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DISD plans high school reforms
11:18 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008 | Permalink
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Changes are coming for Dallas’ high schools, as the district begins to roll out a new phase of its comprehensive reform effort, Dallas Achieves. The plan calls for every high school in the district to create some sort of “Career Academy,” a reform idea with a decent track record and history. The district wants high schools to feel smaller and more relevant to their students. If they can achieve that, they think they’ll make a sizable dent in the district’s drop out rate and boost achievement. Last year, DISD enrolled nearly 11,000 eighth graders but graduated slightly less than 7,000 seniors. As one assistant high school principal recently put it, “Our seniors are survivors.” DISD administrators were not available to talk about the plan, but a report prepared for district school board members sheds some light on the idea: • Career Academies would blend traditional classroom lessons with exposure to high-skill, high-wage careers. It’s not vocational education. It’s a way of building academic and technical lessons around career themes, such as architecture, while local businesses provide work-based learning opportunities. The plan rolls out for two high schools next year, with four more the years after that. It won’t be until 2012 that every high school is on board, meaning the full effect of the changes won't be felt until this year’s fourth graders hit high school. The district isn’t giving a lot of money to schools to help get the projects launched. The plan allows for a one-time “start up” check of up to $50,000 per school. Any additional money will have to be raised privately by each campus or pulled out their existing operating budgets. Schools also cannot bank on getting renovations, additions or other changes to their buildings they might want to help implement their plans. (Technical issues are preventing us from posting an easily-accessible copy of the plan. You can see it yourself within the trustee agenda pack available here. It starts on page 10 of the pdf. |
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Comments
Posted by Jean Pierre @ 2:03 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Excellent good news about DISD and good work
by the reporter. Would the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation help fund this idea?
Posted by Kent Fischer @ 2:11 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
That's a darn good question, Jean. I'm trying to figure that out, in fact. I'm not sure because the Gates folks have already given millions to Texas for "small school" projects, and DISD didn't get a piece of the pie. Also, the Gates folks started pulling back in 2005 when they realized that high school reform was harder than they thought and their money wasn't making much of a difference. You can read about that here:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_26/b3990001.htm
Posted by Mike Kagy @ 8:27 AM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Just another attempt at "reforms" that will accomplish nothing. The Dallas ISD has absolutely no idea how to educate their students. BTW - have you looked at the members of this so-called "Dallas Achieves"? It reads like a who's-who of Idiots-on-the-Left whose thinking and policies has made the Dallas ISD just another Third World inner city school district.
Posted by Kent Fischer @ 10:20 AM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Late Tuesday afternoon I spoke with the district's Chief Academic Officer. While folks with the Gates-supported Texas High School Project have provided brain power in helping DISD map out its plan, there is no related grant money coming to Dallas right now.
Posted by david look @ 11:28 AM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Before anyone says "DISD does not know how to educate their students" Take a look at the AP test scores of say Hillcrest High to the national average. take a look that they consistantly have National Merit Semi finalists; but you will say Hillcrest is all white, just like the surrounding privates, then take a look at the demographics of Hillcrest. The obvious hits you - you have not been inside a DISD school, you have only read what DMN pushes.
Posted by Kent Fischer @ 3:02 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
I took David’s suggestion and did a little research on Hillcrest. You know what? He’s right. Hillcrest appears to be a fine school -- if you’re among its 253 white students.
Some numbers:
• 86%: whites who passed every required state exam.
• 68%: whites who graduated “ready for college” in reading and math according to state standards.
• 16%: whites who dropped out.
• 65%: whites who passed at least one Advanced Placement test.
Those are solid numbers (although the dropout percentage is a little high). A sincere congrats to those students for work well done.
But what about the other kids, the 953 minorities who make up 83 percent of the school’s student body? What do the numbers look like for them?
• 40% / 44%: blacks and Hispanics who passed every required state exam.
• 10% / 17%: blacks and Hispanics who graduated “ready for college” in reading and math.
• 28% / 30%: blacks and Hispanics who dropped out.
• 19% / 40%: blacks and Hispanics who passed an AP test.
Anybody but me saddened by those numbers? Remember, that's 83 percent of the school's enrollment right there.
I publish these stats not to denigrate the hard work of Hillcrest’s faculty. Teaching is a thankless job that rarely comes with a public reward. And lord knows a tidal demographic shift like the one sweeping Dallas would test the abilities of even the very best educators.
But how can anybody look at those minority scores and then blast the newspaper for coverage they find to be less than cheery? Where’s the outrage on behalf of those brown-skinned kids?
