News Briefs

The road to potentially earning the district’s highest effectiveness levels and the corresponding compensation as a Dallas ISD distinguished teacher starts with submitting a Distinguished Teacher Review (DTR) application. To earn a Distinguished effectiveness level, teachers must: Earn an effectiveness level of Proficient II or higher. Achieve high scores in teacher performance, student achievement and student perceptions. Meet additional performance criteria assessed through the Distinguished Teacher Review. This school year, more than 2,000 teachers have been identified as DTR-eligible and invited to submit an application with examples of their leadership, lifelong learning and contributions to the profession. Aspiring DTR-eligible teachers…

The Dallas Morning News reports on teachers who were named “distinguished” under Dallas ISD’s Teacher Excellence Initiative, but were already making more money above the salary range for that performance level. The affected 148 teachers could each receive a $1,000 retention stipend. Read the full story here.

Fox 4 profiled a new approach that six Dallas ISD schools are taking in handling discipline issues. The schools are testing a program that uses circles, which are known as discipline discussions, that help students and teaches find common ground. Click here to view the report from Fox 4.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, is Veterans Day, an annual holiday designated by Congress in 1954, to honor American veterans of all wars. During the next week, Dallas ISD will salute the hundreds of district employees who are veterans of military service. Each day, the series will feature a video produced by Dallas Schools Television focusing on a veteran from one of the five branches of the U.S. military. On Nov. 11, Veterans Day 2015, we will recognize all Dallas ISD military veterans on the district website. Schools are also recognizing veterans with breakfasts, flag-raising ceremonies and other activities, and the high…