Schools Rewarded for Student Growth
LITTLE ROCK (January 23, 2024) - The PEER Network is awarding $527,800 in incentive funds to 36 partner schools across Central and Northeast Arkansas to honor student growth. The PEER Summative Student Growth School Incentive recognizes and rewards partner schools that have shown growth in 2023 that exceeds prior-year growth in 2022 or pre-pandemic growth in 2019.
“The PEER program has contributed to our district's success with implementation of our Model of Instruction. PEER Teacher Leaders have provided teaching strategies to their colleagues to utilize in their classrooms to increase student engagement and learning…Peer Leaders are training to an impressive level to provide instructional support. The PEER Network has been a positive support for our district,” Lisa Moore, High School Principal Bald Knob School District.
The PEER Network is a partnership between the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) and Crowley’s Ridge Educational Service Cooperative (CRESC). The network is funded by the federal Teacher and School Leader (TSL) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Through the PEER Network, partner schools receive training, coaching, and job-embedded support. Partner schools also receive personalized performance management to ensure schools, school leaders, and teacher leaders meet or exceed their goals.
The PEER Network employs a Performance-Based Compensation System (PBCS) that provides incentives to schools when they meet their goals. The incentive structure is based on a holistic view of schools that includes student achievement and growth, the development of teacher leaders, the support of school leaders, and the use of recruitment and retention strategies to establish and maintain a diverse and highly qualified staff. The mission of the PEER Network is to meet the unique needs of rural Arkansas schools and build capacity by empowering teacher leaders in a learning community.
For additional information, contact the PEER Project Director, Brandi Williams, at (501) 454-6050, or by email at bwilliams@crmail.k12.ar.us.
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