Posted by Shelton Stogner @ 4:10 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
The DISD excells at developing improvement plans, but usually falls woefully short of meeting stated goals. The graduation rate, i.e., the percentage of incoming freshmen that graduate with their class, has not significantly improved since the TEA was forced to admit its statistical importance as a measure of school performance. One reason for the ansence of progress in this area is the DISD's lack of success in improving attendance rates. For at least the past ten years, the District has filed with local truancy courts at least 15,000 truancy cases per year. I applaud DISD for taking these cases to court, but I wonder why they have not acted to PREVENT the necessity of having to file the cases in the first place. The District needs to take an analytical look at their current truancy prevention programs, discard those that aren't working, and diligently seek out new and innovative approaches to this issue. Until the truancy problem is effectively addressed, the graduation rates will never improve.
Posted by Diane Birdwell @ 7:21 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Well, I guess if I teach and live long enough, everything comes back into vogue. This idea was tried once before, in 1970, and it was called SKYLINE. It works. It works. It works.
Which is why they need to leave it alone and recreate magnets at other schools without tearing Skyline apart.
Conrad was supposed to have an Outback Steakhouse. It was supposed to have an actual bank. Where are they? WHEN will they be brought online?
Posted by Bill Betzen @ 8:59 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Improving the graduation rate, or the flip side, the dropout rate, is the most critical issue facing our schools. Deciding on a common definition is a first step. The most common number starting to be used nationwide is the 9th grade cohort graduation rate, the percentage of 9th graders who graduate with their class 4 years later. In Dallas it was an average of 42.2% for the past 10 years we have numbers for, through 2006. If you google the words "Dallas student enrollment" the first hit is a spreadsheet covering these 10 years with these numbers explored. The percentage of 9th graders who do not make it to graduation within 4 years is the definition of Cohort Graduation Rate that the US Governor's Conference voted to accept in 2005 so as to standardize communications related to school dropout issues. It hopefully will slowly be accepted. As long as we are consistent in using it then we can compare how we are going forward.
Yes, the 9th grade enrollment numbers are inflated, but they are inflated due to our failures as a school district to educate students so they can pass on to 10th grade with their classmates. As the numbers go down, with valid passing of students on to 10th grade, this will be a step forward that the cohort graduation rate will reflect.
Posted by jean Pierre @ 9:01 AM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
Thanks Kent for looking into the reality at Hillcrest. It continues to trouble me and others, I'm sure, that white students do better than the other student groups. A lot of reasons are given, but I'm still puzzled by this. It is indeed sad. But should DISD take all the blame?
Posted by Kent Fischer @ 9:59 AM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
No DISD should not take all the blame. But the reality is that, ultimately, public policy has decreed that they're responsible for those numbers. Love it or hate, that's *accountability* in this day and age.
Posted by Amy S. @ 1:29 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
I am a Hillcrest parent and volunteer, believe me, we at Hillcrest are disappointed every day, but your analysis only looks at race, not other important influencing demographic issues that our families face. By positing that some are benefiting at the expense of others is just more inflammatory nonsense.
You don't mention how HHS minorities do compared to the district as a whole, could you please include that? Also, please evaluate the income levels of the white students at HHS, I think you'll find that most are from middle-to-higher income, college-educated households, how do these students do compared to some of our upper-income, college educated suburbs?
Yes, I am a white parent who is well satisfied with my children's education in DISD, which makes me a minority within my larger neighborhood community. I am thankful that I have the resources to be home with my kids so they can study for 3-5 hours for AP classes every day instead of working a part time job to help the family make ends meet. I am thankful that my college education allows me to help my child comprehend what is being taught. I am thankful that my family lives under one roof and my children don't have to travel between homes or have only me for support.
I know that this much is true no matter the skin color: 1)many of the students who excel have families that place an extraodinary emphasis on graduating and attending college, and 2) the kids who are the top performers arrive at Hillcrest ready for this academic rigor, and they hit the halls running.
Posted by Amy S @ 1:36 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
On a bright note, I have noticed this year and last, the strides that Marsh Middle School's math team has made. It has grown from 0 to 20? students at each competition, AND THESE KIDS ARE WINNING AWARDS against public and private schools from Dallas and the suburbs.
My child does not attend Marsh, but I am in awe that they have built this program up in such a short time. Imagine that, kids spending their Saturdays traveling to take math and science tests.
Posted by Conrad Fan @ 2:49 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
AN ODE TO CONRAD
By a Conrad Volunteer
Oh Conrad, whatever the trouble might be,
why teachers and parents and students can't see
what offerings educational your walls could invest
in specialized career training. Learning the best
of industries challenging, some prosperous too
enticing young students to let years accrue.
