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A. VISION (A)(1) Articulating a comprehensive and coherent reform vision (10 points) The extent to which the applicant has set forth a comprehensive and coherent reform vision that builds on its work in four core educational assurance areas (as defined in this notice) and articulates a clear and credible approach to the goals of accelerating student achievement, deepening student learning, and increasing equity through personalized student support grounded in common and individual tasks that are based on student academic interests.

(A)(2) Applicant’s approach to implementation (10 points) The extent to which the applicant’s approach to implementing its reform proposal (e.g., schools, grade bands, or subject areas) will support high-quality LEA-level and school-level implementation of that proposal, including—

(a) A description of the process that the applicant used or will use to select schools to participate. The process must ensure that the participating schools (as defined in this notice) collectively meet the competition’s eligibility requirements;

(b) A list of the schools that will participate in grant activities (as available); and (c) The total number of participating students (as defined in this notice), participating students (as defined in this notice) from low-income families, participating students (as defined in this notice) who are high-need students (as defined in this notice), and participating educators (as defined in this notice). If participating schools (as defined in this notice) have yet to be selected, the applicant may provide approximate numbers.

(A)(3) LEA-wide reform & change (10 points) The extent to which the application includes a high-quality plan describing how the reform proposal will be scaled up and translated into meaningful reform to support district-wide change beyond the participating schools (as defined in this notice), and will help the applicant reach its outcome goals (e.g., the applicant’s logic model or theory of change of how its plan will improve student learning outcomes for all students who would be served by the applicant). (A)(4) LEA-wide goals for improved student outcomes (10 points) The extent to which the applicant’s vision is likely to result in improved student learning and performance and increased equity as demonstrated by ambitious yet achievable annual goals that are equal to or exceed State ESEA targets for the LEA(s), overall and by

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student subgroup (as defined in this notice), for each participating LEA in the following areas: (a) Performance on summative assessments (proficiency status and growth). (b) Decreasing achievement gaps (as defined in this notice). (c) Graduation rates (as defined in this notice). (d) College enrollment (as defined in this notice) rates.

Optional: The extent to which the applicant’s vision is likely to result in improved student learning and performance and increased equity as demonstrated by ambitious yet achievable annual goals for each participating LEA in the following area:

(e) Postsecondary degree attainment. In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria and/or provide its high-quality plan for meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. To provide a high-quality plan, the applicant should describe, at a minimum, the goals, activities, timelines, deliverables, and responsible parties (for further detail, see Scoring Instructions in Part XV or Appendix A in the NIA). The narrative and attachments may also include any additional information the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers. Peer reviewers will reward applicants for developing goals that – in light of the applicant's proposal – are “ambitious yet achievable.” In determining whether an applicant has “ambitious yet achievable” annual goals, peer reviewers will examine the applicant's goals in the context of the applicant's proposal and the evidence submitted in support of the proposal. There is no specific goal that peer reviewers will be looking for here; nor will higher goals necessarily be rewarded above lower ones. For optional goal (A)(4)(e): Applicants scores will not be adversely impacted if they choose not to address optional goal (A)(4)(e). Recommended maximum response length: Eight pages (excluding tables) (A)(1). Student achievement in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) has steadily improved over the last five years,

e.g., math scores on standardized tests have risen, the graduation rate has increased from 62.5% to 77.3% and the percentage of

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college-ready graduates (per the standards of the Texas Education Agency) has doubled from 20% to 40%1. Yet significant work

remains. Dallas ISD students scored 13% below statewide achievement on 2011 standardized tests and only 10% of our students

scored at the commended level 2. The District’s size (157,575 students in Pre-K through 12th grade) and the non-academic challenges

that burden our students (87.1% are economically disadvantaged and 66.4% meet the state’s definition of being at-risk of school

failure or dropping out) are consistent impediments to greater, faster progress.

In an effort to accelerate success, Dallas ISD established a bold reform agenda -- Destination 2020 – that will improve student

performance, close a long-standing achievement gap for African American, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged and special

education students, and significantly increase personalized learning and college and career readiness for all students. The rapid

attainment of these student-centric outcomes is jeopardized, however, by three institutional challenges. 1) An insufficient number of

proficient and highly qualified teachers. This is a challenge in all Dallas ISD schools but particularly in under-performing feeder

patterns where the majority of students are African American or Hispanic and economically disadvantaged. However, maximizing the

effectiveness of Dallas ISD’s teaching corps is not possible within the current evaluation and compensation system, which is

disconnected from what we value most – well-prepared students. 2) A non-existent system for fostering instructional leadership.

Campus staffing patterns do not enable the identification or promotion of teacher leaders who can share their proven instructional

practices with their peers. Also, because Dallas ISD does not reward their greater capacities with differentiated compensation, we lose

many of our excellent educators to other districts. 3) Technology infrastructure that is ten years out of date. Maximizing the

effectiveness of all Dallas ISD teachers will require universal access to the 21st century learning tools that advance personalized

learning and college and career readiness. Unfortunately, the District has a dated and inefficient technology infrastructure, too few

digital learning resources in the classroom, and minimal professional development to enable optimal use of the resources that exist.

In addition to offering a well-defined pathway to educational excellence for all Dallas ISD students, Destination 2020 is fully

1 Texas Education Agency. 201l and 2007 Academic Excellence Indicator System, District Performance Ratings. www.tea.state.tx.us. 2 Texas Education Agency. 2010-11 Academic Excellence Indicator System. www.tea.state.tx.us.

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compatible with the Race To The Top-District (RTTT-D) priorities: our 2020 Vision is to graduate college and career-ready students

by 2020 and our primary goal is to have the highest college and career-ready percentage of graduates of any large urban district in

the nation. RTTT-D funding will accelerate realization of Destination 2020, correcting our primary challenges, building upon enabling

assets, implementing new personalized learning methodologies, advancing our students’ college and career readiness, and shortening

the improvement cycle from eight years (2020) to four (2016). These significant accomplishments will accrue from four wide-ranging,

disruptive reforms: 1) implement a Strategic Staffing Initiative designed to recruit, develop and retain highly effective elementary

and secondary teachers and Principals who are evaluated on and compensated for their proficiency and the value they bring to every

student, and give them the opportunity to expand their influence, share their professional expertise and ascend a previously

unavailable career ladder while remaining in the classroom; 2) create a rigorous, customized learning trajectory for secondary

students that runs along an arc of instruction tied to student interests, abilities and choices, is sustained by the student’s continuous

investment in his or her future, and improves college and career readiness; 3) make technology work for elementary and secondary

students and teachers by upgrading existing infrastructure, purchasing the content required for meaningful digital learning in all

classrooms and building out the current high-capacity student data system to facilitate data-based decision-making by teachers,

Principals, parents and students through training and the wider use of performance dashboards and related tools for monitoring student

growth from pre-school through 12th grade and on to college; and, 4) diminish distractions to attending, learning and achieving

common among economically disadvantaged, high-need elementary and secondary students with the implementation of a Student

Advocacy Model that provides on-campus case management, uses an individualized holistic approach to meeting students’ social-

emotional needs, and engages teachers, parents and the community in assisting high-need students. One of the most significant

attributes of RTTT-D funding for Dallas ISD is that it will allow us to pilot these innovations in two Strategic Feeder Patterns and to

identify implementation challenges and correct them before taking the model to scale district-wide.

Such broad strategic realignment will not occur through incremental change; Dallas ISD will engage in wholesale reform shaped by

the following core beliefs. !Our main purpose is to improve student academic achievement. !Effective instruction makes the most

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difference in student performance. !There is no excuse for poor quality instruction. !With our help, at risk students will achieve at

the same rate as all others. !Staff members must have a commitment to children and a commitment to the pursuit of excellence. We

were heartened to find (documented in the response to B.4) that more than 70% of our leaders, Principals and educators have

embraced this new direction.

The size of the District and the degree of planned reform necessitate a calculated approach to the introduction of new resources and

initiatives. Some components will be established district-wide during the 2013-14 school year and others will be launched first (2013-

14) within two high-need strategic feeder patterns anchored by Pinkston High School and Lincoln High School and expanded district-

wide over time. RTTT-D funding will support implementation as follows.

Race To The Top-District Reform Implementation Schedule District-wide Strategic Feeder

Patterns Only

Teacher and Principal Evaluation and Compensation System

2013-14 (non-binding)

2014-15 (full)

2013-14 (full)

Teacher Leadership Model 2016-17 2013-14

Customized Learning Trajectory for Secondary Students 2016-17 2013-14

Make Technology Work for Students and Teachers 2016-17 2014-15

• Improving technology infrastructure 2014-15 2013-14

• Training teachers in optimum use of digital tools and decision-making

resources enabled by the existing data system

2013-14 2013-14

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• Installing digital learning tools 2014-15 2013-14

On-Campus Case Management 2014-15 2013-14

RTTT-D funding will fast-track implementation, enabling Dallas ISD to initiate comprehensive reforms earlier than planned and to

advance equity for high need students according to RTTT-D’s core educational assurance areas, as follows.

Goal 1: Adopt standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and compete in the

global economy. Texas did not join the national Common Core State Standards Initiative; instead, the Texas Education Agency and

the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards. The State has not yet

adopted in final an assessment to verify college and career readiness; however, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates and

Michael and Susan Dell Foundations, Dallas ISD pioneered a rigorous College Readiness Indicator System and a College Readiness

Measurement Model that encompasses the state’s planned indicators. In addition to student level data (e.g., key cognitive strategies,

context skills and awareness, etc.), the Model includes indicators aggregated at the high school (college-going culture, college

admission/enrollment, end of course examination scores) and college (progress in college) levels for every Dallas ISD secondary

student. The system also has the capacity to match teachers and students for a comprehensive comparison of impact. Dallas ISD

teachers, parents and students are able to monitor individual and campus performance on custom dashboards and plan for and apply

student achievement supports as needed. Also, in 2011-12, the District introduced a self-assessment tool aligned with the work of

David Conley and the Consortium for Chicago Schools Research that is administered to secondary students to gauge their college and

career readiness by assessing their use of key cognitive strategies and academic behaviors (never, rarely, sometimes, frequently) such

as persistence, goal setting, time management, study habits, reasoning and teamwork. With the results, students and teachers are able

to personalize instruction to foster greater skill development. However, in the 2011-12 school year, it was clear that students in the

Strategic Feeder Patterns targeted for RTTT-D have not reached college or career readiness: 90% reported “rarely” or “sometimes”

using key cognitive strategies (e.g., persistence, goal setting) and 100% reported “rarely” or “sometimes” using essential academic

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behaviors (e.g., time management, teamwork). Key components of Dallas ISD’s proposed RTTT-D approach respond to these deficits.

