DISD Middle Schools: 65 teachers lost in budget!

In the currently planned 2013/14 budget for Dallas ISD 65 teachers will be cut from middle schools! One more student is added to the average teacher.  Since DISD middle schools already account for 60% of all discipline referrals within DISD this is a planned disaster! While 9th graders, due to other progress, now account for less than 14% of all referrals, both the 6th and 7th grade each account for over 19% of all discipline referrals, and 8th graders account for 21%!  Compared to the number of referrals in the 5th grade, in the 6th grade discipline referrals increase 441%!!!

Disciplinary actions against students by grade, Dallas ISD, 2012/13
Click on the above image to enlarge.

The discipline problems in middle school are nothing new.  Yes, parents are watching, and have been watching for some time! Notice how the number of children being withdrawn from DISD after 5th grade has been increasing, especially since 2006 when the transfer of 6th grade into middle school started:

Students leaving Dallas ISD after 5th and 9th grade over past decade.
Click on above chart to enlarge.

This chart also shows the wonderful progress DISD has made with the transfer into high school and then from 9th grade to 10th grade. We are now loosing less than half of the students we used to loose during this critical transfer. Our 10th grade enrollments are some of the largest in DISD history while the 9th grade enrollments are some of the lowest in decades due to the elimination of the "9th grade bulge."  That "9th grade bulge" was created by 9th graders failing and repeating 9th grade, sometimes even more than twice.   We now have more students getting past this barrier and graduating than at any time in 30+ years!  That is the good news.

But patterns relating to the discipline problems in middle schools have been documented across the nation and ignored in DISD. Thousands of middle schools have closed over the past 20 years. School districts have paid attention to mounting research that middle schools are damaging to children. (See a collection of such research at http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2012/02/separate-middle-schools-vs-k-8.html .) 

 

But the immediate crisis in DISD is the current budget!

This Thursday, June 27, 2013 the proposed 2013/14 budget will be approved with a 65 teacher decrease planned for middle schools, moving from 24/1 to 25/1 student/teacher ratios. This move will only increase the damage to achievement already happening in DISD middle schools.  Discipline problems will only get worse in middle schools.  They are the only schools loosing teachers in spite of the increased funding from Austin.  More teachers will resign from middle schools.  We must work to reverse this tragedy set to happen in DISD.  We cannot ignore our middle school children!

 

Please contact your DISD Board Member to correct this assault on DISD middle schools!  Contacting them makes a very real difference!

 

Call DISD Board Services by Wednesday to speak at 6/27/13 5:00 PM Board Meeting to give opinion of 2013/14 Budget as presented in public PowerPoint presentation. See http://sire.dallasisd.org/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=595&doctype=AGENDA for agenda.

 

Addendum 6-28-13:

The Board Meeting went past midnight, ending just after 1:00 AM this morning.  The 65 middle school positions will be saved!  Six out of the 8 Board members voted to support an amendment to the budget to restore the middle school formula to 24-1.  That amendment will be drafted for final approval in August.  Thus the 9,585 positions in this budget will be amended to 9,650 positions with this amendment in August.

Time-Capsules installed, or moved, to date in 2013

The year 2013 has already been the most active year for vault installations, and it's not over yet! For the first time a vault had to be moved due to building re-modeling.  This was at Browne Middle School.  Since vaults are bolted to the floor that involved opening the vault, removing all the letters and shelving, loosening the bolts so the vault could be removed from the location, and sheering off the bolts in floor level.

T. W. Browne Middle School Time-Capsule

The Browne Middle School Time-Capsule was then moved to a new location, just outside the front office and in a good location passed by all students several times a day. It was then bolted once again into the concrete foundation. If a toronado ever destroyed one of these schools, the 500-pound vault would remain fastened to the foundation.

 



To date in 2013 there have been three Time-Capsule installations of new vaults.  The first was at Rosemont K-8 school:

Rosemont K-8 Time-Capsule
The first 8th grade class will be in 2015.

The Time-Capsule project started in 2005.  It is rather symbolic to now have a time-capsule with the first year being 2015. Rosemont is transitioning into a K-8 school with this years 6th grade going forward to be that first 8th grade class, in 2015.  

 

The next installation was at Atwell Middle School. Atwell teachers had already had students planning for the future and writing their letters for the vault.  Therefore there are letters already on the 2013 shelf.  (Note: due to the national demand for vaults there is a normal month or more delay for installation.)

