Principals play an important role when communicating the components of the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) – Dallas ISD’s new teacher evaluation system that defines, supports and rewards effective teachers. Principals must have a deep understanding of the components that make up the new evaluation system to ensure a successful implementation and to answer questions and provide feedback to teachers. The district leadership team meets regularly with campus leadership to provide ongoing training. Yesterday, principals, executive directors, and assistant superintendents gathered at D.A. Hulcy Middle School to receive additional, in-depth TEI training. Superintendent Miles worked with principals to review their knowledge…

Results from the Fall 2014 Dallas ISD Climate Survey of campus staff show that support for the direction of individual campuses and the district as a whole continues to grow. The survey found that 74 percent of campus staff agree or strongly agree with the direction of their campus, up four points from the Spring 2014 survey results. Additionally, 48 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree with the overall direction of the district (with another 26% neutral), up almost four points from the Spring 2014 survey. Campus morale also continues to improve, up nearly 15 percentage points from the…

Input from all corners of the Dallas Independent School District has played a key role in the proposed 2015 – 2016 school year calendar that will be considered by the Board of Trustees on Thursday, Dec. 18. In November, Dallas ISD posted an online survey about the proposed calendar to get input from staff, parents and community members. Of the feedback, there was significant support to extend Thanksgiving week the full five days, instead of the current partial week. On other topics such as the use of half-days and start times, there was no clear consensus. The proposed calendar to…