Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles said Thursday that some changes proposed for the district’s new teacher evaluation system should be decided by an in-house group of experts.

The evaluation, called the Teacher Excellence Initiative, began this year and will be tied to teacher pay next school year. Some requirements under the evaluation – such as testing elementary school children in art, music and physical education – has caused concern with some school board members, parents and teachers.

Miles cautioned against making changes in the midst of the school year during Thursday’s board briefings. He said controversy and debate was expected over the new evaluation, which the district says is more rigorous than past teacher evaluations.

“Let’s wait at least a year before we start back-peddling,” Miles said.

But at least one change was made following a meeting Wednesday with a principal focus group, according to Miles. He said that it was decided that principals could determine whether to give scores to teachers on spot observations along with feedback. Spot observations are when administrators visit a classroom to grade a teacher.

Parents and teachers have complained that the spot observations are more about policing and compliance than coaching and mentoring. Some trustees would like to see a requirement for 10 spot observations reduced.

Miles said that the district’s TEI expert group, made up of at least two teachers from each school, would consider some changes to the evaluation system at a Jan. 6 meeting. For example, the group will look at whether to reduce the number of spot observations this school year for teachers performing at the highest levels.

Some parents and teachers have complained that there’s an excessive focus on scores and data instead of learning. The new teacher evaluation system relies on in-house assessments and other exams to help grade teachers and determine their pay.

There’s also concern about elementary students, including kindergartners, being stressed over new tests in the non-core subjects of art, music and physical education.

“All of the feedback that I’ve received from parents has been negative,” trustee Dan Micciche said about the additional tests. He added that the time should be devoted to other areas of need, such as making sure kids are reading at grade level.

Trustee Eric Cowan said he hasn’t been able to justify the testing to people who ask. He said that some kids are sitting and waiting for others to finish receiving their individual tests in the classes.

“If I can’t justify testing in art, music or PE, then we really need to reevaluate why we do this,” Cowan said. “There are different ways to monitor instruction in these classes without putting additional tests on these kids.”

Miles said the TEI experts will look at testing in the non-core areas. He said various options could be considered, such as letting parents opt out.

Trustee Nancy Bingham said the evaluation is a work in progress and the program should be given the full year before undergoing many changes.

“For us to sit here and say, `Let’s take this out, let’s take this out,’ without going through the full year, I’m not sure that’s a good strategy,” Bingham said.

Micciche, one of several trustees who brought concerns about the evaluation to district administration, was appreciative that administrators were acting on the feedback.

“I thank you for taking the feedback and looking at it as a constructive thing in what we’re trying to do,” he said.

(Rex C. Curry/Special Contributor)

Christina Herrera, a parent of a DISD student and a teacher at North Dallas High School, says at a meeting this week in Oak Cliff that she can't be the teacher she wants to be because of new district policies.

Dallas ISD parents and teachers have rallied in recent months against new tests the district requires elementary-school students to take in art, band and physical education.

At Thursday’s school board briefing, several trustees urged Superintendent Mike Miles to consider eliminating the tests. Parents have said their children are stressed about them and are spending too much time preparing for them and taking them instead of learning.

Dallas ISD has required students to take the district exams for years. But under Miles, the district has expanded them to the elective courses in elementary school, including in kindergarten art class

What’s on the district exam, called the “Assessment of Course Performance, or ACP?

Kindergarten Art

1. Create artworks using a variety of lines, shapes, colors, textures, and forms.

First-grade Music

1. Sing tunefully, including rhythmic and melodic patterns, independently.

Second-grade PE

1. Travel independently in a large group while safely and quickly changing speed and direction.
2. Demonstrate mature form in skipping.
3. Demonstrate balance in symmetrical and non-symmetrical shapes from different basis of support.
4. Demonstrate smooth transition from one body part to the next in rolling activities such as log roll.
5. Demonstrate on cue key elements of foot dribble.

Third-grade Art

1. Integrate ideas drawn from life experiences to create original works of art.
2. Create compositions using the elements of art and principles of design.

Fourth-grade Music

1. Sing with accurate intonation and rhythm, independently.

Fifth-grade PE

1. Demonstrate smooth combinations of fundamental locomotor skills such as hop-step-jump.
2. Demonstrate controlled balance on a variety of objects such as scooters.
3. Combine traveling and rolling with smooth transitions.
4. Movement: Demonstrate competence in manipulative skills in dynamic situations such as overhand throw.