W. H. Atwell Middle School Time-Capsule

South Oak Cliff High School was the next installation:



South Oak Cliff High School Time Capsule

Lobby at South Oak Cliff High School with Time-Capsule

Dallas ISD Discipline Reports by Middle School 2012-13

From 2005/06 to 2012/13 the percentage of all discipline referrals within DISD that were made against middle school students grew from about 40% of the total to almost 60%.  The bulk of this increase happened due to the movement of 6th grade into middle school.  Sixth grade referrals increased from 5.6% to 19.4% of all referrals. 

The following report covers discipline reports for each middle school and covers only the first semester of the 2012/13 school year.  It gives a very solid idea as to the distribution of discipline problems for each middle school.

Disciplinary actions per student in DISD Middle Schools 2012/13
Right click on image to enlarge or print.

This is ONLY a report on the official reports made. There are variations from school to school as to how the principal allows reports to enter the DISD system, but generally this gives some idea of differences between schools.   Some schools have ended their in-school suspension alternatives due to staffing cuts. In some cases this appears to have resulted in more out of school suspensions, but more study is needed.   If anyone wants to join with me in exploring this data I would gladly freely share the Excel data files that were released to me by DISD following upon an open records request.  Just email me at bbetzen@aol.com and state what you are requesting. 

Dallas must bring these numbers down.  Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) must be used so that our classrooms, especially in middle schools, become more quiet and peaceful places of learning.

DISD Budget & Middle School Chaos

The current version of the 2013/14 Dallas ISD budget is adding one student per teacher at the middle school level.  That is an idea that will only add to the record level of chaos already damaging achievement in DISD middle schools!

The three middle schools grades have the most discipline problems of any grade in DISD.  They EACH already account for over 19% of all DISD referrals, EACH!  6 out of every 10 referrals in DISD originate against middle school students!  This is not what used to happen when the old "highest referral grade" was the 9th grade going back decades.  The 9th grade now for the second year in a row only accounts for less than 14% of all referrals.  This progress happened since 9th grade coordinators worked to eliminate the damaging "9th grade bulge."  Now all of those 9th grade coordinator positions have been eliminated.  Will the 9th grade bulge return?

Until we can decrease the discipline problems in middle schools, we must not add another student to each middle school teacher's workload.  Middle school teachers are already dealing with multiple times more discipline problems than the average DISD teacher!

School Time-Capsule Project is 9 years old!

Students must set their own goals for themselves, then follow up on them and constantly update. Nobody can do this for students, but some schools are more directly encouraging and supporting the process.

This week we celebrated the 9th year of a student motivation project called the School Time-Capsule Project, also known as the School Archive Project.  Our first students from 2005 will return within 18 months to pick up their letters from 2005, and speak with current students!

Last month the 400+ 8th graders from Quintanilla Middle School placed their completed letters onto the 2013 shelf for their class inside the vault. Next year the 2014 shelf will be filled. The vault will then be filled with over 3,500 letters. The 10-year reunions will begin!

In November of 2014 we will have the reunion of the 8th grade class from 2005 who wrote their letters almost a decade ago! What wisdom will they share as they speak of their recommendations for success to the students at Quintanilla in November of 2014?   How will they answer the questions: "What would you do differently if you were 13 again?"   It will be fascinating! 

This will be another major step in overcoming the vision deficit common in children from poverty. They rarely see what life can be like with education, the goal of this project.  The returning students, speaking of their lives and recommendations, will send that message loud and clear.  It is the message sent since this project started in 2005.

Here is a link to a more detailed report on what has happened to Quintanilla Middle School students since 2005.  It can also be more briefly stated as follows:

1. One state-wide ranking of middle schools this year listed Quintanilla at the top of all 19 non-magnet middle schools on the south side of Dallas!
2. The 2012/13 first semester number of discipline reports are down to less than 1/3 of what it was in 2009.
3. The student pregnancy rate has dropped to a tiny fraction of what it was in 2005, only one pregnancy in the 2012/13 school year!
4. Most of Quintanilla students have always gone to Sunset High School, where the graduation rate (percent of full 9th grade enrollment reflected in final graduation class) was 33% in 2006 and rose constantly to the 2013 graduation rate of over 68%!   Sunset enrollment in April 2013 was 579 freshmen and 522 seniors, or a senior class that was 90% of the freshman class, the best balance for any non-magnet high school over 1,500 students in DISD!

