By Nathan Straus
nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Jacksonville Independent School District Board trustees visited the district’s exemplary campuses Thursday.
The board members went door to door distributing incentive checks to reward teachers for their hard work in making the campuses exemplary.
Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell said in the past, the teachers received the checks through the mail for being on a recognized or exemplary campus.
“We’re doing it four to five days early and in person this year,” he said. “They’ve done a great job.”
West Side, Joe Wright and Fred Douglas elementary schools were all rated exemplary, while Nichols Intermediate and East Side Elementary were rated recognized. The ratings are from last year’s Texas Education Assessment.
Professionals on exemplary campuses received $1,000 each, while support staff on campus and districtwide support staff received $250 and $75, respectively.
For recognized campuses, professionals received $750, support staff on campus got $200, and districtwide support staff took home $50.
Each exemplary campus got $200 per districtwide administrator while each recognized campus got half that number.
The checks are part of the school’s incentive program. said Marc McCloud, JISD public relations agent. He said it was started late in 2004.
“It builds awareness for the staff about the ratings of campuses,” McCloud said. “It lets every employee know their part is important to helping the schools.”
Wardell said the program was put in place by the JISD board as a way of expressing appreciation and congratulations to employees for all the work they do.
“I’m glad to see the schools include all the employees because everyone has an impact on the success of the campus,” Wardell said.
When asked whether the incentive program has had an impact on scores, Wardell said it has.
Many of the teachers were surprised and excited to receive a personal visit from board members, Wardell said. Only the campus principals were notified of the visit ahead of time.
“We felt like we wanted to make it more special this year,” he said. “Part of our plans say to celebrate success and I think we were celebrating the success of those campuses.”
The board members will visit the recognized campuses Friday to hand-deliver checks to Nichols Intermediate and East Side Elementary teachers and staff.
“It’s a good way of saying thank you for the job you did,” Wardell said.