Let people come visit your large verdant grounds
Sloped lawns to the greenbelt, then the library astounds
With high cubes of light on a cathedral-sized wall.
New bathrooms, classrooms wired, it's got it all,
Who wouldn't want their kids to have the best?
This school can deliver, give it a test.
Posted by DISDMoM @ 3:45 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
Student achievement can likely be correlated strongly to parental involvement. (There has got to be a study) If parents value education, they pass that on to their children. If parents are visible at their child's school, the child KNOWS that parent cares.
If a child comes from a home where they hear "School is STOOPID" or "I hate teachers" they are not likely to do as well. Go figure. Do these attitudes fall out along racial lines? Is that the fault of the educators?
I saw a couple of teachers at 7-11, getting into their car. I heard another adult female say to them loudly "I HATE teachers, they make me sick." She did not appear to know these people. They looked quite puzzled at her outburst.
I wanted to ask her if she wanted her children to grow up ignorant.
I credit my children's success with the fact that they grew up valuing education. That makes them very "teachable" and teachers can work very well with children who are willing to be taught. When children are hostile and destructive, it's kind of hard to get the message across.
Who makes the parents accountable?
Posted by park @ 7:03 PM Thu, Jan 17, 2008
I don't believe minority parents hold secret meetings where they plan how to distribute the message that school is not important. Nor are all white parents role models for education. There is still institutional racism in education just as there is in other American institutions. But some parents still try to promote the idea that 75% of the kids in some DISD schools are failing because of faulty parenting. That is simply not true.
Posted by Shelton Stogner @ 7:41 AM Fri, Jan 18, 2008
In the case of the DISD, size does in fact matter. The district has an enrollment of approximately 165,000 students. Skyline H.S. has an enrollment of 5,000. Most high schools have an enrollment of at least 1,500. It's no small wonder that kids can't keep up and get lost in the shuffle. The district is simply too large for it to be effectively managed, and the individual schools are too large for effective education to occur. It might be prudent to break up this massive system into 5 or 6 smaller districts, which just might lead to better management and improved educational outcomes.
Posted by david look @ 9:20 PM Tue, Jan 22, 2008
I know I cannot win with a wordsmith – I have given this a 24, 48, 72 hour cool down and I have just spent 5 hours in the cold cleaning a shed at Franklin …
Thank you for reminding me that there are two schools at Hillcrest – white and non-white. Thank you for reminding me that the first test in an AP class is “Are you white?”. If no, then you fail.
The next time I go into the hallways, I will walk on the correct side of the hall and drink for the proper water fountain, go to the correct pep rally, eat at the correct lunch line - all according to my race. It must show my ignorance since I did not see this issue at school earlier.
When I visit my friends at HP and Southlake I will endeavor to find the correct color fountain, .when I visit my peers at the surrounding privates, I wil ask them what programs they have for your economically disavantaged students. I am not talking abut the ones who get a discount off of rack rate because daddy makes less than $200k/yr, but those students who only eat one meal a day, those that have to live in their cars or in truly “multi-family” apartments and those that have no medical or dentle care. Oh I forgot, those schools show NA on their minority TAKS tests and do not have economically disadvantaged students, that is unless they are recruited for sports or specific education targets.
There are more factors in tests than race, but that’s the easiest for Belo to spin. It increases their circulation and validates the surburb and private parents’ reason to spend enormous sums to educate their kids –hot points from Belo’s focus group research.
You are all too eager to throw out the bathwater without reporting the baby it cleansed. Spend a day, month or years in the bath with the kids and teachers vs interviews on Ross or clipping stats from state boards.
Oh yeah… I cleaned the whole shed, not just the white side...
Posted by Brett Robinson @ 1:52 PM Thu, Feb 14, 2008
I live in the John Pershing Elementary school district. My daughter is almost three and my wife and I have started thinking about where she is going to attend school. I grew up going to public school and received a very good education. I recently went on the DISD website and learned that Pershing is 4 out of 10 on one scale and is only "academically acceptable" on another. I can afford to move to HPISD or send her to private school but lately I have been wondering why I am paying $12,000 a year in property taxes to support a school system that scores so poorly. If I send her to private school I'm paying several thousand a year plus the property taxes. How is it I live in an affluent area of Dallas yet my neighborhood school gets 4 out of 10? Does this upset any other parent about to pay $350 psf to live in the park cities on a postage stamp of a lot or stressing about whether your 3 year old will get into the right beginner program at Hockaday or St. Marks?
I don't pretend to think this is a simple issue or that I have one single answer but I want to do something about it. I would appreciate any and all feedback. Does anyone have any ideas on how to go about making change? I'm wondering if there are any parent organizations out there who have the same goal?
Thanks.