This progress happened for multiple reasons, not only this Time-Capsule Project, but due to many projects and professionals working on a common goal.  It also happened in spite of Quintanilla having one of the highest poverty rates (95.7%) and LEP (49%) rankings in all of DISD.

The power of a constantly stronger, ever more realistic, focus on the future by students is obvious.  They more actively work toward their own future when they can see it, and when they can see how to get there!  They do the work!  See project details at http://www.studentmotivation.org/.

There are now vaults installed, and School Time-capsule Projects going, in three DISD high schools, Pinkston, Sunset, and South Oak Cliff, and in almost all middle schools in these three feeder patterns, for a total of 10 schools.

Cutting student pregnancy rates in half & a Dallas ISD time-capsule project

Student pregnancy rates are related to the most common problem in secondary school: unmotivated students! They have no focus on their own futures, and no plans.

In 2005 Quintanilla Middle School started a time-capsule project to focus students on their own plans for the future by having 8th graders, just before they leave for high school, write letters to themselves about future plans. 

In 2009 letters by parents to their child about their dreams for their child were added to the project. A golden connection with families was created. More conversations at home about goals and the future are certainly happening. Quintanilla, with 1,200 students, and Sunset, with 2,300 students, have certainly improved.  Benefits to date include:

1. Even with a 95.7% poverty rate, student pregnancies at Quintanilla have been more than cut in half, from a “norm” of 4 to 5 student pregnancies a year, to only 2 pregnancies in 2011/12, and only one this year, 2012/13!  Such is the power of active planning for the future.
2. Quintanilla is the highest rated of all 19 DISD south side non-magnet middle schools! See 2013 Children at Risk school rating report: http://childrenatrisk.org/research/school-rankings/northtexas/
3. Quintanilla Middle School now has the lowest frequency of discipline problems in District 1!  In 2007/08 Quintanilla had 1,299 disciplinary actions recorded, over one per student. It appears they will finish the 2012/13 school year with less than 400 actions, or less than one for each three students.
4. The graduation rate at Sunset High School, starting their own time-capsule project in 2009, has doubled since 2006.  It has gone from 33% in 2006 to near 70% for the Class of 2013! Current Sunset enrollment is 579 freshmen and 522 seniors!
5. With the increased family interactions from these parental letters, and the focus on planning for the future, gangs are less attractive.
6. As students leave school for the last time, staff can begin to say “See you in 10 Years!” - The message is different. School culture is changing.

It's certain teachers do not have extra time for additional work. This letter writing project should replace other Language Arts lesson plans. It should not require extra teacher time. Volunteers help teachers with the few mechanics involved to make the Archive Project work. Would you be interested in helping this project thrive in your school?

======= Recommendations for Time-Capsule Project ========

The School Time-Capsule Project is an “open source”project.
Change it to best meet needs at your school.

It is recommended letters be written twice in middle school and twice in high school: when a student enters in 6^th or 9^th grade, and just before they leave at the end of 8^th or 12^th grade. Parents should be invited to write the first letter each time, a letter to their child about their dreams for them. They are encouraged to also write stories from family history, stories they want their children to remember. Yes, it is hard to get letters from every parent. That does not always happen, but when a child may begin to fail during the school year, such letters become a much higher priority. The letter writing process can be used as needed to engage parents and their child when failures are indicated.

1. Place the vault in a central location of the school to maximize the number of students who see it each day. They know their mother's letter is in the vault and what she wrote! That quiet presence seen daily may help students study harder.
2. The first letters students and parents write upon a student entering your school should be returned as they prepare to write their final letters. The final letter looking 10 years into the future is written the final month in school. That letter should remain in the vault for 10 years.
3. The placement of the final 10-year letters into the vault should involve photos given to students.Each Language Arts Class should pose in front of the vault holding their letters for the photo. Then they each place their letter on the shelf inside the vault for their class to remain there for a decade. They receive two copies of this photo, one for them and one for their parents. On the back of the photos are details about the 10-year class reunion, including phone numbers to call, 90 days before the reunion date, to volunteer to help plan the reunion.
4. Students are told the final letters will be returned to them at the 10-year class reunion when they also will be asked to speak with the then current students. They know they will be giving their recommendations for success. They are warned to be prepared for questions like: “What would you do differently if you were 13 again?”
5. Constantly learn from and modify your project. (Please also share what you learn with us.) The first reunions will start at Quintanilla in November of 2014. We will learn many things from these former students. We will continue to learn every year as students return every November for the annual reunions. What better way to constantly improve our schools than to listen, along with current students, to these former students who've lived a decade in the real world with the education we provided?