For example, in 2013-14, the District will launch two new college and career readiness initiatives in the Strategic Feeder Patterns

(Lincoln and Pinkston): A) an aligned secondary instructional arc guided by Student Learning Plans (described in greater detail in

Section C) that will be student-driven, will correspond to individual interests and assets, and will direct course selection and college

and career preparation; and, B) a Career Readiness Certificate (described in greater detail in Section C) for students who elect to get a

job after graduation. The Certificate recognizes the fact that not every student is well served by postsecondary education but also that

competitiveness in today’s global marketplace cannot be achieved with a high school diploma alone. Dallas ISD, in partnership with

Dallas-area employers, is constructing profiles of career-readiness for local demand occupations, which will be vetted and approved

by representatives of industry. The District will introduce the coursework (including dual enrollment opportunities with local

community colleges) necessary to earn a Career Readiness Certificate at Pinkston and Lincoln High Schools during the 2013-14

school year, and is working with our business partners to secure employment for graduating Certificate-holders. Typically, the

Certificate will not be a terminal credential but rather an entry-level starting point on a well-planned career ladder. The District’s

impact on college and career readiness will be measured against the following voluntarily established, rigorous outcome targets: 90%

of students graduate in four years (currently 77.3%); 40% attain a 21 or higher composite score on the ACT exam or an SAT score of

1100 on Reading and Math (currently 9.8%); 75% of students will score proficient on a 2020 workplace readiness assessment

(currently not available, to be designed by Dallas’ business and non-profit communities and reflective of critical thinking,

communications, teamwork, information literacy, and technology skills, and work ethics); and 80% of graduates will enter college, the

military or a career immediately after high school (currently 53.3% enter postsecondary education, other outcomes are unknown).

Primary responsibility for implementing both of these initiatives will fall to the Chief of School Leadership and the Chief Academic

Officer, with support from the Principals, Department Leaders and Grade Level Department Leaders.

Goal 2: Build a data system that measures student growth and success, and informs teachers and Principals about how they

can improve instruction. Dallas ISD has used funding and technical support from the Gates and Dell Foundations to develop the

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capacity to make managerial decisions based on appropriate, reliable and valid data and best practices. Dashboards, readily available

to students, parents, teachers and administrators, are the primary means of communicating teacher, student, class, school, course and

district-level data. Examples follow.

• The Parent Portal is an online tool used by parents and students to track course enrollment, assignments, grades and

attendance. Parents and students can monitor data in real-time and thus respond immediately to missing assignments, failing

grades, etc. The tool empowers both students and parents to take action before credits or advancement are threatened.

• A College and Career Readiness Tracker is available to high school students, enabling them to monitor credit accumulation

and advising course selection based upon their individual interests. In combination, the Parent Portal and the Tracker support

students in getting and remaining on track to reach their college and career goals.

• Teachers, Principals and administrators use MyData Portal, a critical tool for making substantive instructional decisions.

MyData Portal and Dallas ISD’s online Curriculum Central provide educators with demographic information, curriculum

tools, and current and historical assessment data. An inquiry-based process is available to continually inform and improve

teaching and learning. MyData includes standardized test scores, School and Classroom Effectiveness Indices and Campus

Improvement Plans, which help to define student achievement goals, establish instructional strategies and set instructional

priorities. An Evaluate-Investigate-Monitor-Adjust loop is contained within the portal to support teachers and others in using

data and evidence to make decisions about both classroom instruction and personalized learning approaches. Trainings,

presentations and a host of digital tools can be easily accessed through MyData to assist educators in improving their practice.

Educators and Principals actively using these resources continues to grow but universal use will be essential to the full

implementation of personalized learning and new and innovative ways of schooling to meet 21st century demands. These tools also

will achieve increased significance for teachers and Principals once the new evaluation and compensation systems are in place, as they

contain the student performance indicators upon which education staff will be evaluated. Therefore, RTTT-D funding will underwrite

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comprehensive professional development designed to increase knowledge about and the appropriate use of all digital tools by teachers

and Principals in the Strategic Feeder Patterns; a 90% use rate is projected for the 2014-15 school year after one year of intensive

professional development has been completed. The Chief Academic Officer and the Chief of School Leadership will design the

planned professional development activities and content and a schedule for completion. In addition to group training for educators and

Principals in the Strategic Feeder Pattern, the Department Leaders will be responsible for monitoring and improving the use of digital

tools by the teachers in their schools. The Chief of Communications will be responsible for ensuring all data portals are functioning

and contain real-time information contributed by teachers, Principals and central office staff.

Goal 3: Recruit, develop, reward and retain effective teachers and Principals, especially where they are needed most. Restoring

excellence to Dallas ISD’s teaching and leadership corps is the primary goal of Destination 2020 and this RTTT-D application.

{Dallas ISD is developing 140 proficiency, evaluation and differentiated compensation rubrics for teachers, Principals, central office

staff and the Superintendent. In order to conform to the length limitations of the RTTT-D narrative, only the teacher component is

fully described in the narrative.} The Superintendent and Board of Trustees believe that if teachers are empowered, developed and

supported to meet individual student interests and needs, the instructional environment will become student-centric and student-

responsive and, as a direct result, all Dallas ISD students will graduate, all will be prepared for college and entry into the global

workforce, and all will be equipped to impact their community in transformative ways. Translating this belief into daily practice will

require full-scale change in the ways in which Dallas ISD recruits, supports, evaluates, pays and retains its education staff. Therefore,

a new evaluation and compensation structure (fully described in Section C) will be implemented and will have the following features:

all teachers will be placed on one-year renewable contracts; renewal will be contingent upon achievement of individually-determined

milestones; and, the evaluation standards that will be equally rigorous for all grades and disciplines. The District plans to introduce the

system district-wide during the 2014-15 school year, but new or struggling teachers will have time (varied and individualized) to attain

proficiency. However, with RTTT-D funding, Dallas ISD will implement and make binding all components of the new proficiency,

evaluation and compensation system with teachers in two Strategic Feeder Patterns (Lincoln and Pinkston) during the 2013-14 school

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year. The Lincoln and Pinkston feeder patterns were chosen because both include multiple low-performing schools where the

achievement gap is among the largest in the District. Contracts for teachers in the Strategic Feeder Patterns also will include

modifications and enhanced responsibilities (e.g., additional on-campus hours for early school, late school, Saturday school to support

personalized learning and to close the achievement gap faster), planned for district-wide implementation in 2015 and beyond.

Teachers willing to accept assignment to the Strategic Feeder Patterns will be rewarded with differentiated compensation, the

opportunity for accelerated advancement and a well-defined career ladder during the 2013-14 school year, at least a full year sooner

than their peers District-wide. RTTT-D funding also will support the early introduction (2013-14) of a new Teacher Leadership Model

(see section C for greater details) in the Strategic Feeder Patterns. Department Leaders will be highly effective educators who will

remain in the classroom but also will assume new responsibilities for improving the practice of their peers through coaching, on-

demand professional development, spot observations, and planning instructional supplements or the introduction of evidence-based

practices. In recognition of these additional responsibilities, Department Leaders will receive differentiated compensation and will be

given two planning periods in their school-day schedule. The Chiefs of Talent and Innovation and Human Resources will be

responsible for recruiting and retaining highly effective educators and implementing the new proficiency, evaluation and

compensation system, with support and input from the Chief Academic Officer and the Chief of School Leadership.

Goal 4: Turning around lowest-achieving schools. Dallas ISD’s leadership tier has been re-staffed and reorganized in the last six

months. One highly positive by-product of recruiting professionals from throughout the country is that Dallas ISD now has access to a

deep body of knowledge regarding evidence-based practices and successful school reform strategies, all of which have informed

Destination 2020 and this RTTT-D application. The resulting framework includes multiple proven initiatives with the capacity to

favorably impact performance among students attending the lowest achieving elementary and secondary schools, like those in the

Strategic Feeder Patterns. Included are: a new learning trajectory for secondary students to support college and career readiness,

enhanced technology capacity and greater accessibility of digital learning tools at the elementary and secondary level, and the

continuous use and availability and use of data by students, parents, teachers and Principals to inform decision-making and guide the

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instructional arc (see Section C for greater details on each). Unfortunately, students enrolled in the Strategic Feeder Patterns have

needs that cannot be solely addressed by education and, if left unrecognized, can result in unabated poor performance. More than 9 in

10 of these students are economically disadvantaged and their families struggle every day against a host of poverty-related housing,

food, clothing and security issues, causing significant social-emotional consequences and distractions to school attendance and

learning. Undoubtedly, their unmet needs and socioeconomic challenges contribute to the four-year graduation rates at Lincoln and

Pinkston High Schools, which are 3.5% and 9.1% lower than the district, respectively. In an effort to remove barriers to learning and

stimulate a turnaround in several persistently lowest achieving schools, Dallas ISD will use RTTT-D funding to implement a Student

Advocacy Model (SAM) in the Strategic Feeder patterns during the 2013-14 school year. SAM will provide in-school case

management and connections to existing community resources for high need students. A SAM team, consisting of a Collaboration

Coordinator, A Truancy Coordinator, At Risk Counselors, a parent leader, a teacher, a school counselor and an on-site or in-

community service provider, will be designated in each school and teachers will bring high-need students to their attention whenever

classroom performance is impeded by external factors. The team will immediately meet and develop a plan for wrapping resources

around the student. Possible solutions will be: parent-to-parent intervention to help resolve contributing problems in the home;

mentoring, tutoring or case management from a current in-school or in-community provider; referrals to an after-school program; or

referrals to student or family resources for improved health, emotional or financial stability. The SAM team will be responsible for

selecting responsive solutions, making the necessary connections and monitoring progress through performance data analysis. The

team will refine the in-home, in school and in-community support structure until the student exhibits sustained improvement in

attendance, behavior and grades. Improving behavior and reducing disciplinary referrals will be a key outcome in the Strategic Feeder

Pattern schools, where disciplinary referrals in 2012 exceeded the previous year on all but one campus, a distraction to all teachers and

students. Team members will work together for one school year. The District will take the lead in determining the needs of each of the

communities encompassed within the Strategic Feeder patterns. Focus groups of parents and community residents will be organized

and conducted to ascertain the types and degrees of challenges (e.g., economics, transportation, truancy prevention, social-emotional

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issues) the SAM teams must be prepared to address and the existing community resources that can be deployed in order to develop

systemic, comprehensive and durable solutions for students and their families. This work will occur in the Spring of 2013 and will

advise the focus and implementation plans for the SAM teams during the 2013-14 school year. The Chief of School Leadership will be

responsible for the implementation of the Student Advocacy Model throughout the Strategic Feeder Patterns, including identification

of the members of the SAM teams as well as building team members’ capacity through professional development and support, and

will monitor its impact on student performance. The Director of School Support Services will design the SAM curriculum, supplement

professional development throughout the year to support team members in effectively executing their duties and maintain relationships

with community providers supporting our students. The Model will be reorganized as needed to improve efficiency and effectiveness

prior to district-wide implementation.

