DALLAS ISD

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

***Would you like to be a school superintendent? See this story about high turnover among school superintendents in Texas.

***The feds are pushing for higher standards. See comments by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who is pushing for states to adopt stronger and more uniform standards to ensure students are ready for college and careers. To date, the federal law has allowed states to create their own standards, leading to a hodgepodge of testing requirements, some weaker than others.

***College application help available. See DISD Trustee Carla Ranger's blog about a Feb. 27 (Saturday) program to help students fill out college applications and financial aid forms.

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Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

** Irving ISD named a new superintendent last night. We posted on the district's superintendent search earlier this week after former DISD administrator Oscar Rodriguez, the recent Texas Superintendent of the Year, did not get an interview for the job. Irving chose Dana T. Bedden, superintendent of the Richmond County School System in Augusta, Ga., for the post.

** Collin County Community College professor and author Michael Phillips gave a speech last night on the impact that segregation had on Dallas public schools. Read the story here.

** A Pennsylvania school district is in hot water for using web cams on students' district-issued laptops that could be activated by the district.

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The teacher asked to remain anonymous, but here's what the teacher said happened:

"Today at about 10:45 AM at Samuell H.S. a fire alarm sounded, and in a few seconds the principal announced over the P.A. system that "this is a real fire drill." I had begun evacuating my students; however, I observed those of my students who had left the room coming back from the exterior doors ... They reported that the doors were chained shut. They then began to go down a long hallway toward another exterior doorway where a rather large number of students were gathered who apparently could not exit that door because it also was chained shut.

"After my classroom had evacuated, I began a check of classrooms .... I found about a dozen severely mentally impaired students huddled in a classroom with their teacher. Most of the students had their hands over their ears (the fire alarms emit a piercing sound).

"An assistant principal finally arrived with keys to unlock the chains on the exterior doors ... By then another administrator had arrived at the other door to unchain it. DFD vehicles had pulled up to the school by this time. Later, while students and teachers waited outside the building, it was announced that a fire had been started in an upstairs restroom and smoke had permeated several corridors. The all-clear signal was given at about 11:50 AM. DISD is now offering a monetary reward to students who may be able to identify those who may have started the fire."

"Without much doubt, the exterior doors which were chained shut today will again be chained shut during the school day. The fire alarms will sound, and all will again be be told the alarm was "a test," and to disregard the alarms."

The Dallas school district has temporarily backed off a plan to raze a former Oak Cliff church it bought to make way for the new Adamson High School. Preservationists are hoping to use the time to find a buyer and save the church from demolition.

DISD's stance this time around is vastly different than its fight with the Catholic Church in 2003-2005.

Some quick background: In 2003, DISD went to court to force the sale of undeveloped land at Calvary Hill Cemetery to build two new schools. The Catholic Church refused, saying the land was planned for cemetery expansion. The church later produced what it called evidence that unmarked graves had been discovered in part of the land that DISD wanted to use. Families also came forward with information of their loved ones being buried there. DISD still moved forward with the court case.

In 2005, when Superintendent Michael Hinojosa came on the scene, he was ready to get out of the lengthy, expensive two-year court battle with the Catholic Church. DISD ended up paying $1.2 million in court costs and fees to settle the lawsuit and also was out of about $1 million in legal fees fighting the case — all paid with 2002 bond funds.

As you can see, DISD is handling the Oak Cliff case differently, and some would say for the better. According to our story today, "the Dallas school district has backed away from its planned demolition of the 94-year-old building and given the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League six months to find a buyer for the property at 300 E. 10th St."

Read the story here. And click here to go to our Oak Cliff blog for past posts on this subject.

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

** If you haven't seen it yet on DISD's website, click here to check out the picture of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, DISD board president Adam Medrano and David G. Burnet Elementary School principal Shelly Vaughan.

** Our story today on DISD breaking ground this week for two of 14 new schools planned under the 2008 bond program.

** Click here to check out DISD's schedule for parent-teacher conferences that begin the week of March 8.

** The Houston ISD will extend the school year at a handful of struggling schools under a pilot program this fall. Dallas talked about this at one point, but appeared to back off after determining it would cost a lot more money to keep students in school longer.

** Sad story out of Richardson ISD. A student was run over and killed after she forced her way off a moving school bus.

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Two sixth-grade students at Cowart Elementary who required medical attention after taking pills yesterday have been released from the hospital, DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander said.

