Education Standards

Mike Miles versus The World

In Dallas ISD, a fight over principals, race and a slice of the pie.

In the War to Reform Dallas ISD, Tonight's Battle Might Be the Bloodiest Yet

Today is a key moment in the battle for school reform in Dallas, as a list of school principals to be fired goes before the school board. (Check back tonight for the body count.) The main opposition to the reform effort has come from southern Dallas black leadership allied with the district employee ... More >>

Now Southern Dallas Businessmen Are Lining Up Against Mike Miles. But Why?

Three prominent Dallas business leaders have written a caustic public letter to Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles, taking him to task generally for not conferring with them personally on school reform and specifically for threatening the job of a particular high school principal popular in South ... More >>

The TEA Will Begin Grading Schools on A-F Scale, Just as Soon as Lawmakers Let It

The Texas Education Agency will go ahead with a new performance rating system, Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced on Tuesday. The new system will score schools on an A to F scale in hopes of closing the achievement gap between white and minority students. "I have heard the criticism ... More >>

Bernadette Nutall Raises the Stakes in the War Over Protecting Favored DISD Principals

On March 22, I penned a story for this page in which I portrayed school district trustee Bernadette Nutall as appearing to be "neutral" on school reform. Her apparent neutrality made her a very singular exception to the rule at a heated community meeting the night before at Madison High School, wh ... More >>

The Real Victims in School Reform Battles Are Kids Who Can Be Taught and Aren't

The response to my article here last week about school reform proves one thing. I'm doing a poor job presenting school reform. The entire issue, in fact, is being framed in the responses to the article as a kind of combination civil rights question and job security dilemma for teachers and principa ... More >>

Dallas ISD and Race to the Top: Everything You Need to Know* About That $40 Million

There has been a lot of ink devoted over the past few days to Dallas ISD being named a finalist for $40 million in federal Race to the Top funds, which built to a crescendo yesterday when Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to town. That all sounds fantastic, but what does it mean? We decided to b ... More >>

DISD Misses Adequate Yearly Progress Again

The Texas Education Agency released its Adequate Yearly Progress report for 2012 a bit ago, and DISD and about three-quarters of its individual campuses missed the mark, just as they did last year, and the year before, and the year before. Much of that can be attributed to tougher standards. As DIS ... More >>

A Prayer for Pinkston: SMU, DISD Team Up to Go Cradle-to-Career in West Dallas

By most measures, LG Pinkston High School is failing. The school, which neighbors Fish Trap Lake in a poor area of West Dallas, has higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates, and lower test scores than the rest of Dallas ISD. It is considered academically unacceptable by the state and has been fo ... More >>

Mike Miles, In First Official Day As DISD Superintendent, Likes Graduation-Rate Trend, Was a Little Embarrassed By Those Billboards

Given his high profile over the past few months and some much-publicized decisions, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Mike Miles has actually been DISD's superintendent. Which he has, of course, but not officially and not full-time until Monday, when he took the reins in earnest. It was a busy da ... More >>

TEA Tightening Rules for Tutoring Companies. But Will They Work?

As the district announced yesterday, and the DMN reported over the weekend (paywall), DISD is accusing five private tutoring companies of more $500,000 in fraud. That's on top of more than $140,000 the district accused two other companies of illegally taking in April after an external audit. The co ... More >>

More Money for Schools? Take a Hike, Kid.

Texas public schools are barely squeaking by, The New York Times reported this morning in a heart-rending story about state budget cuts. Things have gotten so dire that the Times led its story with the horrifying tale of a youth in Hutto, northeast of Austin, who must now walk a mile to classes beca ... More >>

Dallas ISD Names Mike Miles, Reform-Minded Military Vet from Colorado, Lone Finalist for Superintendent Job

Prediction: The next few weeks may not be a ton of fun for Mike Miles. Miles, the superintendent of Harrison School District Two in Colorado Springs, was named the lone finalist for the top job in Dallas ISD at a meeting this afternoon. The board, which voted 8-0 (with Carla Ranger abstaining), now ... More >>

Before Vote to Help Uplift Sell Less Expensive Bonds, City Council to Get Schooled on Charters

​Below is the charter school briefing the city council was promised last week, but only after the heated discussion punctuated by Mayor Mike Rawlings's fiery call to expand charters -- because, as he said, "freedom is choice, choice creates excellence, and excellence graduates kids." The purpose o ... More >>

DISD Says It's Not Sitting on Federal Funds. It's Actually Trying to Keep From Wasting Them.

