1) Teacher turnover has exploded over 100% since 2012, possibly to a turnover rate even above 30%!* Evidence of this was seen during the Adamson High School presentation by Mr. Miles on 6-17-14. He spoke about increased efficiency in teacher hiring. The same numbers clearly show that teacher positions that need to be filled have increased from 1,019 the first year he was in DISD in 2012, to an estimate of 2,200 or more this year.
2) Principal turnover has also increased until,
according to multiple sources, only one third of current
principals have more than 3 years’ experience as a
principal! Direct documentation of this report is needed.
3) Student attrition is growing at the high school
level until DISD now has the smallest high school enrollment in 5
years.*
4) The Class of 2014 is the first graduation class
in 7 years to be smaller than the previous class. The Class of 2014 may be so
small that it is the smallest graduation class in 5
years!*
5) Student achievement has also not improved well
as reflected by the 21 schools in Destination 2020. Only 3 of these 21
schools met their first year goals!
6) The idea of a "home rule charter district" will
do little to change these facts until DISD also does other changes that can
be done now, without "home-rule."
7) The 5 most productive years of improvement in
history within DISD were from 2008 through 2012 with one of the most rapidly
improving graduation rates in the nation for any urban school system. That
progress ended in 2012 due to numbers 3 and 4 above.
If we want to improve DISD such data as this cannot be ignored. Most of this data can be found on the Dallas ISD Data Portal or on the TEA web site.
DISD must return to the progress being made 2008 through 2012.
*This student and teacher attrition data mirrors what happened the last 5 years
Mr. Miles was superintendent in Harrison School District Two in Colorado. High
school enrollment went down 25% with 12th grade enrollment dropping over
32%. Teacher turnover also exploded under Mr. Miles in Colorado, very
similar to what is now happening in Dallas ISD. Beyond grade improvements
associated with reduced student populations in Colorado, and allegations low
scoring students were pushed out, there was no sustained student achievement
gains documented.