Donors, including Lowe’s Home Improvement and A-1 Locksmith, have provided the first 10 vaults installed as of 5/25/13 in 10 DISD schools, as well as the funding for the next 3 vaults to be installed in 3 more DISD schools yet to show an interest in this time-capsule project.

For more details please study the web pages and blog at www.StudentMotivation.org, or contact Bill Betzen at bbetzen@aol.com or 214-957-9739. This is an “open source” volunteer project supported by the LULAC National Education Service Centers Inc., 345 S. Edgefield, Dallas, 75208, 214-943-2528.

Collection of concerns regarding Mike Miles:

This blog was posted last week.  Today I received notice of the results from the 5/23/13 state testing within DISD.  They are on the DISD web site at https://mydata.dallasisd.org/SL/TAKS/index.jsp .  Click on the "District" results in the first row to see the entire district.  The results are generally positive.   The remaining fear is what will happen as the hundreds of experienced and capable teachers who are now being hired away by suburban districts or are retiring now due to professional frustrations within DISD.  Hopefully a year from now we will have other positive tests without this capable staff to lay concerns to rest.

======== original post ========

In preparation for the 5/23/13 DISD Board Meeting this collection of statements is being made focusing on public concerns about the radical direction DISD appears to be going under the leadership of Mike Miles.   Yes, change is needed!   Everyone agrees on that, even the Dallas Citizens Council!   Here are some statements regarding concerns about the direction of DISD under Mike Miles:

1. A six page statement was released 5/4/13 by three leaders of Dallas Achieves about the damage being done.  This detailed letter still has not been responded to by DISD administration in anything more than a simple acknowlegement, a few affirmations of the direction being planned, and a request for private meetings.  Since two weeks have now passed without a more detailed public response, Dallas should be very concerned!  Specific responses are needed to each of the dozen or so issues mentioned in this detailed letter.
2. "No winning through intimidation" is an excellent opinion piece in the 5/18/13 Dallas Morning News by Mrs. Martin Marty. Notice the comments to the article.
3. Michael MacNaughton: Why Miles’ market-driven reforms won’t work is another excellent opinion piece in the 5/9/13 Dallas Morning News.  This powerful summary of the national experience on educational reform introduces the research supported by the Economic Policy Institute that must not be ignored in Dallas.  See item #4 listed next.
4. "Broader, Bolder approach to Education," research supported by the Economic Policy Institute, is a 95 page summary of the national educational reform experience to date.  While this research does not mention Dallas or Mike Miles, it is about education management methods Mike Miles is trying to use in Dallas that have not worked. Dallas leaders must either read this research, or find and make public their reasons for ignoring it! 
5. Mike Miles does not yet have required Superintendent Certification.  With news posted 5/22/13 this is no longer an issue.
6. A powerful collection of postings on DISD is on this blog site.  The most recent can be found at http://www.disdblog.com/2013/05/21/mike-miles-and-the-looming-disaster-in-the-dallas-isd/ .  I encourage you to read the postings on this site.  The lack of transparency within DISD, the information not being shared with the general public in an easy to locate place or in an easy to understand format, are the most critical long term issues for the health of our school system.
7. On 5/22/13 Don Williams, one of the original three Dallas Achieves leaders to sign the 5/4/13 letter in item #1 above, sent another detailed letter, with an attached 20+ page discussion document, to Mike Miles.   Those documents were all reported on in, and linked to, a Dallas Morning News article the same day.  They are powerful, detailed, and error free to my knowldge.  See   http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/former-trammell-crow-ceo-don-williams-sends-stinging-email-to-dallas-isd-superintendent.html/
8. On 5-24-13 it was discovered that during Mike Miles time in Harrison 2 District in Colorado Springs that the percentage of 9th graders who never made it to the 12th grade in Harrison increased over 500%!   A spreadsheet with district enrollment going back a decade was found and clearly indicated this attrition rate.  Over 26% of high school students were pulled out during the 6 years Mike Miles was superintendent there.  However, the total enrollment of the district was stable indicating a severe problem with secondary education in the district.  Here are the details and links to data sources:  http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2013/05/damage-by-mike-miles-in-colorado.html
9. You will find a Youtube video news clip from September of 2011 regarding demonstrations and concerns about Mike Miles in Colorado Springs at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87gUeJzwYkc .
10. This link is to two reports.  One is a presentation given by Mike Miles on 4-12-13 in Colorado Springs that contained very critical negative comments about Dallas ISD.  The second is a national report published 4-18-13 that was very critical of the types of reforms now being imposed on DISD.   See http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2013/04/national-study-critical-of-mike-miles.html

 Please let me know of more opinion pieces that can be linked above or posted below. bbetzen@aol.com

 

Below are statements that are not yet published online elsewhere. 