Seven teachers are finalists in a competition to win a speaker spot at the Extra Yard for Teachers Summit in Dallas on Jan. 10 — and they need votes.

The event is tied to the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship, which will be held Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The free summit will celebrate 800 teachers with a line-up of speakers and performers to cheer them on as they begin the second half of the school year.

Teachers were invited to tell their story about life as an educator on video, audio, in writing or through visual illustration as part of the I Teach Project, an initiative that captures the stories of teachers everywhere.

The seven finalists will vie for a speaking spot at the summit through an online voting competition. Click here to watch the finalists’ videos and to vote. The contest runs through Wednesday.

The summit is from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and attendees must register online here. It will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Ballroom D, 650 S. Griffin St. in downtown Dallas.

The finalists are:

*Dallas ISD – Katey Batey, S.S. Conner Elementary School (My World of Teaching)

*Dallas ISD – Thom Browne, Quintanilla Middle School (I Teach Because…)

*Parish Episcopal School – Jennifer Makins (My Experience Teaching)

*Plano ISD – Greses Perez (Why I Teach)

*Princeton ISD – Eric Lockman, Princeton High School (House of Success)

*Richardson ISD – George Hademenos, Richardson High School (What Teaching Means to Me)

*Rockwall ISD – Cheri Grimes (My Teaching Story)

Updated at 3:19 p.m.: I just spoke with Robert Schulman, a lawyer who represents Harmony. He called the agreement “a very positive thing.” Harmony does not discriminate against students, he stressed. “They had to make the appropriate policy and process changes that were necessary for full compliance, and they did.”

Original post: Harmony Public Schools, one of Texas’ biggest charter school networks, reached an agreement today with the U.S. Department of Education over how it enrolls and teaches children who have disabilities or are learning English.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights investigated the Harmony network and found that English-language learners (ELL) and students with disabilities “are significantly underrepresented in their enrollment in (Harmony) charter schools . . . compared to the enrollment of ELL students and students with disabilities in
the public school districts in the same geographic area.”

In the Harmony schools examined, 11.5% of students were learning English, compared to 22.5% of students in the neighboring traditional school districts. Students with disabilities comprised 2.7% of Harmony’s enrollment, compared to 7.3% of students in neighboring districts. Of the four Harmony school districts studied, three are in the Houston area. The fourth has campuses in Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Euless and Duncanville.

Charter schools, which are public schools run by private non-profit groups, cannot exclude or discriminate against students based on their race, disability or language. They’re supposed to educate the same kinds of kids as traditional public schools — including students who may be more difficult or costly to educate.

The Department of Education did not find that Harmony blatantly tried to exclude certain students. But it did find practices and policies at Harmony that could have that effect. From the department’s letter to Harmony:

OCR (Office for Civil Rights) is concerned, however, that the exclusion from admission and enrollment in HPS (Harmony Public Schools) charter schools of students with a documented history of a criminal offense, juvenile court adjudication or discipline problems may improperly contribute to the lower enrollment of students with disabilities or ELL students in the HPS charter schools. Statistics show that students with disabilities and ELL students tend to be overrepresented among students subject to school discipline in Texas.

In addition, the published enrollment procedures (which require students to provide their birth certificates and social security numbers, among other documents) may chill or lead to the exclusion of students based on their or their parents’ citizenship or immigration status. OCR is also concerned that the publication of these procedures alone may dissuade some parents of ELL students from applying to HPS charter schools.

I called Harmony’s main office in Houston for comment. The voice mailbox is full. I’ve emailed the school system for comment, too. As soon as I hear something from them, I’ll post an update.

The Department of Education’s letter notes that before the investigation was complete, Harmony Public Schools “expressed an interest in voluntarily
resolving the review” and proposed an agreement to resolve compliance problems.

You can read Harmony’s agreement with the Department of Education below. It spells out the steps that Harmony will take. Below that, I’ve posted the letter.

Harmony Agreement 11.26.14

Harmony Letter 11.26.14

(LinkedIn)

Justin Henry

A Dallas attorney says that Superintendent Mike Miles encouraged him this month to run against trustee Bernadette Nutall in the May election.

Justin Henry said that Miles asked him about his interest in the District 9 seat and offered to help him better understand DISD and the area that school board seat represents. Henry said he was stunned by Miles’ inquiry.

