State House committee endorses bonus program for state teachers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Legislation to expand a program that has given out half a million dollars in cash bonus awards to Oklahoma teachers gets the OK from a House panel.<br/><br/>The House Appropriations

Thursday, February 23rd 2006, 6:14 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Legislation to expand a program that has given out half a million dollars in cash bonus awards to Oklahoma teachers gets the OK from a House panel.

The House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education agreed to increase the amount of prize money available to public schools under the Academic Achievement Award program.

Author Tad Jones of Claremore says the program is a positive way to show appreciation to teachers for their success in the classroom.

With $500,000, the program implemented last year provided awards to schools that were top performers and showed the most improvement under the Academic Performance Index. The API is a key score used to track student achievement.

In January, ten schools across the state were awarded for achieving the highest scores within the program statewide.