 

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The first is an email from a concerned citizen and a member of the Lincoln Alumni Association forwarded to me by Joyce Foreman:

-From: Charles Taylor <charles3607@sbcglobal.net>Date: May 18, 2013 12:30:18 AM CDTTo: <Ecowan@dallasisd.org>, <elizabethjones@dallasisd.org>, <ammendrano@dallasisd.org>, <danmicciche@dallasisd.org>, <nbingham@dallasisd.org>, <lblackburn@dallasisd.org>, <benutall@dallasisd.org>, <cranger@dallasisd.org>, <mmorath@dallasisd.org>Subject: Unbelievable, Just Plain unbelievable

I have been trying very, very hard to figure out how the leaders of our wonderful school district can sit quietly while the community is in a uproar over the actions taken by our newly appointed school superintendent. I attempted before to e-mail each of you with a few remarks in hope that I would receive some response from you. However as with everything else I didn't get but one response. (Thank you Mr. Micciche). Realizing your schedule is very busy, especially with the end of the school year up on us. May I take a few moments of your time to seek some clarification on this very important issue concerning the evaluation system in place to evaluate and assign Principals?

 

It seems to me two grave mistakes have been made by the "TRUSTEES." 1) Apparently there was not enough research done before selecting Mr. Miles. Based on the reports (Pro and Con) coming out of Colorado and the fact that he either owns or has interest in the ownership of a Business that is involved with the Charter Schools System. I will not ever believe you were not intelligent enough to question the sincerity of his motives and ability to manage, Dallas ISD. 2) How could you give him two years to receive his certification, and allow him to initiate a evaluation system to make decisions about principals future that will effect the lives/education of our children as well as the morale of the entire staff of DISD teachers. The system he has proposed doesn't give time or take into consideration situations that effect the performance of the Principals.

1) If after reviewing the pros/cons of the Colorado community, you didn't see anything that would require you to think twice and maybe even do more research. I certainly question your ability to make policy and give directions that will effect the future of our children. Whatever the value of the pro's or con's. I am sure there was enough value in either of them to make you think twice before making such a move. I understand (and I could be wrong or have incomplete information) a large portion of the community felt he was not capable of running that agency. I have read several articles that would support that opinion and I have read other that favored him, However there were more against than for. (Those that "I" read). I am sure you were privileged to more information than I, certainly it would raise a "RED FLAG" high over his abilities in YOUR decision making. As I stated before, I have had communications with one of his peers, that was asked by Mr. Miles to join him here because "here he could do as he pleased because of your (TRUSTEE) policies." I have "NO" reason to disbelieve this information because this person has "NO" reason to lie to me, and is highly respected in the education field. Serves on several of the most powerful boards in education. Those same words or signals must have passed you some where in your review of the research company making the recommendation. Finally didn't the "POTENTIAL" of conflict of interest enter your minds? I can't believe you would want to even think of that possibility.

 

2) Certainly you know the importance's of having a certified person in this position who would use DISD policies to allow them to make fair and equable decisions without your (TRUSTEES) sanction. I refuse to believe you knew the effects the evaluation system can have on this district but, did nothing to have a much fairer evaluation system, a system that does not have the potential of having DISD in another law suit. How do you evaluate a Principal on their ability to manage a school when they do not have "ALL" the requirements to fill the job. The Principal at Madison has been without a "FULL" teaching staff, but her children continue to show improvement. The Principal at Lincoln has continually fought facility problems, (IE: Floods, ceiling failing in, and yes staff shortage) Still the children have progressed. How well would you preform if you were under a threat of loosing your job, being fired or forced out of the system. I know there must be at lease one (1) trustee that is a attorney and know enough law to see the possibility of legal action . Win or loose, do we need the expense of a law suit? Certainly there is at lease one (1) trustee that is a educator that would know the difficulty of managing a school with a full staff and a decent building. I can't believe they didn't speak up, if they did and you refused to listen to your peers, then you are a very sad group of "ELECTED" officials. We (the community) made just as bad a judgment in electing you as you did inuring Mr. Miles. Your decision should not be made along racial lines or living locations, or whether you have children in DISD or not. IT HAS TO BE MADE ON WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN AND FAIR FOR OUR PRINCIPALS.