“He asked me about my interest in running for the District 9 trustee seat. My immediate response was, ‘I just met you a few minutes ago,’” Henry, 32, said in an interview. “’Recruiting’ is a strong word, but ‘encouraging’ would be accurate.”

He added: “It’s fair to ask that question but it was surprising to come from the superintendent, who I just met.”

Miles said Tuesday that he only offered to meet with Henry because he was told Henry might run for office and want to learn more about the district. Miles declined to say who told him that Henry might consider running.

Miles said he didn’t encourage Henry to run or offer to help him. Miles said “there was confusion” about how the meeting came about.

“I asked him if he wanted to know anything about the district,” Miles said. “It wasn’t about Bernadette; It was about education.”

Miles and Nutall, who is one of his nine bosses on the school board, have been at odds almost since the superintendent arrived in DISD in July 2012. Last month, Miles ordered three DISD police officers to remove Nutall from a middle school in her district. He forwarded three complaints he received about Nutall after that event to the district’s legal department, which hired an outside attorney to investigate.

Henry said that Miles’ assistant, DeeDee Rodriguez, set up the meeting in mid-November at a coffee shop. Henry said that he had seen Miles at events but never had a detailed conversation with him until their meeting. He said they spent between 30 minutes and an hour talking about education — and a few minutes about his interest in running for office.

Miles mentioned the District 9 race twice during their conversation, Henry said. And Miles brought it up the last time as they left the coffee shop.

“He said, ‘It is important whether it is [trustee Mike] Morath or someone else, they should have someone running against them and have a contested election,’” Henry said.

Morath, who represents parts of East and North Dallas, has won both of his elections unopposed.

Miles said Tuesday that he doesn’t remember saying anything about uncontested school board elections. “I remember saying something about Justin having a good future and ‘hope you stay involved,’” Miles said.

Henry said that Miles’ last comment irked him and prompted him to email the superintendent about their meeting. The email was obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

“I must say that I did not expect to be asked about any interest I may have in the District 9 trustee seat/race. I assumed that our conversation would touch on many things related to education, but not that…especially since this was the first time that I have had a conversation with you,” he wrote. “My first thought was that I do not think this is an appropriate question for a first-time meeting or from the Superintendent.”

Miles responded to Henry’s email about 40 minutes later and said he thought Henry asked to meet. “With regard to running for elected office, I had heard that you were considering running and that you might have questions about the initiatives of the District or how the team has operated. I apologize if this was not communicated. I actually thought that you had wanted to meet with me,”

Henry responded: “As I stated, when DeeDee from your office called me to set up the meeting I was surprised and had no idea what you wanted to meet about.”

Nutall, who hasn’t publicly announced yet whether she plans to run for a third term in May 2015, has mentored Henry the past three years and appointed him to two DISD committees. Henry said he is passionate about education and still considering whether to run for the board.

“There are people who know I am passionate about education and educational equity,” he said.

Tonya Sadler Grayson

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS and MATTHEW HAAG
Staff Writers

A Dallas ISD administrator who filed a complaint against trustee Bernadette Nutall wrote that she felt threatened following conversations with her in June about the firing of some athletics personnel.

“I fear coming in close contact with her,” human resources executive Tonya Sadler Grayson wrote in her complaint to Superintendent Mike Miles four months after it happened.

The Dallas Morning News received her complaint and another filed by Freddie Jackson, who is Miles’ driver, in an open records request. A third complaint said to be filed anonymously was not provided to The News. The complaints by Grayson and Jackson were sent to Miles within a day of each other in late October.

Nutall vehemently denies the allegations.

Miles received the complaints two weeks after he had Nutall forcibly removed from Dade Middle School by three district police officers on Oct. 13. Nutall filed a criminal complaint with the Dallas County district’s attorney’s office, claiming Miles committed “official oppression” when he had officers remove her.

Some trustees have questioned the timing of the employee complaints filed against Nutall. Board president Miguel Solis called it “peculiar.”

Dallas ISD hired former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins on Oct. 29 to look into the complaints, which Miles forwarded to the district’s legal department. The investigation, which could cost $30,000, is only reviewing the complaints and not the incident at Dade. DISD trustees have asked the Texas Education Agency to review that incident.

Grayson wrote in her Oct. 22 letter to Miles that her interactions with Nutall have been “unpleasant.” She specifically noted a conversation outside a June board meeting in which Nutall accused her of “treating people like trash” and made other accusations.

