Gov. Terry Branstad today highlighted the success of the new Teacher Leadership and Compensation System (TLC) aimed at attracting more teachers by offering competitive starting salaries during his weekly news conference held at Southeast Polk Junior High School. The school was the last of three that state leaders visited this month to learn how they are using TLC, which has the goal of raising student achievement and the status of the teaching profession. Southeast Polk is one of the 39 school districts across the state launching the first year of the TLC program, which will be an option for all 338 districts by the 2016-17 school year. Through the system, teacher leaders take on extra responsibilities, including helping colleagues analyze data and fine-tune instructional strategies as well as coaching and co-teaching. When fully phased in, the program will cost about $150 million annually, and much of the funding will be used to increase teacher leaders’ salaries and attract more individuals to the teaching profession by offering more competitive starting salaries.