File photo of a Knox County School classroom.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's Education Department has been awarded a federal grant for more than $5.5 million to improve pay structures and provide greater professional opportunities to teachers in high-poverty schools.
The U.S. Department of Education announced the Teacher Incentive Fund award on Thursday. It will serve school districts in Haywood, Lincoln and Polk counties.
The money will help fund the state's Recognizing Excellence in Rural Tennessee project. It will build on recent efforts to implement a statewide educator evaluation system that ties student outcomes to educator effectiveness ratings.