“Trustee Nutall continuously made comments about me being new and stated that I was hungry for power,” Grayson wrote.

Grayson said Nutall was referring to the dismissal of athletics department administrators, who were fired following an investigation into improper sports recruiting. Grayson wrote in her complaint that she looked for help during her confrontation because she was “unaware of trustee Nutall’s intentions.”

“Previously, I heard that Trustee Nutall hit a DISD executive, and I didn’t want to be her next target,” Grayson said in the letter, which provided no details of the alleged incident or the name of the executive.

Asked about the alleged assault, Grayson told The News she would need approval from the district to discuss it. DISD recommends she not discuss the matter during an active investigation.

Nutall said the allegations are unfounded and she awaits the results of the investigation.

“There will be an appropriate time to address Superintendent Miles’ actions,” Nutall said. “For now, I trust in the integrity and professionalism of Mr. Coggins’ investigation. The allegations are just totally unfounded. I know the real reasons for this investigation will be shown.”

Grayson wrote in the complaint that her heated exchange continued later in the day, and trustee Lew Blackburn intervened.

Blackburn told The News on Monday he didn’t see Grayson acting fearful or afraid during their conversation. “I just didn’t see it,” he said.

“They were talking about something they weren’t coming to an agreement on,” Blackburn said. “My typical response is, `You’re not going to agree on it, let’s move on.’”

Grayson wrote in the complaint that she briefly mentioned the “hostile encounter” in June to Miles. She didn’t say why she waited four months to detail the situation. She said in the letter that she wanted to share her concerns with Miles in case she “is verbally or physically attacked by trustee Nutall.”

Grayson, who joined the district at the beginning of the year, has been involved in recent controversy. She failed to report on her DISD application that she served 12 months probation in 1990 for misdemeanor criminal trespassing in Georgia. She has said that she didn’t believe her incident applied to the questions on the application about criminal history.

In Jackson’s letter, he said that Nutall asked to meet with him on Oct. 15 about the Dade incident. He wrote that Nutall wanted to know that why he, as a black man, did not come to her aid when police started to remove her. Nutall also is black. Jackson, who is a retired DISD police officer, told her that he could not interfere with officers lawfully doing their jobs.

Jackson said he didn’t feel the confrontation at Dade was a racial incident and “that the action taken was appropriate for a person who was acting loud and disorderly in a school.”

Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Nutall has said that she went to Dade at the request of some staff members to see what was going on after Miles replaced the principal, two assistant principals and 10 teachers.

Miles has said the staff changes had to be made immediately because very little teaching was occurring. He had planned a 6:30 a.m. staff meeting the day Nutall went to Dade. He has said it was the first meeting for the new group and not the time for a trustee to be present.

Nutall has said she decided not to attend the meeting when she learned Miles would be leading it. She said she was leaving Dade when she met Miles in the main entrance. She said he asked her to leave and accused her of trespassing. When she refused to leave, he had officers put her out, she said.

A video of the incident shows two DISD police officers, each holding one of Nutall’s arms, physically removing her from the school as Miles looks on.

Miles submitted the first employee complaint on Oct. 28 and filed two more the following day, according to district documents. Trustees were unaware that Coggins was hired on Oct. 29 until about a week later.

Miles has told The News he was unaware the district hired Coggins.

However, Miles had solicited testimony about Nutall’s past behavior from a retired DISD executive.

Sylvia Reyna, a former top DISD administrator, told The News in October that Miles contacted her after the Dade incident and said he wanted an investigation into Nutall. He asked her to tell investigators about an incident two years ago with Nutall. Reyna said she told Miles that the argument wasn’t a big deal.

Besides the Texas Education Agency review, trustees also agreed to seek an opinion from the Texas Attorney General on a superintendent’s authority to have a trustee removed from a school district facility.

Allegations against Trustee Nutall

If you have a child in a Texas public school grades K-8, it’s likely not a shock to you that math classes are harder this year. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skill standards for math are a lot tougher this year than last.

You can read many more details here.

Today, the State Board of Education had a discussion about the struggles reported by many schools and districts with the new TEKS. Two small bits of news emerged:

1) The math STAAR tests may get pushed back later in the school year. Particularly an issue for grades 5 and 8 because those tests are set for March. So not only are teachers trying to cram in more than a year of content, but they have a short year to work with. Texas Education Agency officials said there is discussion about resetting the timing of those tests. (Until today, the official answer of the TEA was that it wanted to keep the tests dates the same because it would create the most comparable test score data.) Other test dates are also being looked at, with a consideration to push them later in the school year.