​We started this morning by noting Brett Shipp's piece from last night suggesting the Texas Education Agency is threatening to withhold Dallas ISD from close to $80 million in federal funds birthed by No Child Left Behind. The reason, says Commissioner of Education Robert Scott: Only 40 students o ... More >>

DISD Trustees Don't Want to Close Campuses. But They're Told: They Have No Other Choice.

​Late Thursday afternoon, and only because interim super Alan King had a flight to catch, the Dallas Independent School District trustees finally got around to discussing the 2012-13 budget and consolidating -- which is to say, closing -- those 11 campuses in order to save a guesstimated $11.5 mil ... More >>

Grading the Graders: How Dallas ISD Principals Think Teachers Ought to Be Evaluated

Click to enlarge the results of a survey you'll also find after the jump.​Said it yesterday: Many interesting agenda items on the Dallas ISD board's to-do list Thursday. Among them is an update on that teacher evaluation system, of which we've taken note a few times in recent months as trustees sp ... More >>

Mazel Tov, Mesquite ISD, For Winning the Urban School Board Excellence Award

​Seriously, instead of trying to come up with cute names for teacher evaluations or asking the Dallas Regional Chamber for help, the Dallas Independent School District's higher-ups (the school board, especially) need to take the few-minute drive to Mesquite and ask Superintendent Dr. Linda Henrie ... More >>

Dallas ISD Offers Detailed Look at Plans to Improve Its Academically Unacceptable Schools

​Speaking of Dallas ISD public hearings ...A few weeks back, in advance of a series of town halls, we sneak-peaked the district's vague suggestions offered to improve its 33 academically unacceptable campuses. But on the board's meetings-and-agenda website, you'll find the so-called School Improve ... More >>

Or Maybe the Dallas Independent School District's Trustees Should Just Visit Mesquite

​Earlier today we revisited the Dallas Regional Chamber's plan, blessed by Mayor Mike and Lew Blackburn, to save the Dallas Independent School District. And while Commit! is still in its vague, unformed infancy, clearly this is Very Important to a few very important people. Which is why Blackburn ... More >>

FAQ-Checkin' Some Things About New STAAR Test, Which Doesn't Even Count This Year

​As timing would have it, our 8-year-old entered third grade just as the state's rolling out the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test, which, of course, replaces the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test, which also turned 8 this year. That means his mom and I have ... More >>

Interim Super: "The Annual Ratcheting Up of Standards is Catching Up With" Dallas ISD

Dave Goldfinger​And the hits just keep on coming: One week ago today the Texas Education Agency officially announced that the Dallas Independent School District had more campuses deemed academically unacceptable (33) than exemplary (30) -- a radical shift from last year's stats, thanks in large pa ... More >>

It's Official: DISD Now Has More Academically Unacceptable Schools Than Exemplary Ones

This never gets old.​The Texas Education Agency won't officially release its based-on-TAKS-scores state accountability ratings till 'round 1 this afternoon (here, for those so interested), at which point Commissioner of Education Robert Scott will hold a press conference in Austin. But the Dallas ... More >>

Want to Get More Involved in the Dallas ISD? Then Here You Go. But It Ain't Free.

