Texas Education Agency nominates Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy for 2014 national Blue Ribbon Award

Congratulations to the students, faculty and staff of Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy on being one of four Dallas ISD schools nominated by the Texas Education Agency for 2014 National Blue Ribbon School honors for high level school performance.
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Texas Education Agency Website

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/news_release.aspx?id=25769809492

25 Texas schools nominated for 2014 national Blue Ribbon honors

AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency announced today the nomination of 25 Texas public schools for national 2014 Blue Ribbon Schools recognition. Founded in 1982, Blue Ribbon Schools is a U.S. Department of Education program that recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels.

The nominated schools in Texas include the following:

•   Avalon ISD – Avalon School
•   Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD – Early College High School
•   Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD – McCoy Elementary School
•   Conroe ISD – Geisinger Elementary School
•   Clear Creek ISD – Bay Elementary School
•   Clear Creek ISD – Lavace Stewart Elementary School
•   Dallas ISD – Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy
•   Dallas ISD – Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy
•   Dallas ISD – Middle College High School
•   Dallas ISD – School of Business and Management at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
•   Eagle Pass ISD – Liberty Elementary School
•   El Paso ISD – Cielo Vista Elementary School
•   El Paso ISD – Transmountain Early College High School
•   Fort Worth ISD – Charles Nash Elementary School
•   Garland ISD – Routh Roach Elementary School
•   Garland ISD – Walnut Glen Academy For Excellence
•   Houston ISD – Houston Academy For International Studies
•   Kerrville ISD – Nimitz Elementary School
•   KIPP Inc. Charter – KIPP Houston High School
•   KIPP Inc. Charter – KIPP Sharp College Prep (Houston)
•   Mason ISD – Mason Elementary School
•   Saltillo ISD – Saltillo School
•   San Angelo ISD – Santa Rita Elementary School
•   Sudan ISD – Sudan High School
•   Waller ISD – Fields Store Elementary School

All schools that have been nominated for the 2014 honor were selected as exemplary high performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. Each school has an economically disadvantaged population of 40 percent or greater.

The nominated schools must now complete a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education. Announcements of the national award winners will be made in September 2014.  Schools that receive the award are recognized at the Blue Ribbon School conference in Washington, D.C.
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Four Dallas ISD schools nominated for National Blue Ribbon Schools recognition

Texas Education Agency House Bill 5 Guidance

From Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Governmental Relations

"The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced initial requirements regarding the assessment component of House Bill 5, recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry. The Texas Legislature passed HB 5 by more than a two-thirds majority, making the law effective immediately after the governor’s signature.

High school students are now required to pass five end-of-course exams, and TEA’s letter will help districts begin preparing for the new graduation requirements.

 According to TEA’s letter:

• HB 5 requires reading and writing be combined and given in a single day. High school students who have to date passed English I or English II reading but not English I or English II writing (or vice versa) will still need to successfully complete the second test to meet graduation requirements.

• Assessments in Algebra II, geometry, English III, chemistry, physics, world geography, and world history have been eliminated from the testing requirements and will not be included in the July 2013 STAAR administration.

• End-of-course assessments will continue to be offered in Algebra I, English I, English II, biology, and U.S. history.

• Accelerated instruction is required for students who did not perform satisfactorily on end-of-course exams required for graduation under HB 5 (Algebra I, English I (reading/writing), English II (reading/writing), biology, and U.S. history).

• Accelerated instruction is not required for end-of-course exams in chemistry, physics, Algebra II, geometry, world history, world geography and English III."

Texas Education Agency (TEA) Letter-Click Here
 

Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School recognized as a Distinguished Title 1 Campus by the Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School is being recognized by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) this morning as one of three Dallas ISD Region 10 Distinguished Title 1 Schools. The recognition will include presentation of the TEA Certificate of Merit.

Principal Derrick Batts is the campus leader.

This adds to a commendable list of achievements at Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary school that includes the following:

Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School

•   is ranked Exemplary by TEA
•   benefits from high teacher retention
•   shows high student attendance
•   enjoys admirable parent involvement, participation and  school satisfaction
•   posts an above average School Effectiveness Index
•   meets Average Yearly Progress
•   has appeared multiple times on the annual Honor Roll of the Texas Business   Education Coalition (TBEC)  (for percentage of students passing TAKS and commended performance)                 
•  is a multiple winner of the CREST Award (Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas)
•   has won recognition for reading activities and out-of-class student participation
•   maintains active community adopters and partnerships
•   provides a safe, clean,welcoming environment for teaching and learning

Test Year: 2011

Dark Blue - Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School

Light Blue - Dallas Independent School District

Grey - Texas

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Texas Education Commissioner Michael L. Williams removes Dallas ISD Monitor

On March 19, 2013, TEA Commissioner Michael L. Williams notified Dallas ISD of his decision to remove Dallas ISD Monitor Bobby Parker - effective immediately.

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TEA 
Texas Education Agency

70 orth Congress Ave. • Austin, Texas 78701-1494 • 512 463-9734 • 512 463-9838 FAX • www.tea .state.tx.us

CERTIFIED MAIL

057-905

March 19, 2013


Mr. Lew Blackburn, Board President
Mr. Mike Miles, Superintendent 

Dallas Independent School District
3700 Ross Avenue
Dallas , Texas 75204-5491

Dear Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Miles:

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my intent to remove Bobby Parker as the monitor appointed to Dallas Independent School District (ISD). The removal is effective as of today, March 19, 2013.

I would like to caution Dallas lSD that, although I am encouraged by the district's improvement, I am still concerned about the continuing academic issues facing the district. It is, therefore, critical that Dallas ISD continue to work with their Professional Service Providers (PSPs) on academic performance issues and continue with the training and improvement plans.