The boys were in a lethargic state when they were transported to the hospital. It was not clear yesterday how they obtained the pills. Cowart Elementary is in southwest Oak Cliff.

DISD trustees Lew Blackburn (District 5) and Nancy Bingham (District 4) have filed for re-election.

The incumbents are the only two candidates so far that have filed for three seats that will be decided May 8. The filing period began Feb. 8 and ends on March 8. The District 7 seat, held by Jerome Garza, is also open. Garza has said that he will not seek another term.

Click here for more information on the May election.

Two students at Cowart Elementary School were transported to the hospital Tuesday afternoon after taking pills at the school, according to Dallas schools spokesman Jon Dahlander.

The sixth-grade boys were in a lethargic state but it appeared that they would be alright, according to Dahlander. It was not clear how the boys obtained the pills, he said.

Dallas ISD police are investigating and the boys' parents have been made aware of the situation, Dahlander said. Cowart Elementary is in southwest Oak Cliff.

My colleague Katherine Leal Unmuth has up a post on the Irving blog concering former DISD administrator Oscar Rodriguez, whose wife Claudia Rodriguez is now running the HR department in DISD. Here's the post:

Oscar Rodriguez, the former superintendent of Mission CISD in South Texas, says he applied for the Irving ISD superintendent position but was never interviewed for the job. Rodriguez recently won the 2009 Texas Superintendent of the Year award and the Mission district was rated academically "Recognized" in 2009 under his leadership. He worked there for four and a half years and was credited for starting "Operation College Bound" and "Operation Graduation"--creating smaller ninth-grade class sizes to battle high failure rates at that age level.

Rodriguez is bilingual and of Mexican-American background and is originally from Corpus Christi (or as he says, "Soy Tejano"). The Mission district's enrollment is about 35 percent limited English proficient, compared to Irving's 40 percent. Mission is about 98 percent Hispanic and Irving is about 69 percent. However Mission is much smaller than Irving--15,000 versus about 33,000. He noted he does not have a doctorate (neither did Jack Singley).

Some Hispanic activists are upset he was not interviewed. Irving ISD school board president Jerry Christian said more than one Hispanic was interviewed for the Irving position, and he said obviously they were determined to be stronger candidates than Rodriguez.

What do you think about this?

He did not call me himself to inform me that he was not interviewed. Several other people tipped me off. At first he said he had no comment. But then he said he was surprised he wasn't considered.

"The variety of experience I have accumulated as superintendent served me well, particularly with minority students," he said. "Everything we did down there was catering to any population that was needing some extra help."

"I was surprised that I didn't at least get an interview," he added. "I wish them well whoever they choose. I could have done a heck of a job."

The New York Times has a story today about a South Florida teen who filed a lawsuit after she was suspended for creating a Facebook page criticizing a teacher, titled "Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I've ever had."

The teen, Katherine Evans, was suspended for three days and accused of "cyberbullying."

A federal judge ruled that Evans, now 19 and a sophomore in college, can proceed with her lawsuit. The teen seeks to have the suspension wiped from her record and paid a "nominal fee" for what she says was a violation of her First Amendment rights. She also seeks to have her attorney fees paid. (Read the New York Times story here).

My question to students, parents and DISD employees: Have you heard of any DISD employee being targeted by a student on Facebook, MySpace, or any other social networking site? I'm trying to determine how unusual this is.

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

** Local students received visits by NBA pros over the weekend, including Chris Bosh's return to his alma mater, Lincoln High School.

** Auditions are being held on Feb. 27 for students wanting to try out for DISD's award-winning School Zone Dallas tv show. Click here for details.

** DMN reporter Roy Appleton has news on our Oak Cliff blog that preservationists and DISD have reached an agreement concerning the Oak Cliff Christian Church. And the Dallas Observer's Unfair Park blog has this take.

** Mayor Tom Leppert — once again — says that the Dallas school district needs to get its act together.

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As you all probably have seen by now, Brett Shipp of Channel 8 reported yesterday on some brawls on the campus of Skyline High School involving students who were unsupervised — allegedly due to 50 teachers being absent from school. Dozens of students can be seen in the Channel 8 video, which you can watch by clicking on the link above. One student said they had been outside of the school for more than an hour.

The news report questioned whether DISD was prepared for such an onslaught of folks calling in absent yesterday, and whether the district should have taken that into consideration when deciding to open on such a blustery day. Shipp also noted that DISD folks at 3700 Ross Ave. got to leave work an hour early.

DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander acknowledged yesterday that there was not enough supervision at the school.

"Some kids started a snowball fight outside of the school," he said. "There were several teachers that had called in absent for the day, so there was not enough supervision outside the school and in some cases inside the school."

So let's hear from you. Is this an isolated event or something you've heard of before on bad weather days when fewer staffers are on hand?

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

** Hometown NBA products Chris Bosh (Lincoln High School) and Deron Williams (The Colony) will play in the 2010 All-Star game this weekend in Arlington. Read the story here.

** Is it time to re-evaluate public-school sex education? Some researchers say it is.

** The DMN story today on Lakewood parents opposing a proposed attendance zone change that would send more students to the already overcrowded campus.

** Two DISD ground breakings planned for next week — George Herbert Walker Bush Elementary School and Ebby Halliday Elementary School. George P. Bush, grandson of George Herbert Walker Bush, will be at the Bush Elementary ground breaking. Read the details here.

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Students at Skyline High School had fun this morning building a snowman (photo above), but I'm told that kids at Woodrow Wilson High School are in trouble after a snowfight between classes.

I just heard this story from a Woodrow Wilson student: When the bell rang between classes about a half hour ago, several hundred kids ran out to have a snowfight. Now, the students are being detained in the auditorium, apparently on detention, and other students are in class and in a "lockdown" situation, according to the student, who did not want to be identified. The student said kids weren't even being allowed to go to the bathroom.

"We tried to have a little fun and they ruined it," the student said about administrators.

I called the school to find out the administration's side of the story. But a staffer who answered the phone said the principal was "not available" and that I should call the district's communications office.

No one was available to talk to me in the DISD office either.

If or when I hear from administrators, I'll post an update to this blog.

Meanwhile, I hope that school principals and DISD administrators understand that taxpayers pay their salaries, and they should feel obligated to keep the public informed. Too often, principals refuse to talk to the media. I'm trying to figure out if principals are afraid to talk because they are restricted by the administration, or if they just don't want to talk the media. What do you think?

UPDATE: The fun at Skyline turned into a bad scene with one student sent to the hospital. I just heard from DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander, who said that a snowball fight at Skyline involved some 300 students and escalated and got out of control. One student was injured -- Dahlander said the student may have been hit in the head -- and had to go to the hospital. He wasn't sure of the extent of the injuries or the student's current condition.

"The principal has rounded up the main perpetrators and is going to hold them accountable," he said.

Re: Woodrow Wilson. Dahlander said the snowball fight there also started escalating, so the administrator brought the kids involved into the school auditorium. They stayed until lunch and then resumed their regular class schedules.

We just got this news release from DISD:

The Dallas Independent School District is canceling all after school activities for today Thursday, including athletic events, because of the winter conditions in the North Texas area.

Students will be released at the regular time today: Elementary school at 3 p.m.; middle school at 3:30 p.m.; and high school at 3:45 p.m.

District administrators will continue to monitor the weather conditions for tomorrow. In the event of inclement weather, the Dallas ISD's procedures call for informing the public of school closings no later than 6 a.m. of the day in question.

The procedures for making the decision to close schools begin early in the morning when school personnel drive streets in different parts of the city to check road conditions. The district will not hold school if buses are unable to operate safely; if electric service at schools is disrupted; or if natural gas to schools is curtailed.

Administrators confer with the weather bureau, police department, and gas and utility companies about forecasts, road conditions and available energy for heating the buildings. The administrators report the findings to the superintendent of schools who makes the final decision to open or close schools.

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

***Crowding solutions are never easy. Moving kids from one school to another always ignites passions, and DISD's HIghland Meadows crowding situation is no exception. Our story today outlines the options for the elementary school. It reminded me that Highland Meadows PTA president Evelyn Chavez appeared at DISD's last school board meeting, speaking passionately about the plight of her school. She said kids are taking classes in conference rooms and on the stage. You can still watch the video on DISD's website. Chavez appears at the end of the meeting. Just click on the video for the Jan. 28 meeting, and jump to the section called speakers to non-agenda items. Chavez is the first speaker.

***Is Gov. Perry reconsidering? Here's a really interesting story by the Houston Chronicle that gets behind the scenes on Gov. Rick Perry's refusal to apply for federal "Race to the Top" education grant funds and whether Texas may reconsider its stance. As a staunch believer in the public's right to know, I find it disturbing that the state thus far is keeping secret the Race to the Top application that the education agency had been working on.