As illustrated above, Destination 2020 has the capacity to dramatically transform Dallas public schools. Student performance will

improve and the achievement gap will narrow once a proficient teacher leads every classroom and is given access to the supports and

tools required to deliver high quality instruction. Student learning will deepen and equity will increase with common and individual

learning trajectories designed to foster college and career success, and once internal and external barriers to learning are removed.

Dallas ISD currently has a plan and a financial forecast for systematically implementing Destination 2020 in all schools within

eight years; RTTT-D funding will shorten the school reform cycle and immediately benefit some of Texas’ highest need students.

(A)(2). Destination 2020 was met with tremendous support from parents, community partners and public and private stakeholders.

While this support is currently diffuse and unaligned, implementation within Strategic Feeder Patterns (i.e., a high school anchor and

the middle and elementary schools that feed into it) would harness these resources and efficiently initiate transformation in an

intentional manner. Also, Dallas ISD in general and the Strategic Feeder Patterns in specific include significantly distressed

neighborhoods and improving schools have been shown to trigger community redevelopment. Hence, this approach could be catalytic

to comprehensive economic and educational renewal with long-term benefits for multiple generations.

The District’s first priority is to improve the educational opportunities of the highest need students; therefore, the first Strategic

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Feeder Patterns selected for Destination 2020 and RTTT-D implementation are anchored by Lincoln and Pinkston High Schools. Both

were rated Academically Unacceptable by the Texas Education Agency, less than three-quarters of their students graduate within four

years and daily attendance is below 90%.

Major differences also exist, making these Strategic Feeder

Patterns apt predictors of successes and problems that will be

encountered in district-wide implementation of Destination 2020

and the planned RTTT-D reforms. For example, the predominant

ethnicities of Lincoln and Pinkston students are reversed, which

will ensure the approach is variable in correspondence to cultural

distinctions. Also, although West Dallas (Pinkston) has been long

neglected, major infrastructure and housing improvements are

underway as a result of the area’s rapidly growing, well-

entrenched social sector. South Dallas (Lincoln) offers a

counterpoint: these neighborhoods have experienced significant population decline triggered by the loss of 684 public housing units,

and urban blight remains largely unaddressed due to a tenuous revitalization infrastructure. These countervailing dynamics, more

thoroughly discussed in the Competitive Preference Priority response, will help to quantify the impact of an engaged, resource-rich

community in school reform.

The schools contained within the Lincoln and Pinkston feeder patterns meet all eligibility requirements for RTTT-D grant funding and

all students in each school will participate in and benefit from the proposed RTTT-D reforms.

U.S. Census Data, 2010 Lincoln Pinkston

2010 Population 15,842 30,542

African American

Hispanic

85%

12%

30%

64%

Median Income $16,043 $22,555

Adults lacking a high school diploma 47% 66%

Residents below poverty 44.2% 43.6%

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Total Students Economically

Disadvantaged Students

At-Risk Students* Educators (FTEs)

Lincoln High School 881 701 79.6% 610 69.2% 78.0

Anderson Middle School 450 422 93.8% 282 62.7% 40.7

Dade Middle School 437 395 90.4% 265 60.6% 34.5

Dunbar Elementary School 482 464 97.3% 268 55.6% 32.9

Martin Luther King Elementary School 253 243 96.0% 126 49.8% 18.0

Rhoads Elementary School 429 405 94.4% 193 45.0% 29.0

Rice Elementary School 565 529 93.6% 174 30.8% 32.8

Silberstein Elementary School 662 654 98.8% 571 86.3% 40.5

Pinkston High School 1,015 839 82.7% 696 68.6% 81.0

Edison Middle School 820 738 90.0% 558 68.0% 70.0

Quintanilla Middle School 839 782 93.2% 523 62.3% 58.3

Allen Elementary School 639 592 92.6% 450 70.4% 36.5

Arcadia Park Elementary School 801 780 97.4% 596 74.4% 44.3

Carr Elementary School 452 442 97.8% 333 73.7% 25.0

Carver Elementary School 606 598 98.7% 363 59.9% 40.5

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DeZavala Elementary School 454 448 98.7% 375 82.6% 28.5

Earhart Elementary School 295 292 99.0% 206 69.8% 22.0

Jones Elementary School 921 905 98.3% 753 81.8% 56.0

Kahn Elementary School 732 705 96.3% 567 77.5% 42.0

Lanier Elementary School 611 550 90.0% 395 64.6% 39.5

Martinez Elementary School 547 515 94.1% 396 72.4% 34.5

Peabody Elementary School 586 567 96.8% 385 65.7% 34.5

Stevens Park Elementary School 766 748 97.7% 619 80.8% 45.5

Dallas Environmental Science Academy

(District Charter)

223 158 70.9% 18 8.1% 16.0

TOTAL ALL CAMPUSES 14,466 13,477 93.2% 9,722 67.2% 980.5

Dallas ISD 156,784 87.1% 66.4% 10,665.2

State of Texas 4,912,385 59.2% 46.3% 334,876.4

* The Texas Education Agency defines students as being at-risk of dropping out if one or more of the following are present: retained

in one or more grades, <70 in two or more subjects, pregnant or parenting, in alternative education, expelled, on parole or probation,

previous drop-out, limited English proficiency, in foster care, homeless, or in residential placement.

(A)(3). The Logic Model below reflects the means by which Dallas ISD will introduce and sustain personalized learning environments

that challenge and inspire high achieving students, provide targeted help to students who are not performing on grade level and

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effectively and fully engage those in the middle. Each of the inputs and activities are detailed in A.1., Section C.

Logic Model for Implementing Destination 2020 within the Context of Race To The Top-District

Situation: There is a large achievement gap between the performance of students in the Lincoln and Pinkston feeder patterns, other

Dallas ISD high schools and schools throughout the State of Texas.

Theory of Change: If teachers are recruited, supported, evaluated, compensated and retained according to their capacity to meet

individual student needs and deliver high-quality instruction, the learning environments within Dallas ISD will become student-

centric and student-driven, student-teacher relationships will improve and deepen, and our graduates will be prepared for success in

postsecondary education or the global workforce.

RTTT-D funding will enable Dallas ISD to methodically implement the reforms contained within Destination 2020. The results

attributable to the approach will be carefully analyzed during initial implementation (school year 2013-14) and a continuous quality

improvement process will be used to advise modification of each component prior to full, district-wide implementation. As previously

described, Dallas ISD has designated two Strategic Feeder Patterns for introduction of the RTTT-D model during school year 2013-

14. An evaluation of school and teacher performance data will be used to determine the Strategic Feeder Pattern rollout, with lowest

performing schools prioritized for earlier implementation.

The Strategic Feeder Pattern Initiative will be on-going and will allow Dallas ISD to methodically focus leadership and resources,

pilot innovations and foster change management on a limited scope (number of schools) while supporting instructional effectiveness

and student academic success. Each facet of the Strategic Feeder Pattern Initiative will be managed as a project, i.e., measured for

effectiveness, evaluated for success and modified based on lessons learned, and all successful initiatives will be scaled district-wide

within five years. The most critical, outcome determinative initiatives, e.g., Strategic Staffing Initiative, Teacher Evaluation System

and Pay for Performance, will be rolled-out according to the following schedule: 2013-14 in the first two Strategic Feeder Patterns,

2014-15 in at least two additional Feeder Patterns and district-wide (up to 19 additional feeder patterns) by 2015-16. Each initiative

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will be scaled into the organization based on its own project plan and timeline and in the manner that is most beneficial to our

students.

(A)(4). As shown on the goal tables that follow, RTTT-D funding, which will enable the full implementation of Destination 2020 in

two Strategic Feeder Patterns, will support improvements in student learning and performance, increased equity and rapid

achievement of ambitious school reform goals that are equal to or exceed the performance of students from throughout the State of

Texas. The projected gains are particularly impressive given the fact that the Lincoln and Pinkston feeder patterns contain 54.7% more

economically disadvantaged students than the State and 43.0% more high-risk students. Also, Dallas ISD has intentionally structured

the impact of Destination 2020 to ripple far beyond high school graduation, increasing attainment of a postsecondary degree or a

Career Ready Certificate in our graduates as follows:

Post Secondary Achievement by Four Year

Graduates3

AA Degrees BA Degrees Career Ready Cert.

2010 2017 2010 2017 2010 2017

Pinkston and Lincoln High School (n=1,037) 175 (16.9%) 198 (19.1%) N/A

Closing the achievement gap to this degree will require the new, deeper opportunities for student learning described in A.4., i.e.,

establishing proficiency as the minimum standard for classroom teachers, increasing the number of highly effective teachers (per

RTTT-D definition), Department Leaders, Grade Level Department Leaders and Master Teachers, creating opportunities for students

to identify and pursue areas of personal academic interest, establishing an aligned instructional arc from 6th through 12th grade that

promotes each student’s college and career readiness, and engaging parents and the community in school reform. However, the

potential impact of each of these initiatives will be diminished if students are distracted by and fail to attend or focus on school

3 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Six Year Higher Education Outcomes for the High School Classes of 2002 through 2004. www.thecb.state.tx.us.

