The first letter listed is the one supporting a petition, started by Stand For Children, asking to have Mike Miles' contract extended. Both are copied directly as they were found online:
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We, the concerned parents, teachers, business owners and community members of Dallas (and across the state of Texas) ask you to Extend Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles' contract through 2016-2017 school year.
His record of achievements in Dallas is clear, to date he has:
o Restructured management to create a "feeder pattern director" for each of the 22 high schools so that there is one person accountable for not only the high school but also every elementary and middle school that feeds into it, helping create a consistent culture attractive to parents evaluating DISD as an option for their child. (This is probably the most positive change Mike Miles has made in DISD.)
His record of achievements in Dallas is clear, to date he has:
o Restructured management to create a "feeder pattern director" for each of the 22 high schools so that there is one person accountable for not only the high school but also every elementary and middle school that feeds into it, helping create a consistent culture attractive to parents evaluating DISD as an option for their child. (This is probably the most positive change Mike Miles has made in DISD.)
o Implemented a new principal evaluation system that has resulted in the turnover of ~100 (45%) of campus principals in years 1 and 2. (Sadly due to this system DISD lost some of the most productive principals in the district. One was the Sunset principal who took a failing inner-city high school from a 33% graduation rate to a 70% graduation rate. At the same time this high school excelled academically until it was among the four top DISD comprehensive high schools in having a higher percentage of seniors pass all End of Course exams than the other 18 high schools. There are 22 such comprehensive high schools in DISD. His success, and that of some of the other principals pushed out by Mr. Miles, was addressed in the press: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/three-of-our-four-annointed-super-principals-have-been-drummed-out-of-disd.html/ )
o Gained board approval to implement a robust teacher evaluation initiative with several different levels of proficiency (vs. the prior system where 99% of teachers were rated “proficient”) that will include 35% of a teacher rating based on student achievement and 15% based on student feedback. (The published research on such teacher evaluation systems is consistent in showing that they do not work and instead lead to tragic teacher turnover. While DISD is not yet publicly documented as being at the 35% teacher turnover rate Mr. Miles had his last year in Colorado, current teacher turnover is the highest on record in memory.)
o Gained board approval to implement a new teacher compensation system that will be tied to robust teacher evaluations vs. the historical practice of tying teacher compensation solely to years of experience teaching. This policy will be implemented in 2015. (Same comment as one above.)
o Completely reconstituted alternative certification area and moved TFA certification to SMU to help in teacher retention as candidates can receive full credit towards masters in education. (Within DISD there is no longer a financial incentive for receiving a masters degree.)
o Implemented Imagine 2020 plan to drive additional resources toward strategic feeder patterns that have historically underperformed academically. (No improved student achievement has been demonstrated due to this plan. Instead, especially in the Lincoln and Pinkston feeder patterns, as reflected in the most recent STAAR tests, achievement has gone down. See https://mydata.dallasisd.org/docs/STAAR2014/2014_STAAR_38_AD1_PERCENT_LVL2_FP_C.pdf for an 86 page report by feeder pattern on the STAAR tests for 2014.)
o Rebuilt the reserve fund balance from $60 million to $300 million while improving the district’s credit rating. (The question must be asked as to how much more often students are being subjected to less experienced and therefore less expensive teachers who are also reportedly more often not certified in the area being taught. This information must be verified by more transparency regarding the qualifications of those teaching our children. How often are they "permanent" substitute teachers?)
o Reconstituted the Dallas Education Foundation to support initiatives district-wide. (Yes, this should be positive.)
o Installed state-of-the-art bandwidth across all 230 campuses. (Definitely positive if the reports of downtime continuing in schools as an issue are not correct.)
o Hired a new director of Pre-K education with a strong focus on substantially improving the number of students accessing a quality education within Dallas ISD. The spring 2014 Pre-K rally saw a 90% increase in enrollment over the year earlier period. (Definitely a positive, especially if this person hired remains after another year. How many of those hired to work directly under Mr. Miles his first year are still with DISD?)
DISD has suffered mightily because of having nine superintendents in 20 years, with an average term length of only 2.3 years. St. Marks has had one headmaster that entire time, and Highland Park has only had 7 superintendents in its 95 year history. (Do you really think a school district with an 88% poverty rate has the same issues as a district without any poverty rate issue at all? The most recently hired superintendent, Dr. Hinojosa, came from DISD and remained 7 years overseeing the 5 most progressive years in history for a 20 percentage point growth in the graduation rate. That progress has now been ended under Mike Miles.) You can't create reform if every time you hire a reformer, they are gone in 2-3 years. The status quo just decides to wait them out. Superintendent Miles needs to be able to implement the changes he was hired to do. (You must look at Mr. Miles record! He leaves a 7 year path of constantly lowering 12th grade enrollment and smaller graduation classes. What does that say? If there are errors in this data, please point to it.)
Sincerely,
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Here is the letter being circulated by Dallas Friends of Public Education:
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Dear Dallas ISD Trustees:
As you consider whether to
extend Superintendent Mike Miles' contract in the coming weeks, please take
into account the following:
Superintendent Miles has spent
millions of dollars on administrative reorganization, the principal fellows
program, Imagination 2020 and the Teacher Excellence Initiative, with no significant
impact on student achievement or college and career readiness.
Campus morale is at an all-time
low and the district is experiencing an unheralded exodus of veteran teachers,
even before the new evaluation system is in place. Our children need stability
at home and when they do not find it there they rely on stability in the
classroom. Miles, and you, have denied them even that brief respite.
It is clear Mike Miles'
priorities are misguided and not in the best interests of our students.
We urge you to deny Mr. Miles
his contract extension and to thoroughly examine the effects his administration
has had on the students and teachers of Dallas ISD.
Signed,
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I am unable to find any factual errors in the second message above. I did not write it, but the people who did have placed correct data before the public.
Transparency is the greatest weapon we have to improve our schools. We must use it!
Bill Betzen 7-3-2014
Transparency is the greatest weapon we have to improve our schools. We must use it!
Bill Betzen 7-3-2014
