Fifth-graders at Joseph J. Rhoads Learning Center heard from members of the National Guard who are spreading the message of staying in school and away from drugs during Operation Crackdown, Friday, Sept. 12. The City of Dallas hosted the initiative to focus on targeted areas where high drug activity exists, like in parts of South Dallas. After the presentation, the entire fifth-grade class met with Mayor Mike Rawlings and other city officials at the demolition site of an old drug house located in the 3200 block of Trezevant Street that was torn down.

Rewarding effectiveness. That’s the purpose at the heart of the Dallas Independent School District’s Principal Evaluation System, which is the first of its kind ever initiated in a large urban school district. The new system came to fruition this week as Dallas ISD principals were notified of their 2014-2015 salary based on their performance under the new appraisal system. The new evaluation structure has transformed the way campus leaders are compensated. Overall, 126 returning principals this school year will each receive a pay increase of $10,000 annually, based on their performance. “Our new principal evaluation system is groundbreaking, transformative and…

Gil Garza, Dallas ISD’s new director of athletics, has penned the following open letter to the community. As I begin my second month in the Dallas ISD as the director of Athletics, I am even more excited about the possibilities we can achieve as an athletic program. What I am most excited about is the students we serve. I have seen our students compete in many different sports, and I am thrilled to see the spirit with which they perform while representing their schools. I have also found we have some great coaches and a special group of trainers who are…

What does exemplary teaching look like? What does it sound like? How do students act and respond in a classroom where it’s occurring? And how do administrators become proficient at objectively measuring the characteristics of effective teaching? Principals, assistant principals and other staff who coach and evaluate teachers are in class themselves this week discussing these and similar topics at the Teacher Excellence Initiative Certification training at W.H. Adamson High School. The weeklong professional development session is aimed at making administrators keenly aware of what they should be looking for when conducting spot observations of teachers. The training is also…