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because of personal and family problems. An enabling support unique to the RTTT-D project will be the Student Advocacy Model,

designed to align the resources of parents and the community to better address student needs, diminish distractions and facilitate

performance improvement.

B. PRIOR RECORD OF SUCCESS AND CONDITIONS FOR REFORM (B)(1) Demonstrating a clear track record of success (15 points) The extent to which each LEA has demonstrated evidence of—

(1) A clear record of success in the past four years in advancing student learning and achievement and increasing equity in learning and teaching, including a description, charts or graphs, raw student data, and other evidence that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to—

(a) Improve student learning outcomes and close achievement gaps (as defined in this notice), including by raising student achievement, high school graduation rates (as defined in this notice), and college enrollment (as defined in this notice) rates;

(b) Achieve ambitious and significant reforms in its persistently lowest-achieving schools (as defined in this notice) or in its low-performing schools (as defined in this notice); and

(c) Make student performance data (as defined in this notice) available to students, educators (as defined in this notice), and parents in ways that inform and improve participation, instruction, and services.

In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. Recommended maximum response length: Four pages (excluding tables)

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(B)(1). The journey to excellence in Dallas ISD has been marked by both achievement and setbacks. Since 2006, the District has

implemented a variety of efforts to improve student outcomes, close achievement gaps and establish equity of instructional quality

across campuses. These efforts were either mandatory, conforming to the requirements of the Texas Education Agency and/or the

Texas Legislature, or voluntary, launched in correspondence to educational best practices. Mandatory changes enacted since 2007

include: a) stricter grade advancement requirements that are more closely tied to performance on objective assessments; b) accelerated

instruction (i.e., small group, 1:10 tutoring) for students who have not passed an assessment; c) early warning to parents when students

appear to be at-risk of retention in their present grade; d) specialized course proficiency testing for students with disabilities or limited

English skills; e) optional extended year programs for students who have been retained to help them return to school on grade level;

and f) dual language instruction in core subjects for students with Limited English Proficiency but full inclusion in non-core classes

and extra-curricular activities. Voluntary academic and process changes include: a) Dallas Achieves, a communitywide effort to bring

parents and other stakeholders into school reform, sharing their assets and resources with our teachers, Board and students; b) the

introduction of managed instruction and highly prescribed Curriculum Planning Guides that feature standardized lesson plans and

learning strategies for every course and grade to instill a uniformly high level of instructional quality; c) a Superintendent’s Learning

Community that focused professional development and related resources on under-performing campuses; d) Elementary and

Secondary Learning Communities that sub-grouped teachers by grade level to share successful practices and troubleshoot problems

within peer groups; e) the 9th Grade Success Initiative, which focused on data collection to increase high school graduation rates,

including a Principal’s Dashboard to enable constant performance monitoring and targeted interventions like credit recovery and

mandatory summer school; and, f) establishment of a College and Career Readiness Department focused on post-secondary

achievement through expanded Career Technology Education and dual enrollment opportunities, increased enrollment in Advanced

Placement courses, improved passing rates on AP tests, embedded AP strategies in all high school coursework, and partnerships with

external organizations to help students make college choices, complete applications and obtain financial aid.

The results of these initiatives have been mixed. For example, segmenting the Elementary and Secondary Learning Communities had

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a negative effect on vertical articulation and made it difficult to maintain relationships within a feeder pattern. Similarly, Dallas

Achieves suffered a loss of momentum largely attributable to the fact that scores did not rise and the achievement gap did not close

fast enough, causing enthusiasm to wane. The District also suffered a major financial crisis in 2008 that triggered teacher and staff

layoffs and caused morale both inside and outside Dallas ISD to plummet. These obstacles have reminded current Dallas ISD

leadership of some valuable lessons. We have seen ample evidence of the fact that the community is vital to our success, especially

those who have been disenfranchised, and we must earn their trust every day through meaningful opportunities for involvement.

Accountability at all levels – parents, teachers, Principals, administrators and students – has become the most important driver of

reform and success. For example, we have moved away from managed curriculum and towards giving teachers more autonomy and

power over instructional content, but we have balanced the approach to include compulsory alignment with Texas Essential

Knowledge and Skills and a results-orientation that uses district and state-required assessments to measure progress. Finally, despite

the myriad of changes and persistent challenges, the great majority of educators employed by Dallas ISD have not lost faith in their

students. The depth of these relationships has been a major contributing factor in District successes, such as:

1) Dallas ISD students have made progress in each of the last five years on state standardized tests.

2) The percentage of African American and Hispanic students passing math and science has steadily grown each year.

3) Graduation rates are up by 23.7% since 2007.

4) AP enrollment and pass rates continue to climb. In 2010, Dallas ISD students passed 1,882 AP exams in math, science and English,

compared to 158 in 1995. Also, Dallas ISD and AP Strategies (a partnership with schools and the business and philanthropic

communities) have developed a nationally recognized model for increasing AP participation by African American and Hispanic

students.

5) In 2010, the Brookings Institution named Dallas ISD the most improved urban school district in Texas and the second most

improved in the country for gains made from 2000 to 2007.

6) Of the 230 schools in the District, the Texas Education Agency rated 66 campuses Exemplary (29%) and 59 campuses Recognized

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(26%) in 2011, compared to 14 and 33 in 2007.

Another contributing factor in these successes has been the partnerships Dallas ISD has developed with our community’s academic

readiness and college access providers. For decades, Dallas ISD students have not participated in or performed well on college

entrance exams. In response, the District introduced new resources designed to support students in preparing for entry exams and

assist their parents in planning for and completing the college admission and financial aid processes. Partnerships have been

established with the Academic Success Program, Education is Freedom and the Princeton Review, and each provides a dedicated

advisor on every Dallas ISD high school campus. The advisors review student performance data, existing services and best practices

and build the capacity of campus staff to design and deliver a curriculum that supports college readiness. The advisors also diagnose

and provide assistance in overcoming obstacles to college admission commonly experienced by first generation and economically

disadvantaged students, including obtaining financial aid, completing scholarship applications, preparing for entrance exams and

informing parents of the requirements and opportunities inherent in postsecondary education. The combined value of the advisors,

improved methods and better prepared instructional and support staff is reflected in consistent gains by Dallas ISD students in all

grades and in low-performing schools like Lincoln and Pinkston.

Texas Education Agency, Academic Excellence Indicator System Lincoln HS Pinkston HS

Change in percentage of all students passing all state standardized tests, 2003 to 2011 +40% + 41%

Change in percentage of African American students passing, 2003 to 2011 +42% +29%

Change in percentage of Hispanic students passing, 2003 to 2011 +35% +47%

Change in percentage of economically disadvantaged students passing, 2003 to 2011 +40% +41%

Change in 4-year graduation rate of all students, 2007 to 2011 -4% +25%

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Change in African American students’ graduation rate, 2007 to 2011 -4% +21%

Change in Hispanic students’ graduation rate, 2007 to 2011 0% +27%

Change in economically disadvantaged students’ graduation rate, 2007 to 2011 -1% +28%

As shown above, improvements in the four-year graduation rate at Pinkston have outpaced Lincoln. Multiple situational differences

are believed to be causal, including available community resources and neighborhood cohesion, and are more thoroughly described in

the Competitive Preference Priority response.

Destination 2020 and the approach to school reform represented in this RTTT-D application were built from the District’s history and

accomplishments but include elements essential to 21st century success. For example, the planned Career Ready Certificate will build

from and enhance our strong Career Technology Education orientation and also will conform to the requirements for the National

Academy Foundation’s Certification, which means Dallas ISD’s Certificate-holders will be deemed eligible for positions in the

national workforce. Also, the District’s new academic decision-making framework has replaced the goal of “passing state standardized

tests” with “scoring at the commended level”, which the Texas Education Agency views as signaling college-and-career readiness.

Most importantly, the Vision, Goals and Strategies of Destination 2020 have unified and given a common purpose to the District’s

disparate school reform efforts of the last five years. We have leveraged what is in place and working for students while continuing to

fill gaps. We have implemented a Strategic Feeder Pattern approach to academic renewal in an effort to deliver equity to some of our

highest need students in one school year rather than eight. Dallas ISD has promised large-scale change for many years; Destination

2020 and its vision, strategies and accountability has the capacity to transform good intentions into results.

(B)(2) Increasing transparency in LEA processes, practices, and investments (5 points) The extent to which each LEA has demonstrated evidence of—

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A high level of transparency in LEA processes, practices, and investments, including by making public, by school, actual school-level expenditures for regular K-12 instruction, instructional support, pupil support, and school administration. At a minimum, this information must include a description of the extent to which the applicant already makes available the following four categories of school-level expenditures from State and local funds:

(a) Actual personnel salaries at the school level for all school-level instructional and support staff, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s classification used in the F-33 survey of local government finances (information on the survey can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/f33agency.asp);

(b) Actual personnel salaries at the school level for instructional staff only; (c) Actual personnel salaries at the school level for teachers only; and

(d) Actual non-personnel expenditures at the school level (if available). In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. Recommended maximum response length: One page (B)(2). Dallas ISD strives for transparency in all processes and practices, especially those related to investments in student education.

To this end, the annual operating budget is posted on our website under a well-marked “Public Information Portal”. Since January 1,

2012, these pages have received 3,766 views. The Public Information Portal also includes PDF copies of the monthly check register

covering all district expenditures not precluded by FERPA regulations, Board meeting agendas, minutes and videos, and school

ratings from the Texas Education Agency. Additionally, the website contains links to pages for each Dallas ISD school and these sites

include the General Fund Budget (Audited, Current and Proposed) and Payroll and Non-Payroll Costs by Function (Instruction,

Instructional Resources, Staff Development, School Leadership, Guidance, Counseling and Evaluation, Health Services, Co-

curricular and Extra-Curricular, Maintenance and Operations, Security and Monitoring, and Community Education). Student-teacher

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ratios and budgeted operating costs per student also are reflected, enabling school-to-school comparisons. To preserve data accuracy,

Dallas ISD posts salary information in PDF format; however, customized presentations are provided upon request. Finally, the Texas

Education Agency website details teacher salary information by campus and district, including average salary by tenure.

(B)(3) State context for implementation (10 points) The extent to which each LEA has demonstrated evidence of—

Successful conditions and sufficient autonomy under State legal, statutory, and regulatory requirements to implement the personalized learning environments described in the applicant’s proposal.

