Dallas ISD’s new evaluation system requires principals and assistant principals to be certified before officially evaluating teachers. In the month prior to the start of school, the District provided training to 648 principals and assistant principals on how to evaluate teachers under the new evaluation system known as the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI). The rigorous TEI evaluator training includes three parts – system knowledge, rater accuracy and field experience. Of the 648 evaluators trained this summer, 99 percent mastered part one that assesses the administrator’s knowledge of TEI. Perhaps the most difficult part of the certification exam is the rater…

More than 30,000 students were safely transported to Dallas ISD schools the first day of school, roughly the size of the entire population of the city of Waxahachie. The students were transported by bus or multi-passenger vehicle on one of 664 routes crossing the city. “Transporting more than 30,000 students on the first day of school is a real challenge,” said Dallas ISD Chief of Operations Wanda Paul. “While there will always be some transportation issues on the first day, we made much improvement over last year. There was a lot more planning and communication this year. Parents were provided…

Beginning this fall, the newly-christened Eduardo Mata Montessori Elementary School will welcome its inaugural class of more than 300 students to the district’s newest choice school program. The school will attract east Dallas families seeking an alternative to the popular Lakewood Elementary School. “The Montessori program here is allowing for more diversity in our student body,” said Principal Claudia Vega. “What’s exciting is our school is becoming a neighborhood school that mirrors the east Dallas community.” The introduction of the Montessori program at Mata Montessori is the result of a plan approved by the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees designed…

For the second straight day, the Dallas Independent School District has set a record for back-to-school attendance. Attendance on the second day of school in Dallas ISD is 151,800 students, up 8,248 students from the first day of classes on Aug. 25. This school year’s second-day total is the second-highest tally since the 2003-2004 school year. “We made it a priority during the summer to communicate the importance of students attending school the first week,” said Superintendent Mike Miles. “By reaching out to parents, sending information through releases and working with the school principals, we were able to make sure…