​Over the last couple of weeks I've received numerous emails suggesting I sign up for something called Leadership DISD, which promises to develop "education-focused, informed leaders within the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) service area who affect positive change and help to lead suppo ... More >>

Michael Hinojosa's Gone, But As He Begins New Job, His Time in Dallas Is Not Forgotten

Photo by Patrick MichelsMiss him yet?​Former Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa officially begins his new gig in Cobb County, Georgia, today. Hence, this morning's piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "New Cobb superintendent's job 1: Close students' achieveme ... More >>

Dallas ISD Says As Many As 33 Schools May Be Rated Academically Unacceptable

​We went over this last year: Despite the fact the Dallas Independent School District board was just given a presentation on preliminary TAKS scores for the school year that just wrapped, the Texas Education Agency won't formally release its 2011 Accountability Ratings till July 29. That said, the ... More >>

As Obama Signs Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, White House Sends Endorsement From DISD

In March '08, Dora Rivas testified before a House committee on the need for better school nutrition.​Back in August we sneak-peeked the Dallas Independent School District's new-n-improved school menus, which offer a few more healthier alternatives than in recent years. But the district has long sa ... More >>

Days After Cheering TEA Ratings, DISD Misses Feds' Adequate Yearly Progress Standards

​One week ago today the Texas Education Agency sent word: With significant help from the state, the Dallas Independent School District racked up 63 exemplary schools, while several high schools long on the academically unacceptable list finally get a reprieve. Not all was well, as dropout and comp ... More >>

Dallas ISD Scores With 63 Exemplary Schools. But Completion Rates Take Their Toll.

​We warned you in early June, when the Dallas Independent School District crunched some TAKS test scores and released its list of exemplary and recognized schools well ahead of the Texas Education Agency's official date of, well, today: Those numbers were very preliminary. As TEA spokesperson DeEt ... More >>

Education Guru To Dallas Teachers: In School Reform, "There Are No Miracles"

Patrick MichelsDiane Ravitch speaking at the Dallas Institute's first annual Education Forum last night.​The big shakeups credited with turning around public schools in New York, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. -- which Mayor Tom Lepeprt and organizers cite as influences for a new school reform e ... More >>

DISD's Running Full-Speed to Reform Through New West Dallas "School Zone"

Patrick MichelsChartering a new course: Mayor Tom Leppert and DISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa this morning at Dallas City Hall​This morning's mayor's breakfast at City Hall featured a parade of speakers covering the need for big-picture reforms in West Dallas education, the sort of shakeups t ... More >>

Dallas ISD's Long and Winding Road to Broad Prize Just Hit a Dead End

​Perhaps you've seen the promotional materials -- they've been everywhere during the past five years, as the Dallas Independent School District (and superintendent Michael Hinojosa, especially) eased on down that Road to Broad, so named for the $2 million award given to urban school districts who ... More >>

Dallas ISD Board of Trustees to Vote on a New "Superintendent Evaluation Instrument"

​Far as the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees is concerned, there are three factors that go into determining how good a job the superintendent's doing: "student achievement," "sound financial management" and "stakeholder satisfaction." Those, say the board, "embody the core beli ... More >>

DISD|Teacher Layoffs|Michael Hinojosa|PACs

The Road to Broad Runs Through Texas, Just Not the Dallas ISD

A Man Thing

One answer to keeping black Dallas teens in school: more school

No Child Left Behind. Yeah, O.K.

A Broad Gap for DISD to Clear

Dallas Achieves! What, We Have No Idea.

Schoolhouse Dynamite

If Russell Fish ever wins his lawsuit, watch 'em blow

The Resurrection of Sandy Kress

Or, how a Democrat and reviled former DISD board president found a happy home pushing "educational acoountability" for the GOP

Little Schools That Could

Call off the air strike on DISD headquarters--there's some good stuff going on in the district

Letters to the Editor

Man with the Plan DISD's New Math

Hash Over

Fish fissure; Mixed hash

Planting SEEDs of hope

An innovative math program recalculates which students will succeed and which will fail at DISD

Buzz

Good God, a good grade; Has he even unpacked yet?

No place like home

Thousands of Texans say they can do a better job teaching their children at home. But some local truant officers claim parents are using a massive loophole in Texas law to skip school altogether.

Letters

The Learning Curve

Earnest eggheads came to Texas with an idea that for-profit schools can save public education. So far, it ain't working.