 

If Mr.. Miles was given a "fair amount of time to receive his certification, our principals should be given a fair amount of time before evaluation. This does not mean to place education on a back burner, or to allow principals to be unprofessional or proficient. Give the Principals the time to adjust to Mr. Miles, and Mr. Miles should get to know the principals. We know part of all this action has to do with the mayor and his goals, but just like you, he is a elected official as well. Is it possible that Mr. Blackburn , President of Trustees happen to be a part of the charter school system as well? Let's be HONEST, FAIR AND PUT A GOOD EDUCTION FOR OUR CHILDREN FIRST. I HOPE WHEN MAKING YOUR DECISION YOU REMEMBER THE YOUNG MAN THAT SPOKE AT YOUR BOARD MEETING. I QUOTE "if it wasn't for the principal at Madison, I would probably breaking into your house right now, because you are here". That principal who has been threaten with being removed and/or terminated, who has saved the life of a child, a child that is going to SMU on a "ACADEMIC and ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP" instead of breaking into YOUR HOME.

 

Give it good unbiased thought before you sign off on any evaluation.

 

Respectfully I thank you for your time: Charles Taylor

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The second is a statement I have been working on:

Any teacher or other professional within DISD not supporting the need for change needs to retire.

When DISD was about to lay off 1,000 teachers two years ago I decided to be the one to retire and let the younger teachers carry on. It was a good decision. I was not teaching as well as I used to after 39 years work with Dallas children.

Since that 2011 decision it has been painful to watch DISD deteriorate. The flattening of the Cumulative Promotion Index, the most predictive of graduation rate measurements, shows we have a problem: http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2012/08/graduation-rate-dangers-texas-dallas.html

The responsibility for most of that loss rests with the 2011 Texas Legislature and their, now proven unnecessary, $5.4 billion cut to education.

But now DISD is facing compounded new challenges from another source that is more dangerous. Oppressive micro-management is either terminating or chasing off the very staff who helped that record setting progress from 2006 to 2011 happen in DISD. Many DISD professionals with a record of achievement are leaving or being pushed out. It's frightening!

This past January the Dallas Morning News published a revealing article about the 35 schools in DISD that made the annual Texas list of subpar campuses: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130110-35-dallas-isd-schools-make-states-annual-list-of-subpar-campuses.ece

All of the non-magnet high schools in Dallas made this “worst” list except for 2 high schools on the North side of Dallas: Jefferson and W.T. White, and 5 high schools on the south side of Dallas: Adamson, Molina, Skyline, South Oak Cliff, and Sunset. These schools are to be celebrated!

In 2006 all DISD non-magnet high schools were official “dropout factories!” They had average promotion rates below 60%. That is the percentage of 9th graders who make it to enroll in 12th grade. As of 2011/12, 5 of the 7 listed above were no longer “dropout factories,” and the remaining 2 were almost there! That is the good news.

The frightening news is that at least 3 of the 5 principals of the 5 south side schools that were NOT on the subpar list are either being replaced by Mr. Miles and his administration, or the principals are retiring! We are loosing some of the best! Dallas needs to be very concerned. Where is the data that is being used to make the decisions coming from DISD headquarters to pressure these principals?

Dallas needs to be very concerned about the lack of transparency. Everyone in education should know that you cannot make your decisions based on only a few data sources, such as only SAT and ACT scores! Also, when a school has increased the number of students taking the SAT/ACT tests by 300%, and their average scores have NOT gone down, that is progress!! It is progress several schools that are getting heat from headquarters have made. Yes, change must continue! Progress must continue! But do not chase away those making the progress!

It has now been 2 weeks since the three leaders from Dallas Achieves wrote their well researched letter to Mike Miles: on line at http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/dallas-achieves-leaders-say-superintendent-mike-miles-actions-pose-serious-risks-to-dallas-isd.html/ . Where is the response? Why is a response taking so long? Dallas should be very concerned that it has already taken over 2 weeks for DISD administration to respond to what the three leaders from Dallas Achieves wrote. Dallas should re-read that letter to prepare for this Thursday's DISD Board meeting.
 

Bill Betzen
School Time-Capsule Project www.StudentMotivation.org
Dallas, Texas
214-957-9739

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Additional statements are welcomed for posting here.