In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. Recommended maximum response length: Three pages The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is responsible for the oversight of public primary and secondary education in the state of Texas,

involving over 1,000 individual school districts in the state and charter schools. TEA accredits districts, enforces the provisions of

the Texas Education Code, as adopted by the Texas Legislature, and distributes funding under formulas mandated by the Texas

Legislature. TEA is managed by a Commissioner of Education, appointed by the Governor, and is overseen by a 15-member State

Board of Education, elected from single-member districts to four-year terms. The State Board of Education devises policies and sets

academic standards for Texas public schools, oversees the Permanent School Fund and selects textbooks for Texas' 4.7 million

school children. School districts are considered independent governmental entities; TEA has the authority to oversee a district's

operations (either involving an individual school or the entire district) if serious issues arise (e.g., poor standardized test

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performance, financial distress, or reported mismanagement).

Subject only to specific limitations in the Texas Education Code, which are not applicable here (see Texas Education Code Section

7.021), Texas school districts have the primary and general authority to provide for the education of students within their geographic

boundaries, including implementing the state's system of public education and ensuring student performance (See Texas Education

Code Section 11.002). The board of trustees of an independent school district, the superintendent of the district, the campus

administrators, and district- and campus-level committees contribute to the operation of the district in the manner provided by the

Code. In general, the trustees of an independent school district constitute a body corporate and have the exclusive power and duty to

govern and oversee the management of the district. All powers and duties not specifically delegated by statute to TEA or the State

Board of Education are reserved for the trustees, and TEA may not substitute its judgment for the lawful exercise of those powers

and duties by the trustees. The trustees may adopt rules, such as local policies and procedures, and bylaws necessary to carry out

their responsibilities, including ensuring that the superintendent is accountable for achieving performance results and making

decisions relating to terminating the employment of district staff employed under a contract. These state-conferred responsibilities

will allow Dallas ISD to implement the proposed evaluation and compensation structures without state approval (Chapter 21 of the

Texas Education Code). Clearly, the Board of Trustees of Dallas ISD has the authority and sufficient autonomy to enact the changes

proposed in this application, including increasing the number of effective elementary and secondary teachers and Principals who

are evaluated on and compensated for their proficiency and the value they bring to every classroom and student and instituting a

teacher leadership model that gives highly skilled teachers at the elementary and secondary levels the opportunity to remain in the

classroom while expanding their influence, sharing their professional expertise and ascending a previously unavailable career ladder.

(B)(4) Stakeholder engagement and support (10 points) The extent to which each LEA has demonstrated evidence of— Meaningful stakeholder engagement in the development of the proposal and meaningful stakeholder support for the proposal,

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including—

(a) A description of how students, families, teachers, and Principals in participating schools (as defined in this notice) were engaged in the development of the proposal and, as appropriate, how the proposal was revised based on their engagement and feedback, including—

(i) For LEAs with collective bargaining representation, evidence of direct engagement and support for the proposals from teachers in participating schools (as defined in this notice); or (ii) For LEAs without collective bargaining representation, at a minimum, evidence that at least 70 percent of teachers from participating schools (as defined in this notice) support the proposal; and

(b) Letters of support from such key stakeholders as parents and parent organizations, student organizations, early learning programs, tribes, the business community, civil rights organizations, advocacy groups, local civic and community-based organizations, and institutions of higher education.

In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. Recommended maximum response length: Three pages HOLD

(B)(5) Analysis of needs and gaps (5 points) The extent to which each LEA has demonstrated evidence of—

A high-quality plan for an analysis of the applicant’s current status in implementing personalized learning environments and the logic behind the reform proposal contained within the applicant’s proposal, including identified needs and gaps that the plan will address.

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In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria and/or provide its high-quality plan for meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. To provide a high-quality plan, the applicant should describe, at a minimum, the goals, activities, timelines, deliverables, and responsible parties (for further detail, see Scoring Instructions in Part XV or Appendix A in the NIA). The narrative and attachments may also include any additional information the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers. Recommended maximum response length: Two pages In preparing Destination 2020, the Board of Trustees, community representatives, parents, teachers and administrators examined

current instructional practices in the District and student performance results attributable to those practices. A variety of gaps and

unmet needs were identified, most of which contribute to existing achievement issues. Following is an overview of the predominant

challenges identified and the corresponding reforms encompassed within Destination 2020. The work proposed in this RTTT-D

application will advance the District’s capacity to address one or more of these student, family and community needs.

A. Recent student achievement on the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills

indicates there is a need for the development and continual revision of clear, specific, and rigorous curriculum and intervention

strategies, by grade and in all content areas, that are aligned with Dallas ISD’s strategic plan and theory of action and grounded in

best practices for content and pedagogy. Disaggregation of campus-level data, however shows that some teachers will be more

successful in implementing quality instructional practices than others. Easily accessed, continual professional development is needed

to address disparities in teaching abilities (which may derive from years of experience, content-matter expertise, etc.), which

ultimately can impact student achievement. Also, Dallas ISD needs to build the instructional leadership capacity necessary to enable a

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more consistent focus on academic goals tied to student achievement. Similarly, educators must increase their proficiency in the use

of research-based materials and 21st century digital learning tools if they are to help all students reach college and career readiness.

One key conduit to rapid improvement is the wider dissemination and adoption of the methods used by Dallas ISD’s highly effective

Principals and teachers. Such was the logic behind the proposed Teacher Leadership Model, included in RTTT-D, which will result in

the rapid advancement of best practices piloted or verified by our own instructional staff. Our expectation is that the use of peer-to-

peer, embedded professional development will preserve our master teachers in the classroom for most of the day, provide immediate

support to struggling or novice teachers and lead to rapid cycle performance improvements for all students and schools.

B. District-wide data analysis points to the need for supplemental materials, instructional time and staff training in the areas of

mathematics, reading and science. A contributing factor is the need to continuously monitor and verify student learning. Yet the

District has not had a comprehensive, coherent assessment system that supplements state and standardized testing and benchmarks

student achievement at key checkpoints, allowing teachers to personalize learning. The District and Destination 2020 will launch two

new factors in 2012-13: a) mandatory semester assessments of progress, the results of which will be reflected in teacher evaluations,

and b) translation of the wealth of student achievement data collected and produced by Dallas ISD into actionable reports (available

from MyData Portal and Curriculum Central) that can impact instruction. Additional professional development training will be on-

going to help teachers effectively use the tools at their disposal to monitor both student performance and their own impact. The district

has developed a third initiative that will lengthen the school day and offer new tutoring and learning opportunities in the evenings, on

Saturday and during the summer to ensure every student has assistance required to progress from grade-to-grade and achieve the

“commended” designation on state standardized tests; this component will be initiated in the Strategic Feeder Patterns as part of the

RTTT-D programming during the 2013-14 school year.

C. The involvement and engagement of parents and the community in Dallas ISD’s educational processes is lacking. A key means of

increasing participation will be advanced in 2012-13 when the district will provide all parent education materials in the predominant

languages of our students and parents. Also, Dallas ISD has developed a strategy for importing the solid foundation for school-

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community partnership that has been built in some feeder patterns, e.g., Pinkston, to others using school-community capacity building

activities. This initiative, proposed for support by RTTT-D is described in the Competitive Preference Priority response.

D. Low postsecondary matriculation rates by Dallas ISD graduates indicate the need for increased student access to and parental

awareness of higher education opportunities. Dallas ISD is redoubling existing efforts (e.g., PSAT/SAT/ACT classes and the

availability of on-campus advisors to supplement and foster college preparatory content), focusing especially on under-performing

high schools like Pinkston and Lincoln. The Parent Portal also has been supplemented with information about each secondary

student’s college readiness level in an effort to better inform parents and help connect students to supplemental resources when

indicated. The District’s current emphasis on college readiness will be augmented during the 2012-13 school year with the

introduction of the Career Readiness Certificate, which will both prepare our career-bound students for employment immediately after

graduation and will create employment opportunities for them through an innovative partnership with area business leaders and

professionals.

E. Dallas ISD’s current compensation management framework does not support the recruitment or retention of highly effective

educators or Principals. Our low performing campuses historically have had difficulty recruiting and retaining quality staff. The

District’s Strategic Staffing Initiative, detailed in Section C, is being introduced during the current school year and includes a variety

of recruitment activities, alternative certification processes and differentiated compensation for proficient teachers willing to accept

assignment to high-need, low-performing campuses. RTTT-D offers the opportunity to fast-track implementation in the Strategic

Feeder Patterns and monitor and measure the results before the new framework is taken to scale District-wide. Reforming the

compensation structure will be catalytic to attracting a cadre of highly effective teaching professionals with the capacity to ensure

educational equity and close the achievement gap for all district students.

F. Disaggregated student achievement data indicate that specialized resources and instructional supplements are required if Dallas

ISD is to effectively address barriers to learning for high need students, including Hispanic, Limited English Proficient, African-

American, special education, and at-risk students. The District’s plans for targeting new academic resources for high need students

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are fully detailed in Sections C and D. In order to benefit from and fully participate in these new personalized learning activities, high

need students often also require support for their social and emotional needs. The distractions that accrue from unabated problems in

social and family domains can interrupt the learning cycle, reduce attendance and, without resolution, rapidly result in academic

failure. With RTTT-D funding, Dallas ISD will implement the Student Advocacy Model, which will include designated student

support teams available to assist students in sorting through and effectively addressing barriers to full academic participation.

G. Annual Yearly Progress ratings for many Dallas ISD schools indicate the need for targeted training and support to ensure that all

Dallas ISD teachers are skilled in the use of research-based instructional practices and demonstrate a high level of cultural

awareness. Currently, each District campus is responsible for identifying and developing proven, practical interventions and strategies

that are aligned with their students’ needs, e.g., multiple-response strategies, re-teaching, flexible grouping, paraprofessional support,

etc. Through Destination 2020, our teachers and Principals soon will be evaluated, compensated and retained based upon their

capacity to produce and sustain positive change. RTTT-D funding will rapidly advance the retooled evaluation and compensation

system and will address the rising need for highly effective educators produced by Texas’ new STAAR assessment system. STAAR,

to be fully implemented in 2012-13, has far more rigorous passing standards, especially for students in transitions grades (5th and 8th),

and high school students for the first time will be required to pass End-of-Course examinations in all subjects in order to graduate.