***Fundraising update. We blogged last week about fundraising efforts by DISD students and staff. I just got this update from the district about just how much has been raised. There will a press conference on this next week:
Dallas ISD students will donate more than $49,000 to 24 charity and non-profit organizations during the Common Cents campaign news conference scheduled for Tuesday, February 16, at 10:30 a.m., at Communities Foundation of Texas, 5500 Caruth Haven Lane.Students from 40 Dallas ISD schools participated in the Common Cents campaign, a student-led coin collection effort designed to raise money for charity and non-profit organizations while encouraging good citizenship and social responsibility in students. Several of the charity and non-profit organizations which will participate in the news conference to receive a donation include the American Red Cross, Children's Medical Center, and the Lymphoma Society.

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The number of high-poverty schools recognized for distinguished performance soared both statewide and in Dallas in 2009 - with some statistical help that boosted test scores.

Overall, 937 schools that receive Title I poverty dollars have been recognized by the Texas Education Agency as either "distinguished performance" or "distinguished progress" campuses - almost triple the number that made the lists in 2008-09.

The lists are based on several factors. To qualify in either category, a school must receive an exemplary rating from the state, based largely on high performance on state achievement tests.

In Dallas, 24 schools made the distinguished schools lists, up from eight schools last year. However, 13 of the 24 schools would not have made the lists had they not been helped by the state's new statistical formula called the Texas Projection Measure, according to state test results.

Even if too many students flunk state tests, the TPM formula allows schools to pass by projecting out how students will perform in the future on the exams.

TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe on Tuesday acknowledged that the increase in schools on the lists stemmed in part from the TPM measure that was used for the first time in 2009. About 2,000 schools statewide used TPM to become recognized or exemplary schools, she said.

At the same time, Ratcliffe said, improved performance on the state tests also contributed to the increase in the number of distinguished schools.

She cautioned that it would not be an apple-to-apple comparison if districts compared the number of distinguished schools in 2009 to those in 2008, because TPM was not used in 2008.

From reporter Nancy Visser from the East Dallas blog:

The Lochwood neighborhood west of White Rock Lake is rallying to oppose recommendations by the DISD to alleviate crowding at Highland Meadows Elementary by moving them to M.T. Reilly. Reilly is in the heart of Lochwood, which is also called Dixon Branch for the creek running through it. The fear is that the shift of students will return portables to the playground.

Here's an email distributed today by Scott Robson, president of the neighborhood association, explaining why the residents need to oppose plans that would add portables:

Urgent: Reilly Elementary News

Due to overcrowding at Highland Meadows Elementary School, north of N.W. Highway, there is the possibility of redrawing the boundaries for the feeder area for Martha Turner Reilly Elementary. This could mean that some children currently attending Highland Meadows Elementary would be sent to M. T. Reilly Elementary.

Highland Meadows Neighborhood Association is strongly opposed to the addition of portable buildings at their school. While we know that a solution needs to be found to the overcrowding at Highland Meadows Elementary, we would like to ask for neighborhood support in opposing any solution that would place portables at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary. It was not too many years since we had over 30 portable buildings at Reilly, and we do not want to repeat this situation.

Portable classrooms are unsightly, can invite crime, create havens for troublemakers, and adversely affect property values.

Today is the first day to turn in packages for the May 8 DISD school board election. The three seats up for grabs are:

*District 4 in Seagoville, Balch Springs and Pleasant Grove.
*District 5 in portions of east Oak Cliff, Oak Lawn, West Dallas, Wilmer and Hutchins.
*District 7 in north central Oak Cliff and parts of West Dallas.

District 5 trustee Lew Blackburn and District 4 trustee Nancy Bingham have said they will run for re-election. District 7 trustee Jerome Garza has said that he will not seek another term.

We've already had a couple of people on record saying they're thinking about running, Pleasant Grove community activist Jesse Diaz (District 4) and Dallas lawyer Domingo Garcia (District 7).

The filing period ends on March 15 8. Click here for important calendar dates for this election cycle.

DMN reporter Roy Appleton reports:

A Dallas judge on Friday ordered the Dallas school district and the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League to try to mediate a settlement of their dispute over the proposed demolition of the former Oak Cliff Christian Church building.

But before doing so, state District Judge Martin Hoffman asked whether a compromise could be reached on the "beautiful old building. ... Is there a way to include this in DISD's plans?"