2) Whatever those test scores are used for may get ratcheted down. Already, the scores won’t have any official implication for students. (Unofficially, there’s going to be stress. And aside from the STAAR results, there are still class tests based on the new TEKS to be graded.)

For schools and districts, the STAAR scores must be used in the state accountability system. But Shannon Housson, the TEA director of the division of performance reporting, made it clear the education commissioner has the power to set the bar for how important those math results will be for the ratings.

As for the need to give all the tests and to have them cover the new TEKS: That’s required by federal and state law, TEA officials said.

State Board of Education members on Friday gave final approval to a new generation of social studies textbooks and e-books that will reflect a more conservative view of U.S.history than books used for the past dozen years. The 89 books on the list were adopted along partisan lines, with all 10 Republicans voting yes and all five Democrats voting no.

Board member Mavis Knight of Dallas and other Democrats said they were not unhappy with publishers over their new books, but were very dissatisfied with the curriculum standards that publishers were required to meet, particularly for U.S.history. Those standards were originally adopted four years ago over the objections of Democrats, who complained they highlighted more conservative figures in history and were tilted toward a conservative point of view.

One digital publisher was penalized by the board, which voted Friday to remove their six proposed social studies e-books from the adoption list. That publisher, WorldView, came under fire for initially resisting suggestions for changes from the board and the public. WorldView submitted hundreds of proposed changes on Thursday in an effort to keep its materials on the adoption list, but it was too late. Only three board members voted to approve their books.

Although some members wanted to delay action because of all the late changes submitted by publishers this week, the board is under a Dec. 1 deadline to present their list of recommended textbooks and digital books to school districts. Current social studies books were adopted 12 years ago, so many of them are incomplete or out of date.

Among the areas that were objected to by textbooks critics who testified earlier this week were global warming, coverage of Muslims and Islamic terrorists, and the role of religion in the founding of the U.S. Complaints also were made about treatment of important historical figures. One world history book was cited for its mostly positive coverage of former Communist leaders Joseph Stalin of Russia and Mao Zedong of China, while giving short shrift to former U.S.leaders like Ronald Reagan.

Board members on Friday also adopted new books for high school math and fine arts. All the new books will go out to schools in the fall of 2015.

This is the second straight year of hotly debated textbooks in Texas. Last year, the board approved new science books that sparked differing views about how much students should learn about Charles Darwin and evolution. The next textbook adoption should be a more subdued affair as the only books up for consideration are foreign languages.

Texas school districts are not required to purchase materials on the board’s recommended list, but most do so because those textbooks and digital books are certified to cover the state’s curriculum standards and the questions that appear on achievement tests. Textbook adoptions in Texas are closely watched because the state is one of the largest purchasers in the nation and its books are frequently marketed in other states.

State Board of Education members will try again Friday to adopt new social studies textbooks and e-books after reviewing hundreds of recent changes to the books by publishers.

Board members balked at preliminary approval at a meeting on Tuesday, with several members saying they were uncomfortable voting before they had reviewed the finished products. But the panel is under a deadline to approve the materials on Friday so they can be printed and in classrooms by the fall of 2015. Current social studies books were adopted 12 years ago, so many of them are incomplete or out of date.

Nearly 100 social studies books are up for consideration and most are expected to win the board’s stamp of approval. But some publishers were still scrambling this week to make last-minute changes in response to objections from some board members and the public.

Among the areas that have raised concern are global warming, coverage of Muslims and Islamic terrorists, and the role of religion in the founding of the U.S. Complaints also have been made about treatment of some politicians, which prompted one publisher to delete coverage of Hillary Rodham Clinton and remove negative references about former President George W. Bush.

This is the second straight year of hotly debated textbooks inTexas. Last year, the board approved new science books that sparked the usual back-and-forth about how much students should learn about Charles Darwin and evolution. Next year’s adoption should be a more subdued affair as the only books up for consideration are foreign languages.

Texas school districts are not required to purchase materials on the board’s recommended list, but most do so because those textbooks and digital books are certified to cover the state’s curriculum standards and the questions that appear on achievement tests. Textbook adoptions in Texas are closely watched because the state is one of the largest purchasers in the nation and its books are frequently marketed in other states.