C. Preparing Students for College and Careers (C)(1) Learning (20 points) The extent to which the applicant has a high-quality plan for improving learning and teaching by personalizing the learning environment in order to provide all students the support to graduate college- and career-ready. This plan must include an approach to implementing instructional strategies for all participating students (as defined in this notice) that enable participating students to pursue a rigorous course of study aligned to college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) and college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice) and accelerate his or her learning through support of his or her needs. The quality of the plan will be assessed based on the extent to which the applicant proposes an approach that includes the following: Learning: An approach to learning that engages and empowers all learners, in particular high-need students, in an age-appropriate

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manner such that:

(a) With the support of parents and educators, all students— (i) Understand that what they are learning is key to their success in accomplishing their goals;

(ii) Identify and pursue learning and development goals linked to college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice), understand how to structure their learning to achieve their goals, and measure progress toward those goals; (iii) Are able to be involved in deep learning experiences in areas of academic interest;

(iv) Have access and exposure to diverse cultures, contexts, and perspectives that motivate and deepen individual student learning; and

(v) Master critical academic content and develop skills and traits such as goal-setting, teamwork, perseverance, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and problem-solving;

(b) With the support of parents and educators, there is a strategy to ensure that each student has access to— (i) A personalized sequence of instructional content and skill development designed to enable the student to achieve his or her individual learning goals and ensure he or she can graduate on time and college- and career-ready; (ii) A variety of high-quality instructional approaches and environments;

(iii) High-quality content, including digital learning content (as defined in this notice) as appropriate, aligned with college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice); (iv) Ongoing and regular feedback, including, at a minimum—

(A) Frequently updated individual student data that can be used to determine progress toward mastery of college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice), or college- and career-ready graduation requirements; and

(B) Personalized learning recommendations based on the student’s current knowledge and skills, college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice), and available content, instructional approaches, and supports; and

(v) Accommodations and high-quality strategies for high-need students (as defined in this notice) to help ensure that they are on track toward meeting college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and

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career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice); and

(c) Mechanisms are in place to provide training and support to students that will ensure that they understand how to use the tools and resources provided to them in order to track and manage their learning.

In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria and/or provide its high-quality plan for meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. To provide a high-quality plan, the applicant should describe, at a minimum, the goals, activities, timelines, deliverables, and responsible parties (for further detail, see Scoring Instructions in Part XV or Appendix A in the NIA). The narrative and attachments may also include any additional information the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers. Recommended maximum response length: Eight pages (C)(1). Destination 2020 is “a high-quality plan for improving learning and teaching”. It also embraces personalized learning

environments as the optimum means of supporting all students in graduating college- and career-ready. However, as the plan was

being developed, a technology inventory was completed and the results illustrated a profound need for upgrades on virtually every

campus. In fact, Dallas ISD was determined to be ten years behind recommended levels in the use and accessibility of digital

learning resources. Without the enabling infrastructure, the full adoption of personalized learning will be difficult to achieve. It also

is reasonable to assume that, since digital learning tools are not widely available in our schools, Dallas ISD teachers do not have

optimal preparation for effectively employing these tools or technology-based personalized learning strategies. Because

infrastructure deficits preclude the District’s ability to implement a blended instructional model (i.e., part traditional, classroom-

based learning and part online or digital delivery of content with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace),

Dallas ISD proposes to use RTTT-D funding to address deficiencies in infrastructure and tools and provide comprehensive

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professional development training to teachers in technology uses. Tiered implementation, beginning in the two feeder patterns and

spreading district-wide over several years, will allow full, appropriate utilization of new technology-based resources, rapid but

orderly change and durable benefits to all Dallas ISD students by 2016.

Year One: Feeder Patterns Years Two and Three: Feeder Patterns Years Two and Three: Scaling Up

Install enabling technology infrastructure

in elementary, middle and high schools.

Blended learning opportunities, digital

textbooks, smart boards and one-to-one

technology (laptops and tablets) are the

norm in all classrooms in the Lincoln and

Pinkston feeder patterns.

Install enabling technology infrastructure

in all Dallas ISD schools.

Purchase digital learning tools for feeder

pattern schools, e.g., mobile devices to

enable on-line student assessments in all

classes.

Impact of digital learning tools on student

performance is quantified and a template

is developed for district-wide scale up.

Purchase digital learning tools and

textbooks for all other Dallas ISD

schools.

Train teachers in feeder pattern schools in

the use of digital learning tools.

Train teachers in use of digital learning

tools in all other Dallas ISD schools.

Create a single dashboard that aggregates

all student data and has the dual

capacities of a status overview and drill

downs into performance and needs that

could trigger referrals to the Student

Work with business partners to develop a

District-wide community Internet

connection that will provide universal

student and family access in all homes.

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Advocacy Model team.

2016: Personalized Learning Environments in Every Dallas ISD Classroom

As demonstrated above, the greater utilization of technology will steadily increase across the grant period; this will not, however,

impede District instructional staff from using existing resources and new supports enabled by RTTT-D funding in the interim to

construct personalized learning environments and enhance college and career readiness. Descriptions of planned approaches for

inculcating and enabling student-centric learning follow.

A. The Secondary Student Trajectory. With RTTT-D funding, Dallas ISD will create a new personalized learning opportunity for

secondary students that uses a cohesive instructional arc, beginning in middle school and continuing through high school, to foster

college-and-career readiness in all students. The arc of coursework – which will include in school, out-of-school and summer

instructional components – each student chooses to pursue will be intentionally selected in correspondence to his or her interests,

assets and college and career plans. The goals of the learning trajectory will be to: prepare students for college and career via a

rigorous, relevant sequence of courses and carefully selected extracurricular experiences; make students the driver and owner of

their academic experience; sustain students’ engagement by empowering them with choice and voice; connect students to people,

opportunities and communities outside of the classroom; and, equip students to impact their communities in transformative ways.

The instructional arc will be introduced in the Strategic Feeder Patterns using a two-phase trajectory -- Exposure in grades 6-8

and Flight Path in grades 9-12. During Exposure, teachers, administrators, parents and community partners will inundate the

student with experiences that will inform his or her choice of a high school Flight Path. Common threads binding both components

will be the development of critical thinking skills, the acquisition and application of the tools that are essential to long-term

academic planning by all students, the highest level of information literacy, and a solid understanding and appreciation of personal

economics and money management skills.

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The purpose of Exposure will be to provide the student with a picture of the academic, extracurricular, and professional

opportunities available in high school, college and career so that he/she will be empowered to make academic decisions that are

grounded in his/her interests and assets. All planned student experiences in middle school will tie back to the goal of Exposure, e.g.,

middle school students will participate in college visits, will listen to college and career panelists and presentations, will be

connected to job shadowing and internship opportunities, will go on field trips to businesses and industries, and will complete

comprehensive career interest inventories.

Beginning in 6th grade, a Student Learning Plan (SLP) will be developed and will strategically inform the student’s secondary

trajectory for each academic year thereafter. Co-created by students, parents, teachers and counselors, the SLP will be a

comprehensive document that details the student’s academic abilities, career interests, learning style or preferences, social and

emotional wellness, special needs, and academic and career goals. Across the 6-12 instructional arc, students, parents and teachers

will use the SLP goals to craft personalized learning opportunities and select courses and extra-curricular activities that promote

student assets and ameliorate barriers to academic success. The SLP will be a living document, revisited and tweaked annually to

reflect the student’s evolving interests and assets and continually helping students, parents and teachers intentionally select and align

courses and extra-curricular activities. While the content pieces are available, no document of this kind currently exists in the

District; the SLP will enmesh disconnected information systems to provide a holistic overview of each student.

In the 7th grade, students will complete an elective class that explores a variety of possible high school Flight Paths available within

the Strategic Feeder Patterns and across the District, e.g., Entrepreneurial Culinary Arts, Communications, Engineering, etc. The

exploratory class will be modular, with students moving through six 3-week modules over one semester. The course will be a

signature component of the Exposure experience and will give students the opportunity to explore a wide variety of academic

options in correspondence to their assets and interests. By the 8th grade, students will reflect on their experiences in the exploratory

elective course, analyze the SLP, and decide (in consultation with parents, teachers and counselors) which high school Flight Path

to pursue.

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The selected Flight Path will be unique to each student, will focus on individualized instruction and student choice, and will

represent a trajectory that is equally rigorous, relevant, and forward thinking. For example, students interested in a particular career

could enroll in a Dallas ISD Academy that allows for both academic and vocational development relevant to a demand occupation.

Students who elect to pursue career-readiness will be able to complete the coursework necessary to graduate from high school with

both a diploma and an industry-vetted Career Ready Certificate, making them eligible for set-aside employment opportunities

developed in conjunction with Dallas ISD’s industry partners. Career-minded students will be required to complete instruction in the

acquisition and application of critical thinking skills, required attributes for the 21st century workforce. Students interested in

attending college might follow a Flight Path comprised of dual-enrollment courses, Advanced Placement courses, SAT and ACT

preparation and evening and Saturday symposia in financial aid, college applications, study skills and other college-preparatory

activities. Finally, all high school students will have access to the College and Career Tracker, a digital, on-demand assessment of

progress on their unique Flight Path and the courses or activities they need to complete prior to graduation.

In general, the trajectory from Exposure to Flight Path is intended to be student-centric, student-driven and student-responsive and

filled with boundless opportunities for developing, evaluating and refining college and career goals and receiving support for

achievement. In an effort to immerse the student in his or her interests, foster critical thinking skills and promote college- and

career-readiness skill development, all 6th-12th grade students will complete an Annual Capstone or independent study project.

Students will design and execute their project in phases over the course of an academic year, culminating in a finished product that

will be presented to a panel of teachers, community partners, parents, and local business leaders. The Annual Capstone will be

wholly student-driven, from selecting a topic of interest to investigate to proposing a learning pathway to designing the final product

illustrating discoveries that occurred throughout the experience. A teacher will serve as each student’s Capstone Advisor and will

function primarily as a coach and facilitator as the student investigates the topic or subject matter. Structural guidance for the

Annual Capstone experiences will decrease and complexity will increase as the student progresses from 6th to 12th grade. For

example, a 6th grade Annual Capstone will be will be rigorous yet age-appropriate and heavily guided by the Capstone Advisor in

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terms of research, product development and presentation protocol. By 12th grade, the Annual Capstone will more closely resemble a

college-level thesis in process, structure, and content. Also, students may elect to continue with the same topic year-to-year,

advancing knowledge and acquiring new skills as each presentation successively builds on the last. High school projects will be

required to advance the research, time management and study skills known to underpin college success. Finally, the Annual

Capstone will represent a share of a student’s grade in a corresponding course (based upon grade level).

