American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT) Executive Vice President Lorretta Johnson recently visited a bus barn and elementary school in Austin where an innovative partnership involving teachers, administrators and the business community supports the efforts of successful educators who are helping to raise student academc achievement.

Johnson's visit to Austin was part of the American Federation of Teachers coast-to-coast back-to-school tour of schools making a difference in the lives of students, despite education budget cuts and other challenges.

Johnson was joined at the bus barn by Kris Hafezizadeh, AISD's director of transportation, and Louis Malfaro, secretary-treasurer of Texas AFT, who is also an AFT vice president. She also visited Pickle Elementary School, which is part of the district's REACH program, a strategic compensation and professional development program that provides mentoring to new teachers and offers incentives to educators who help raise student academic achievement.

To learn more about the REACH program, go to: http://archive.austinisd.org/inside/initiatives/compensation/index.phtml