Tom Price: “Americans love their teachers, and they want to reward the best. For too long, teachers have been shackled by outdated…”

“Americans love their teachers, and they want to reward the best. For too long, teachers have been shackled by outdated performance systems that do not necessarily recognize effective teaching. Americans want to reward the best teachers for the work they do. Yesterday, I introduced a new initiative, the Teacher Incentive Fund, to reward these hardworking educators. This innovative program will allow teachers to be compensated based on performance and accomplishments and how well they are helping students learn and achieve. These voluntary grants would provide incentives for States and local school districts to develop, implement, and maintain systems that reward teachers and principals who deliver on student achievement. The Teacher Incentive Fund will work to put the focus on the most important component in our education, and that is the children. Evidence shows that children achieve most when taught by high-quality teachers. Most of us remember the teachers who affected us in a remarkable way. For me it was one of my high school teachers, Dr. Welch; and I will never forget how he challenged me to excel. Now let us reward those teachers who reside in every congressional district and challenge our children to excel every day. ____________________”