Dallas ISD committed to supporting schools on state accountability list

A variety of additional supports and resources will be provided to Dallas Independent School District campuses identified by the Texas Education Agency as Public Education Grant (PEG) schools for the 2016-2017 school year. TEA plans to release the list to the public on Monday.

TEA defines a Public Education Grant, or PEG school, as a campus designated as an improvement required campus once in the previous three years (2013, 2014, 2015) or one that recorded an aggregated passing rate of less than or equal to 50 percent on any subject-area STAAR or TAKS assessment (including end-of-course assessments) for any two of the three years, 2013, 2014, or 2015. Approximately 91 Dallas ISD schools met that designation this year, up from 71 last year.

“The goal for any school district, including Dallas ISD, is to have as many students as possible pass the state level exams. That is what we are working toward daily,” said Ann Smisko, Dallas ISD deputy superintendent. “Regardless of their status, we continue to provide intensive support to these schools through initiatives such as Imagine 2020 and the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) program. Our school leadership team will continue to work with our principals to determine what additional supports we can provide.”

By law, Dallas ISD is required to assist students at PEG schools who seek to transfer to non-PEG schools, either in the district or in a separate (another) Texas school district. Over the last two years, an average of 267 students, less than .013 percent of all Dallas ISD students, have transferred. As required, Dallas ISD will notify parents of this requirement by Feb. 1, 2016.