Superintendent says appeal granted; recommends switching teacher-incentive validation from MAP to STAR

The superintendent of the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District told trustees at a March 13 workshop that the district’s appeal of the 2025–26 Teacher Incentive Allotment was granted with modifications and recommended changing the district’s validation method from MAP to STAR now.

At the Administration Building Boardroom, the superintendent said 181 teachers met eligibility criteria, with three teachers qualifying across three teaching categories and 15 proposed designation decisions to be announced in April. She said the appeal was approved "with some terms and with a modification" after finding a weak correlation between MAP and STAR, the two assessment systems used to validate teacher designations.

The superintendent described outreach to staff: site-based committees were consulted, a morning Zoom meeting was held for teachers, and three separate polls were conducted. "Everyone wanted to change to STAR now," she said, summarizing the poll results. She warned that if the district remained with the current MAP-based validation and failed to meet the qualification next year, it would lose the ability to appeal for three years.

The superintendent concluded the presentation and invited questions from trustees; no substantive questions are recorded in the transcript. The district plans to announce 15 proposed designations in April as part of the Teacher Incentive Allotment process.