The Secondary Student Trajectory will feature a number of other components that foster college and career readiness, as follows.

" Student-led parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled twice per year for all secondary students. In addition to

conveying student-centric information, this exercise will give students the opportunity to take ownership of their learning

and address their progress towards attainment of the college and career goals reflected in their SLP. Teachers will reinforce

the student’s observations with data obtained from MyData Portal.

Engaging and empowering high need students, the majority in the selected Strategic Feeder Patterns, will require specialized

accommodations and strategies. Since two thirds of participating students will meet TEA’s definition of at-risk of failure or

dropping out, the RTTT-D funded project must include supports that address and remediate barriers to learning, attendance,

performance and achievement. Dallas ISD proposes to add three new resources that will support engagement and empowerment of

our high-risk students and help increase student performance and reduce dropout rates. 1) Student Advisors. Every instructional or

administrative staff person in every secondary school will be assigned a cohort of ten middle or high school students. The staff

member will serve as an advisor/mentor to the student from either 6th through 8th or 9th through 12th grades, checking in, helping to

solve problems or conflicts, monitoring attendance, grades, disciplinary actions and preparation, arranging academic supports when

needed, and connecting the student to extra-curricular activities and supportive services. The Advisors will refer students with

significant needs, especially those originating at home, to the SAM support team. Advisors will meet individually with their students

at least weekly and will use existing data analysis tools from MyData Portal to assess performance one-on-one with the student and

rapidly identify and address emerging issues. The ready availability of a supportive adult has been shown to positively impact

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school performance and promote life skills in even the highest need students both immediately and over time4. In every Strategic

Feeder Pattern School, Advisors will be trained (during the scheduled professional development period that precedes the start of

school) and assigned a cohort of students at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. 2) Student Advocacy Model. All campuses

in the two feeder patterns will have an on-site, dedicated student support team available to provide in-school case management and

connection to community resources (described in section A). Teachers and Advisors will bring high-need students to the attention of

the team when performance issues are identified and the team will immediately meet and develop a plan for wrapping resources

around the student. High-need students with access to a cohesive continuum of assistance demonstrate consistent and statistically

significant improvement in academic outcomes5. 3) Small Learning Communities. Across grades 6-12 in the Strategic Feeder

Patterns (and in any elementary grades that are departmentalized, which varies by school), core academic teachers will become

members of a grade-level small learning community or cross-content team that will serve the same group of 120-150 students for

multiple years, e.g., a ninth grade team will include one math teacher, one ELA teacher, one social studies teacher, one science

teacher, and one reading teacher that will teach and support the same group of students throughout high school. Teachers will: 1)

strategize interdisciplinary instruction and interventions for individual students and the group as a whole, jointly planning and

integrating curricula and sharing information about common students with other members of the team; 2) establish team

expectations, norms, procedures, parent and community engagement protocols; 3) plan supplemental learning outside of class (e.g.

field trips, job shadows/internships, college and career days, etc.), develop and foster community partnerships, and plan and execute

college and career readiness activities; 4) support and sustain a high-functioning team, and 5) engage with parents and the

community as a cohesive unit. Teachers within a small learning community will share a common planning period during each

school day. A Team Leader (described in C.2) will coordinate the activities of the community and ensure teachers have the

professional development and resources necessary to function in this type of innovative instructional environment. Each small 4 One Caring Adult, Marta Koontz. “A Recipe for Creating a Safe and Respectful School Environment”. www.onecaringadult.com. 5 U.S. Department of Education. “National Evaluation of Student Support Services: Examination of Student Outcomes After Six Years”. 2010.

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learning community will look different from all others, as each will reflect the assets and needs of its students. The theory behind

cross-content teams is that students perform better within a small learning community with access to teachers that can closely

monitor their progress and build meaningful relationships with them that evolve and deepen over time. The human and financial

costs associated with implementing this approach will be worthwhile, as research indicates students in small learning communities

do better on standardized assessments and other measures6.

Because of the active and meaningful participation of students, the Secondary Student Trajectory will draw a bright line between

learning and success for all middle and high school students and will increase the likelihood that the goals students establish in their

Student Learning Plans are aligned with and enable college- and career-readiness. Also, the Annual Capstone requirement will

support deeper learning experiences in the areas of students’ academic interests and, based upon the project choice, could enhance

access and exposure to diverse cultures and contexts. Most importantly, empowering students to fully design (high school) or

participate in the design (middle school) of their learning trajectory will foster mastery of critical thinking skills like making and

assessing decisions, managing time and persisting in a course of study until the end goal is reached. Implementing the concept of an

instructional arc at the secondary level will be facilitated by intensive professional development training during the summer of 2013

and supplemented by weekly, spontaneous professional development provided by Department Leaders. Because this approach is

expected to improve student assessments, grades and standardized test scores, secondary teachers’ implementation success will be

reflected in their student’s performance and teachers will be retained and compensated accordingly. The overall responsibility for

implementation and success of the Secondary Student Trajectory has been assigned to the Chief Academic Officer, who will: design

the curriculum and rubrics for the Annual Capstones; design the curriculum for and implement the middle school exploratory

elective course; recommend Exposure experiences (e.g., college field trips); construct a framework to help middle schools execute

the Exposure component; drive the selection of tools and models for the Student Learning Plans; enhance existing career pathways

offered through the District’s Academies and ensure all students in the two Strategic Feeder Pattern high schools have ready access

6 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. New Small Learning Communities: Findings from Recent Literature. December 2001.

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to these preparatory resources; and, build new career pathways, including those demand occupations for which a Career Ready

Certificate will be offered, in areas of student interest. The Chief of School Leadership will support the Secondary Student

Trajectory by overseeing implementation of the Student Learning Plans on all campuses, ensuring that the Plans reflect campus

course offerings and graduation requirements, designing the protocol for student-led parent-teacher conferences and designing

and conducting professional development for teachers and administrators in how to facilitate the conferences. The Director of

Evaluation and Accountability will design and implement the Student Learning Plan model and will connect the enabling data

systems.

The following timeline has been developed for full implementation of the Secondary Student Trajectory in the Strategic Feeder

Patterns:

• Student Learning Plans (initial version) will be introduced in 2013-14.

• Annual Capstones will be introduced in grades 6 through 8 in 2014-15 and in grades 9-12 in 2015-16.

• Student Lead Parent-Teacher Conferences will be introduced in 2013-14 and the protocol will evolve as needed.

• Exploratory Elective Courses will be introduced in 2014-15.

• Career Pathways and the Career Ready Certificate will be introduced in 2013-14, with opportunities expanding yearly.

• Exposure Experiences will begin in 2013-14 in 6th grade, with one grade level added each year thereafter.

Each new activity will be rigorously monitored and modified as needed to enhance positive student impact. A District-wide rollout

schedule will be developed as each component is finalized.

B. Data-Based Decision Making. Underpinning all of Dallas ISD’s new approaches to personalized learning and college- and

career-readiness is a frequently updated, user-friendly data platform that can be easily accessed by students, parents and teachers to

determine progress toward standards mastery and graduation requirements. Dallas ISD uses a wide range of valid and reliable

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methods to verify mastery, including standardized summative assessments, teacher observation and grades. Our definition of

mastery is aligned with the District’s college- and career-ready standards, the state’s planned standards, and high school graduation

requirements. In general, Dallas ISD believes mastery is predictive of successful execution of the same competency or skill in the

future as well as students’ abilities to attain subsequent competencies or skills in a scope and sequence. The definition of mastery

and the determination of mastery are consistently applied across all Dallas ISD classrooms and schools.

The District’s data platform was developed in partnership with the Michael and Susan Dell and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations

and employs technical and business analytics and data coaching to produce consistent metrics and enable data-driven decision-

making. While these resources are universally available, usage by teachers and staff has varied. Because these tools can be catalytic

to the verification of mastery and quantification of improvements made or needed in student performance, college and career

readiness and graduation, Dallas ISD will pilot intensive professional development training, including assigned data coaches, and

student and parent-level marketing throughout the Strategic Feeder Patterns to significantly expand use and student benefit.

The data tools that are most helpful in assessing student-level college readiness and graduation include:

A. Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS). Located on MyData Portal, DEWS provides Principals and teachers with a list of

students who are failing two or more core courses. Additional pull-down menus enable users to determine course history,

grade history and student characteristics, thereby supporting personalized instruction and remediation.

B. On-Track Indicators. Composites of students in transition grades (5th and 8th) and in high school. Scorecards present the

percent of students who have scored above a college readiness cut point per the state’s new STAAR assessments. This

resource will help teachers identify the need for and plan school day, after school and Saturday school enrichment programs.

C. The Parent Portal is an online tool to help parents and students track course enrollment, assignments, grades and attendance.

The tool empowers and equips students and parents with the information necessary to plan and advance along an educational

pathway and take action before credits or advancement are threatened.

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D. A College and Career Readiness Tracker is available to high school students, enabling them to monitor credit accumulation

and intentionally select courses that further their college and career goals.

E. Student Profile Reports (available on MyData Portal) provide student-level data to teachers and administrators, including

various college readiness assessments, AP courses and results, scores on ReadiStep for 8th grade students, and PSAT, SAT

and ACT scores. Information contained in the Student Profile Reports is augmented by College Board reports.

F. Counselor Tracking allows Counselors to monitor individual college access and student progress. Information includes

college fair attendance, parent letters, financial aid applications, scholarship applications and receipt, and completed college

applications.

G. Career Cluster Tracking enables students to plan course selection within the requirements of Career Clusters of interest to

them (e.g., Arts and Audio Visual Technology, Information Technology, Hospitality and Tourism, Business Management)

and monitor their status for achievement of a Career Ready Certificate.

