TIA distinction through a rigorous formula of excellence in the classroom combined with excellence in student achievement.  Therefore, Cityscape Schools will provide 90 percent of the TIA funds directly to the teacher who earned a TIA designation and reserve the remaining 10 percent of the funds to support the TIA initiative at the district level.  As the law dictates, district TIA funds will only be used for costs associated with implementing the TIA, including efforts to support teachers in obtaining designations. The steering committee wanted to utilize the entire 10 percent to financially support appropriate training, professional development, measurement tools, and all other necessary components to assist teachers in reaching a…

For the 2023-2024 academic school year, Cityscape’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) plan now covers all Reading, Math, Science, and Pre-K teachers, grades Pre-K through 8.  Both certified and uncertified teachers are eligible to qualify for a TIA designation. Cityscape’s district plan is comprised of: Student Growth – 50 percent Teacher Observation – 50 percent Attendance - prerequisite Our measurement for Student Growth is MAP (for grades K through 8) and CIRCLE (for our Pre-K teachers). Our measurement of Teacher Observation is T-TESS (for all grades):  Domains 2 & 3 To learn more about Teacher Incentive Allotment, see the Texas Education Agency Resources (https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/educator-initiatives-and-performance/educator-initiatives/teacher-incentive-allotment) Exciting News! The scoop of the dayCityscape home to 16 TIA Designees for the 2023-2024 School Year! For the first time in district history, Cityscape Schools is home to 16 teachers who have earned designations through the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program. Nine teachers are veteran Cityscape teachers and the remaining seven teachers had already earned their designations at other districts when they came to Cityscape for the current school year. The following teachers are in their second year (or higher) with Cityscape Schools: Acuña, Sol – ECC - RecognizedCupido, Carlos – EGP – RecognizedEsquivel, Margarita – BP - ExemplaryFranco, Alva – EGP – RecognizedGarcia, Maria – EGP – RecognizedHoward, Naima – BP – ExemplaryMiles, Lindsey – EGP – RecognizedOrnelas, Juan – EGP – RecognizedRodriguez, Angel – EGP – Recognized And a huge Cityscape welcome to the following teachers who are new this year, but earned designations through their previous districts: Arellano, Rosa – EGP – ExemplaryCabra, Diana – EGP – RecognizedCamarillo, Gabriel – EGP – MasterChilds, Samantha – EGP – MasterDe Fex, Raul – EGP –…

Attendance Awareness  Cityscape Schools acknowledges the importance of showing up every day! September is known as Attendance Awareness Month and we are dedicated to helping our families understand how being in class every day impacts their children’s learning. Recent surveys have shown that some of the reasons that  students are absent include: 48%, short-term illness, 10% chronic illness, 2% bad weather and 1% unreliable transportation.  A research made by Attendance Works stated that 10% of missed school days missed due to absence for any reason, even if it’s excused or unexcused, can translate into students having difficulty learning to read by the third grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school.  Students at Cityscape Schools are required to not miss more than 28 school days, that includes both excused and unexcused absences. In addition, our campus leadership team is responsible for applying those consequences to those students who don't meet the required days of attendance, those consequences may result in expulsion, suspension or required summer school.  Over the past few years, the misconception on chronic absenteeism has created a division between families and schools. While for some administrators absenteeism can be easily confused with lack of interest in education by families, research has shown to them that the difficulty to connect with schools is among the top reasons why students are absent.  We Are Here To Help! Our team at Cityscape Schools prides itself on staying connected with families and keeping that communication intact as it’s the first sentence of our Mission Statement, “Cityscape Schools exists to work in an educational partnership with families.” Chief officer of Culture and Climate, Dr. Billy Ferrell says Cityscape knows the importance of keeping…

One of our seven pending TIA designees, Ms. Sol Acuña, has taught Pre-kindergarten classes for the district since for the past four years. Since last school year (2021-2022) was the first year of TIA eligibility for Cityscape Pre-kindergarten teachers, Ms. Acuña earned T-TESS scores and student growth percentages high enough to earn a pending TIA designation! When asked about her high marks on the T-TESS and the CIRCLE assessment (student growth), she simply replied that she likes a happy classroom. Beyond the curriculum, she teaches life’s lessons and teaches her students that mistakes are good when we learn from them! She allows freedom of expression for the little ones and truly understands their needs. Ms. Acuña was born in Caracas, Venezuela and came to the USA when she was 20 years old. She moved to Spain and taught young children there before eventually coming back to the USA and now has more than 30 years of experience in teaching. Ms. Acuna has one daughter whoworks as an art director and lives in Los Angeles. When asked what advice she would give to a beginning teacher, she replied, “Teaching can be difficult, but you will never regret laughing and having fun with your students. Let them know you love them, and that they are part of an important bigger community.” When asked to share what he admires about Ms. Acuña, her principal, Mr. Jose Lopez, stated, “her commitment to her students and her advocacy for the rest of the teachers.” When someone wished her good luck as we await final word on last year’s designations, she replied, “a (pending) designation with TIA is a nice honor, yes, but whether I receive…

Mr. Carlos Cupido Pending TIA Designee for the 2021-2022 School Year! One of our seven pending TIA designees, Mr. Carlos Cupido has been teaching at East Grand Preparatory since 2015.  He currently teaches 8th grade mathematics. Before coming to Cityscape, Mr. Cupido taught for Dallas ISD for seven years and before that, taught university courses in math, statistics, and marketing in Mexico.  Mr. Cupido has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in business administration.  Upon learning of his pending TIA designation, he was both proud and happy. When asked about his high marks on the T-TESS and the MAP assessment (student growth), he responded “I like to teach!” He added, “It is super important to enjoy what you do.  I like to convey knowledge and ensure my students understand the lesson content.” He also admitted that to perform well as a classroom instructor, one must master their content. “As a former engineer, I know my subject,” he added.  “How can one convey information to others if they do not know it, themselves?”     When asked what advice he would give to a beginning teacher, he replied, “Be professional! You’re being paid to perform a job.  You must expect the best from yourself; be responsible; get results; and focus on your work with your students.” When asked to share what he admires about Mr. Cupido, EGP Assistant Principal, Dr. Israel Garcia, said, “Mr. Cupido is so protective of his instructional time because he wants to ensure that every single one of his students shows growth. It is an honor to serve such a dedicated and passionate educator.” Finally, on a personal note, I taught a Spanish course…