After conferring briefly with school district representative Lee Simpson, attorney Robert E. Luna told the judge: "The information I have is the building has to be torn down."

And when the judge asked about mediation, Luna again heard from Simpson before replying: "There's nothing here to mediate."

Hoffman disagreed and make a call from the bench to a potential mediator.

When asked after the hearing why the district doesn't want to seek a compromise, Simpson said: "I don't comment on cases."

McCall did: "I'm pleased we're going to mediation."

As did Michael Amonett, conservation league president:

"I'm excited about the mediation because it's reasonable. And that's all we want to be is reasonable. We just want people to know that there are other options for that building."

(Go to our Oak Cliff blog here to read more).

The news is streaming in about DISD fundraisers to help with Haiti relief and other causes.

Here's an update we just got from Spence gifted academy:

The 8th graders at A.W. Spence TAG Academy have been raising money for Common Cents Dallas and The American Red Cross Haiti Relief.

These aspiring philanthropists raised over $1,600 for Common Cents Dallas. The money will be divided between Medical City Dallas, the Humane Society, and the Leukemia Society. The Leukemia Society donation was made in memory of Wendy Ochoa, a former Spence student who passed away last year.

When our 8th graders heard about the devastating earthquake in Haiti, they petitioned the administration for another fundraiser. In three days, the students raised just over $1000 selling "High School Dress (free dress) for Haiti" passes.

And here's some other fundraising activities going on:

The Jeans Campaign. Starting today and continuing through February, 36 schools in Dallas ISD's Southeast Elementary Learning Community will have "Jean" Fridays to raise money for the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.

Students, staff, and administrators will be able to wear jeans in exchange for a donation. Staff will donate $1, administrators $2, and students 50 cents.

The goal is to raise $10,000 through the jeans campaign and other efforts during February.

Letter-writing and coin drive: Students and staff at Harry Stone Montessori Academy are writing letters of support and encouragement to the children in Haiti. The letters are being written in French as well as English.

In addition, students have joined with Bank Tower at Oak Cliff to sponsor a month-long coin drive to help support relief efforts. Donation buckets have been placed in the school, the bank's lobby and several Oak Cliff restaurants. The owners of Bank Tower at Oak Cliff and other Oak Cliff businesses will match funds collected during the campaign, which runs through February 28.

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

***Alleged teacher beating at Pinkston. See Fox 4 News coverage of special ed teacher who says he was attacked Thursday by a group students of at Pinkston. The day before, the teacher participated in a protest against administration at the school. Pinkson also is one of the chronically failing Dallas high schools in danger of closing if it doesn't improve this year.

***Portrait of a student. A self-portrait (right) by Booker T. Washington student Erlson Neba is highlighted on the home page of the Texas Education Agency. What incredible work. This picture should be in a gallery somewhere.

***A critical look at charter schools. A new report labels charter schools as a "civil rights failure" -- more racially isolated than traditional public schools.

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My blog item yesterday and the story today in the print edition focused on total Organizational Health scores for schools, and it's clear from all the comments posted that there's a lot of interest in these scores.

After all, these scores provide a revealing window into what it's like to work in a Dallas public school and how teachers and staff feel about their work environments and school leadership.

I thought it would be useful and enlightening to the public to provide the ratings that went into the total scores, a larger data set.

If you wade into it, you will get a better idea about which factors led to the good -- or bad -- scores received by schools.

The total Organizational Health scores are calculated from 10 factors that contribute to a healthy work environment and higher student test scores, including morale and communication.

You'll see the scores for all 10 ratings, as well as definitions of each factor, if you click on this spreadsheet.

If you don't have Excel on your computer, here's a PDF with the same info.

The Dallas school district is accepting proposed names for schools, facilities and parts of facilities. The deadline to submit names is March 31.

Click here for more information or to obtain a nomination form.

Also, comment below on who you feel should have a school/facility named in their honor and why.

Today's tray of hot district morsels ...

** Check out today's newspaper story on the drop in teacher morale scores in DISD.

** The Dallas school district will hold a college fair from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 27. The fair is free and open to 11th and 12th graders and their parents. For more information, click here.

** Former DISD star Chris Bosh will serve as a coach for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam during NBA All-Star 2010.

** Check out the newspaper's coverage of high-school signing day yesterday. Here's also a Fox 4 segment on the event.

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