Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
PHARR, Texas — Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District has drawn statewide attention after Gov. Greg Abbott cited the South Texas district as an example of how investment in teachers can align with strong student performance, raising a broader question about whether other school systems could adopt elements of PSJA ISD’s approach.
During televised remarks about the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a Texas program that rewards effective classroom teachers with additional compensation and creates a pathway for educators to earn six-figure salaries, Abbott focused on PSJA ISD.
“The teacher incentive allotment is a way to provide pay for teachers so they can earn a six-figure salary,” Abbott said. “Thousands of teachers in Texas are earning more than a hundred thousand dollars right now because of that teacher incentive allotment.”
Abbott said the program is intended to help school systems recruit and retain teachers and improve student outcomes.
The governor then specifically pointed to PSJA ISD, which serves the communities of Pharr, San Juan and Alamo in the Rio Grande Valley.
“In this ISD, 82% of teachers participate in the Teacher Incentive Allotment,” Abbott said, referring to the program by name. He contrasted PSJA’s participation and academic ratings with Austin ISD’s.
Official PSJA ISD figures show that 82% of eligible teachers have earned Teacher Incentive Allotment designations. The district reported that all 44 of its schools received an A or B in the 2026 Texas accountability ratings, including 27 campuses that earned an A. That means more than 61% of PSJA schools received the state’s highest rating.
Abbott noted that PSJA had no campuses rated C, D or F and said the district’s results reflected what he described as a “commitment to excellence.”
PSJA Superintendent Dr. Alejandro Elias, in an exclusive interview with Texas Border Business following Abbott’s remarks, said the governor’s recognition validates the work underway throughout the district.
“Having our schools and educators recognized at the state level shows that our students can achieve at the highest levels when they have the right opportunities and support,” Elias said.
Texas lawmakers established the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) through House Bill 3 in 2019. Teachers can earn Recognized, Exemplary, or Master designations, with funding tied to those designations. In June, Abbott’s office announced that more than $750 million in TIA funding had been awarded to more than 65,000 teachers across more than 800 Texas school systems.
PSJA has achieved a high level of participation in the program. Elias said the district reached its 82% designation rate by investing in teachers, providing support and establishing a system that recognizes effective instruction.
“Our teachers embraced the opportunity, and today 82% of eligible educators have earned a TIA designation,” Elias said.
The financial effect on some teachers has been substantial. According to Elias, more than 345 PSJA educators now earn six-figure salaries while remaining classroom teachers.
PSJA independently reported the same figure this year. The district said that more than 345 educators are earning six-figure salaries and that TIA has generated nearly $87 million in additional compensation for PSJA educators since the 2022-2023 school year.
The district also reports a teacher retention rate of nearly 98%. “TIA gives great teachers another reason to stay in the classroom by rewarding their effectiveness and providing opportunities to earn more,” Elias said.
PSJA’s experience, however, involves more than incentive compensation, according to the superintendent. Elias described TIA as one part of a broader academic strategy rather than the sole explanation for improved performance.
“Great teachers have the greatest impact on student learning,” Elias said. “TIA is one part of a larger strategy to support strong instruction, and we are seeing that work reflected in continued gains in student achievement.”
That distinction is important when considering whether PSJA’s experience could be replicated elsewhere. The district’s results show that high TIA participation and strong accountability ratings co-occur at PSJA, but those figures alone do not establish that incentive pay caused the academic results.
PSJA says its strategy also includes strengthening instruction, monitoring student progress, investing in educators, and aligning campuses around common goals. The district has also developed college and career pathways as part of its Cradle to College model.
“It was intentional work across the entire district,” Elias said when asked how PSJA eliminated C-, D- and F-rated campuses. “We strengthened instruction, invested in our educators, monitored student progress, and ensured every campus focused on the same goals.”
The result, he said, is that all 44 schools are now rated A or B, including 27 A-rated campuses.
PSJA’s performance has also drawn attention because of the economic circumstances of many of the students it serves. According to district data accompanying its 2026 accountability results, PSJA serves more than 29,000 students, of whom 94.4% are economically disadvantaged and 40.5% are emergent bilingual or English learner students.
Abbott specifically addressed the district’s economic circumstances during his remarks.
“So, what does Pharr-San Juan-Alamo have that Austin ISD doesn’t?” Abbott said. “Well, it’s not money. It’s not a wealthy community. What they have is a commitment to excellence.”
Asked how the district has produced its results despite economic challenges, Elias said PSJA attempts to prevent students’ circumstances from limiting their educational opportunities.
“We focus on opportunity, not circumstance,” Elias said. “Our responsibility is to remove barriers and make sure every student has access to excellent teachers, rigorous academics, college opportunities, and the support they need to succeed.”
Whether the PSJA approach can be replicated statewide or nationally would depend on how other school systems structure teacher compensation, evaluation, instructional support, and academic programs. PSJA’s experience offers a current example in Texas, where the Teacher Incentive Allotment already operates across hundreds of school systems. However, available information does not show that another district adopting parts of its strategy would automatically reproduce PSJA’s results.
Elias said the lesson he would offer other Texas districts extends beyond incentive pay.
“Invest in your people and believe in your students,” Elias said. “When you align strong teachers, strong leadership, high expectations, and opportunities for all, you can achieve significant improvement.”
PSJA continues to participate in the state program. The Texas Education Agency approved a five-year renewal of the district’s TIA Local Designation System in 2026 following a state review and validation process.
The district also continues to raise teacher compensation outside TIA. For the 2026-2027 school year, PSJA’s Board of Trustees approved a $60,000 starting salary for teachers with no experience, along with additional salary increases for employees. The district said it continues to cover the full cost of its base health care plan for full-time employees.
For Elias, the current academic ratings are not the district’s endpoint.
“We want to keep raising the bar,” he said. “That means increasing the number of highly effective teachers, moving even more campuses to an A rating, and ensuring every student graduates ready for college, career, and life.”
PSJA’s combination of teacher incentive participation, retention, and campus ratings provides policymakers and school leaders with a Texas case study to examine. Abbott has presented the district as evidence of what greater investment in effective teachers can accomplish. Elias attributes the results to a broader system that combines teacher investment, leadership, instruction, expectations, and educational opportunities.
The question for other districts is whether they can adapt those elements to their own students, educators, and communities — and whether similar results follow.
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