Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD

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Hello Dallas ISD families and friends, school is off to a wonderful start after the summer. 

 

While the students are hard at work in the classroom, the Board of Trustees has been back at it in August. I’m excited to share some of those updates with you from this past month.

 

Dallas ISD winning where it counts: student outcomes: A few weeks ago, the Texas Education Agency released its academic ratings for the past year, and Dallas ISD surged, based on the hard and meaningful work we’ve been undertaking. Some highlights are as follows:

  • Dallas ISD’s rating soared to an 83, or B, in a more rigorous accountability system than in previous years.
  • Dallas ISD doubled the number of A-rated schools from 30 to 60.
  • 70% of Dallas ISD schools are now rated A or B.
  • Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Dallas ISD exceed the state on an absolute basis in Approaches, Meets and Masters on STAAR in all grades, all subjects.
  • Students classified as emergent bilingual in Dallas ISD exceed the state on an absolute basis in Approaches, Meets and Masters on STAAR in all grades, all subjects.
  • African-American students in Dallas ISD exceed the state on an absolute basis in Approaches, Meets and Masters on STAAR in all grades, all subjects.
  • Dallas ISD reduced the number of F campuses from 24 to only two.

In addition, 18 of the top 100 schools in Texas are in Dallas ISD, including the top three schools in the state, according to US News and World Report.

These results don’t happen by accident; they happen by design. Over the past few years, we’ve put into place many systems that are paying these huge dividends. Some of the elements that are making this achievement possible are highlighted below: 

  • Dallas ISD teacher pay is nearly $7,000 more, on average, than in surrounding districts.
  • Retention of Dallas ISD teachers is 2.3% above the state average, which bucks the normal trend for large urban school systems.
  • Dallas ISD had more than 99.4% of positions filled on the first day of school, the highest in more than a decade.
  • Reduced the counselor to student ratio to 270:1, ensuring significantly more access for students.
  • Added more mental health clinicians across the district, ensuring that every high school has a full-time clinician, as well as more throughout our elementary and middle schools.
  • Dallas ISD earned a AAA bond rating from the Kroll Rating Agency thanks to extremely effective financial stewardship.

August Board Meeting briefing: I’ve chosen to highlight a few critical items from the August briefing and meeting: 

  • Goal setting for 2030: The Board of Trustees discussed the targets for our next set of board goals. They are rigorously set, and, when we succeed in meeting them, we will be exceeding the state of Texas across the board.
  • Winnetka Elementary School upgrades approved: I was proud to approve the next step in Winnetka Elementary School’s long overdue upgrades as part of the 2020 Bond. This upgrade will include improvements to security, lighting, HVAC, classroom renovations, and other items.

Ben Mackey

As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello. Just reach out to me at BenMackey@dallasisd.org 

Best,
Ben Mackey