Thus, although I am removing the monitor at this time, Dallas ISD is advised that it will continue to be subject to the interventions and sanctions under TEC , Chapter 39, and Title 19, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 97, to address any deficiencies identified for the district. Any questions may be addressed to Ron Rowell, Director of School Governance , at (512) 463-9623 or via email at ronald.rowell@tea .state.tx us.

Sincerely,

 

MLW/Im

cc: Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds. Chief Deputy Commissioner, TEA

Sally Partridge, Associate Commissioner , Accreditation and School Improvement , TEA
Alice McAfee, Director, Enforcement Coordination, TEA
Ron Rowell, Director, Governance, TEA
Bobby Parker, Monitor

TEA Commissioner Robert Scott announces resignation

TEA News Releases Online

 May 1, 2012

Commissioner Robert Scott announces resignation

AUSTIN -Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced today that he will resign his office, effective July 2 on the fifth anniversary of his appointment to the state’s highest public education post.

Scott, 43, began his career at the Texas Education Agency in 1994 as an assistant director of governmental relations.

“I’ve been here since Jon was one and Katie was three months old,” he said, referring to his children. “It’s time.” Both children have now graduated from Texas public schools.

Scott, a lawyer, has dedicated his career to education policy matters, whether serving as a congressional aide, education aide to Gov. Rick Perry or through a variety of jobs at TEA, including serving as interim commissioner and deputy commissioner.

As a parent of public school children, Scott could see firsthand how policies he helped craft impacted the classroom. His children’s involvement in the fine arts, for example, convinced him of the importance of this area of study, causing him to be a steadfast advocate for the arts and the important role they play in the schools.

Other highlights of Scott’s career include:

• increased emphasis on early childhood and pre-kindergarten education through the development of pre-K curriculum standards and other school readiness initiatives;
• the establishment of the Texas High School Project, a public-private partnership that worked to improve college readiness and high school graduation rates;
•  creation of the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (T-STEM) initiative, an idea which has now been adopted by many states;
• working with the State Board of Education to improve the state’s curriculum standards, which form the backbone of instruction in the public schools. Last month, the SBOE adopted strengthened mathematics standards on a 14-0 vote.
• creation of Project Share, a free global online learning community where educators collaborate, share resources and showcase accomplishments. Less than two years old, Project Share already has 900,000 subscribers, including about 600,000 students.

“It’s been a privilege to serve as commissioner. I want to thank Gov. Perry for entrusting me with this job. I also want to thank the State Board of Education for working with me to provide the best public schools possible for our students,” Scott said.

Scott served as interim commissioner of TEA from Aug. 1, 2003 to Jan. 12, 2004 and again from July 2, 2007 to Oct. 15, 2007, before being appointed as commissioner on Oct. 16, 2007.

Scott is the only person to twice serve as interim commissioner and is now the fourth-longest serving commissioner in the agency’s history. No one has had a longer tenure in the past 20 years.

Although there were many new initiatives begun during his tenure, it also fell to Scott to twice oversee drastic downsizings of TEA during a budget crisis. This prompted reorganizations of the agency and the way it operates.

“As someone who has risen through the ranks, I’ve seen firsthand the dedicated service provided by TEA employees. I want to thank them for their unwavering devotion to Texas children,” he said.

“I want to express my sincere thanks to the educators who work tirelessly in our schools. I can’t thank them enough.”

House Pub Ed Discusses Charter Schools

 Texas Association of School Boards Legislative Report

The House Public Education Committee met on Friday to consider its interim charge to evaluate the charter school system in Texas.  

The charge calls for the committee to:

• examine success and failure stories in Texas and other states;
• review the educational outcomes of students in charter school compared to those in traditional schools; and
• identify any best practices and how those practices may be applied statewide. 

Texas Education Agency staff led off by providing an overview of charter schools in Texas, stating that 297 charters have been awarded since 1996 while 91 of them have been revoked, returned, merged or expired.

Currently, the state has awarded 206 open-enrollment charters.

Catherine Maloney, the director of the Texas Center for Education Research (TCER), provided invited testimony that, overall, parents are happy with their choice to enroll their students in an open-enrollment charter school.

Parents cite "smaller classes" and a "safer environments" as the reasons why they are satisfied. However, research shows traditional public school student performance is higher than that of charter school students.

Maloney's findings are a result of several years of TCER research which concluded in a number of evaluations funded by TEA.

TASB provided the committee members with a document that highlights several eye-opening statistics collected from TEA data.

The hearing featured several supporters and skeptics of charter schools. A common theme recurring throughout the hearing was that there exist a handful of very successful charters that overshadow the majority of below-average charter schools.

Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin) repeatedly reminded those testifying that the original role of charter schools to serve as laboratories of innovation for all public schools is hard to fulfill because students in charter schools tend to have more involved parents than students in lower performing traditional public schools, making the portability of business and teaching models difficult. 

Others noted the ability of charter schools to retain the students they choose and send others back to traditional public schools at any time during the school year if students fail to adhere to a charter school's code of conduct or other requirement.

Committee members will make policy recommendations based on testimony and research that may result in proposed legislation in 2013.

Summary of school district finances for the 2010-11 school year

The Texas Education Agency has posted a revised Summary of Finances (SOF) for the 2010-11 school year. The report includes projected student counts; budgeted tax collections; tax rate updates; EDA and IFA information; state aid reduction for WADA sold data; and state compensatory education information.

School District State Aid Reports Here

Enter Dallas ISD County District Number - 057905

School Finance Correspondence Here