A crucial part of launching any district initiative is communicating to stakeholders about how a program will affect them. The Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) defines, supports and rewards excellent teaching. With TEI, Dallas ISD has sought to both inform and gather feedback from stakeholders, including teachers, principals, parents, students and the community, in a variety of ways. Feedback and teacher input A critical part of the TEI design process was teacher and principal input. Identified teachers became “TEI experts” who have had early and continual input into the shaping the system. The experts became important sources of information about TEI…

The Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees has named Dr. Michael Hinojosa as the lone finalist for superintendent of schools. The appointment followed a called meeting of the Trustees today at the Dallas ISD administration building. The Trustees will now wait 21 days as required by law before making the appointment final. Hinojosa will continue serving as interim superintendent of Dallas ISD during that time. “Our board is pleased to have Dr. Hinojosa back in a permanent capacity. In just a brief time since his return, he has proven to be the steady and experienced hand needed to guide…

Webster’s dictionary defines distinguished as notable, as renowned, famous, celebrated, prominent, or eminent. Under Dallas ISD’s ground-breaking Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), being distinguished requires exceptional teaching skill and expertise that makes a powerful impact on student learning. According to Lindsay Coshatt, who spearheads TEI, the Distinguished Teacher Review (DTR) is the district’s process of identifying the top 20 percent of highly effective teachers who excel not just in the classroom but as campus leaders; they are teachers who demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning, pursue and share information with colleagues and contribute to the profession. Specifically, TEI defines a distinguished teacher…

The groundwork for Dallas ISD’s innovative Teacher Excellence Initiative comes from the understanding that the one-dimensional nature of traditional evaluations fails to acknowledge the hard work, long hours and personal commitment required of an effective teacher. The Texas Education Agency’s recent mandate to replace the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) reinforces the inability of conventional evaluations to reflect the actual effect teachers have on their students. In 2009, a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began in more than 3,000 classrooms across the U.S., including some in Dallas ISD. The MET (Measures of Effective Teaching) Project…