H. Course Recommendations provide students with individualized recommendations made by teachers and guidance staff.

The Director of Evaluation and Accountability will be responsible for monitoring the data framework indicated above and for

organizing a universal, single site overview of student performance at all grades levels that includes data drill-downs into

performance, behavior and attendance data that could indicate the need for a referral to the on-campus SAM team or tutoring

support. This latter project will be completed and available for all students in the Strategic Feeder Pattern during the 2013-14 school

year and will be scaled up District-wide during the 2014-15 school year.

Dallas ISD also will pilot additional evidence-based practices in the Strategic Feeder Patterns with RTTT-D funding. The efficacy

and impact of these efforts will be verified through a rigorous continuous quality improvement process (see section E) and rolled out

as appropriate district-wide by 2016. These new initiatives will include:

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I. Longer school days. Secondary schools in the Strategic Feeder Patterns will be open to students from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The first hour of the day will be reserved for tutoring, parent conferences, advising, coaching on Annual Capstone projects

and lesson planning. After school (from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.) opportunities will include an on-site homework center,

remediation classes, parent conferences and extra-curricular activities. The SAM team also will meet after school with

students, parents and community providers. Making school resources available an hour earlier and three hours later every

school day will both increase accessibility and engagement for working parents and will provide ample opportunities for

every student to receive the additional support necessary to pass all subjects and graduate in four years. The availability of

this additional assistance is expected to contribute to graduation rate increases, more students passing standardized tests and

more students scoring in the commended range on standardized tests.

J. Extended school year. Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, the Strategic Feeder Patterns will offer a weeklong Jump Start

program before school starts, during which students will be assessed, prior year’s work will be reviewed and new work will

be previewed so that when the school year begins, rigorous instruction can begin in every classroom. Jump Start will be a

voluntary program but parents will be informed, beginning in the Spring of 2013, that students who participate are expected

to advance more quickly than their non-participating peers. Students who do not attend Jump Start will be assessed and will

receive intensive reviews and support during the before-school or after-school tutoring times if needed. Standardized testing

scores of Jump Start schools and non-participating schools will be compared to verify benefits.

K. Saturday and Summer School. Grade level achievement in reading and math are essential for all students; therefore, the

Strategic Feeder Pattern schools will offer instructional assistance and tutoring on Saturdays (rotating school sites will be

used, open to all students in the feeder pattern) and during winter and spring breaks for students who are not on grade level

in math or reading. Saturday classes also will be offered in the month preceding standardized testing to assist struggling

students and provide enrichment for those who are striving to be commended. Teachers, Department Leaders and Grade

Level Department Leaders will share in the responsibility for curricula preparation and instruction. Also, summer school will

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be mandatory for students who end the school year not reading on grade level and for students who are retained. The goal for

summer school participation will be to score high enough on an end of summer assessment to progress to the next grade or

begin the year on grade level.

L. Online instruction for hard to staff courses. High schools throughout Dallas-Fort Worth have difficulty staffing AP and

similarly rigorous classes. While the District offers all commonly available AP courses, not all are available in each high

school and Pinkston and Lincoln have an acute shortage. In an effort to establish equity in instructional opportunities, Dallas

ISD will begin offering requested AP and Dual Credit courses, regardless of campus or number of students wishing to enroll,

using existing online infrastructure. Pinkston and Lincoln High School Department Leaders will be responsible for locating

the source, coordinating with the sponsoring high school, ensuring the student is scheduled appropriately and able to

virtually participate, and coordinating grading with the sponsoring teacher. This new initiative is expected to increase the

number of Pinkston and Lincoln High School students taking AP classes.

(C)(2) Teaching and Leading (20 points) The extent to which the applicant has a high-quality plan for improving learning and teaching by personalizing the learning environment in order to provide all students the support to graduate college- and career-ready. This plan must include an approach to implementing instructional strategies for all participating students (as defined in this notice) that enable participating students to pursue a rigorous course of study aligned to college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) and college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice) and accelerate his or her learning through support of his or her needs. The quality of the plan will be assessed based on the extent to which the applicant proposes an approach that includes the following: Teaching and Leading: An approach to teaching and leading that helps educators (as defined in this notice) to improve instruction and increase their capacity to support student progress toward meeting college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice) by enabling the full implementation of personalized learning and teaching for all students such that:

(a) All participating educators (as defined in this notice) engage in training, and in professional teams or communities, that supports their individual and collective capacity to—

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(i) Support the effective implementation of personalized learning environments and strategies that meet each student’s academic needs and help ensure all students can graduate on time and college- and career-ready; (ii) Adapt content and instruction, providing opportunities for students to engage in common and individual tasks, in response to their academic needs, academic interests, and optimal learning approaches (e.g., discussion and collaborative work, project-based learning, videos, audio, manipulatives);

(iii) Frequently measure student progress toward meeting college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice), or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice) and use data to inform both the acceleration of student progress and the improvement of the individual and collective practice of educators; and (iv) Improve teachers’ and Principals’ practice and effectiveness by using feedback provided by the LEA’s teacher and Principal evaluation systems (as defined in this notice), including frequent feedback on individual and collective effectiveness, as well as by providing recommendations, supports, and interventions as needed for improvement.

(b) All participating educators (as defined in this notice) have access to, and know how to use, tools, data, and resources to accelerate student progress toward meeting college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice). Those resources must include—

(i) Actionable information that helps educators (as defined in this notice) identify optimal learning approaches that respond to individual student academic needs and interests; (ii) High-quality learning resources (e.g., instructional content and assessments), including digital resources, as appropriate, that are aligned with college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice), and the tools to create and share new resources; and (iii) Processes and tools to match student needs (see Selection Criterion (C)(2)(b)(i)) with specific resources and approaches (see Selection Criterion (C)(2)(b)(ii)) to provide continuously improving feedback about the effectiveness of the resources in meeting student needs.

(c) All participating school leaders and school leadership teams (as defined in this notice) have training, policies, tools, data, and resources that enable them to structure an effective learning environment that meets individual student academic needs and accelerates student progress through common and individual tasks toward meeting college- and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) or college- and career-ready graduation requirements (as defined in this notice). The training, policies, tools, data, and resources must include:

(i) Information, from such sources as the district’s teacher evaluation system (as defined in this notice), that helps school leaders and school leadership teams (as defined in this notice) assess, and take steps to improve, individual

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and collective educator effectiveness and school culture and climate, for the purpose of continuous school improvement; and (ii) Training, systems, and practices to continuously improve school progress toward the goals of increasing student performance and closing achievement gaps (as defined in this notice).

(d) The applicant has a high-quality plan for increasing the number of students who receive instruction from effective and highly effective teachers and Principals (as defined in this notice), including in hard-to-staff schools, subjects (such as mathematics and science), and specialty areas (such as special education).

In the text box below, the applicant should describe its current status in meeting the criteria and/or provide its high-quality plan for meeting the criteria. The narrative or attachments should also include any supporting evidence the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers, including at a minimum the evidence listed in the criterion (if any), and how each piece of evidence demonstrates the applicant’s success in meeting the criterion. Evidence or attachments must be described in the narrative and, where relevant, included in the Appendix. For evidence or attachments included in the Appendix, note in the narrative the location where the information can be found and provide a table of contents for the Appendix. To provide a high-quality plan, the applicant should describe, at a minimum, the goals, activities, timelines, deliverables, and responsible parties (for further detail, see Scoring Instructions in Part XV or Appendix A in the NIA). The narrative and attachments may also include any additional information the applicant believes will be helpful to peer reviewers. Recommended maximum response length: Eight pages

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Dallas ISD has developed and with RTTT-D support will rapidly implement a Strategic Staffing Initiative designed to recruit and

retain highly effective teachers and Principals in every Strategic Feeder Pattern school (elementary, middle and high schools) by

2013-14 and District-wide by 2014-15. The goal of the Initiative is to methodically help teachers improve instruction and increase

their capacity to support student progress towards meeting college-and career-readiness standards. The enabling theory of change

holds that if teachers are recruited, supported, evaluated, compensated and retained according to their capacity to meet individual

student needs and deliver high-quality instruction, the learning environments within Dallas ISD will become student-centric and

student-driven, student-teacher relationships will improve and deepen, and our graduates will be prepared for success in

postsecondary education or the global workforce. Decades of educational research -- reinforced by a recent, much discussed study

released by Harvard and Columbia Universities7 -- validates this theory and verifies that teachers are the most powerful source of

meaningful learning and student engagement. (This statement does not undermine the critical role of Principals or the

Superintendent. These positions also are subject to new and more rigorous evaluation and compensation structures.)

The Strategic Staffing Initiative will contains multiple, integrated approaches to school reform that will contribute to the following

outcomes: a) improved performance on summative assessments, b) reduced achievement gaps, c) increased high school graduation,

d) increased college enrollment, and e) increased postsecondary degree achievement. A description of each component follows.

1. Teacher Recruitment, Hiring and Retention. Dallas ISD has designed and is implementing (September 2012) a revised

Selection Process that will be used to re-staff all Strategic Feeder Pattern schools in 2013-14. (The methodology will be monitoring

and modified as needed and introduced District-wide for the 2014-15 school year.) Both internal and external recruitment strategies

are planned. Internally, the goal will be to place Dallas ISD’s best teachers in areas where they are needed most, i.e., in high-need

schools throughout the Strategic Feeder Pattern. Deferred compensation, new teacher leadership opportunities and other benefits

7 Chetty, R, Friedman, J, Rockoff, J. Harvard and Columbia Universities. The Long Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood. December 2011.

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will be available to any highly qualified Dallas ISD teacher electing to transfer to a Strategic Feeder Pattern school. External

recruiting will focus on linkages with multiple Dallas ISD partners, including Teach for America and U Teach (University of Texas

STEM Teachers) and attending career fairs at the top ranked education programs across the nation, especially those that graduate the

largest number of teachers certified in critical content areas, e.g., math, science and bilingual education. Also, a primary goal of the

Strategic Staffing Initiative is to deepen the relationship between Dallas ISD and area colleges and universities offering education

degrees in an effort to promote internships and student teaching opportunities within Dallas ISD and the employment of well-

prepared Novice teachers by the District. In general, as the Initiative helps to professionalize the practice of teaching, Dallas ISD

will draw better-qualified candidates into teaching and the effects for students in under-performing schools will be immediate and

wholly positive: placing motivated, effective teachers in Strategic Feeder Pattern classrooms will increase equity and contribute to

accelerated achievement by some of the District’s highest need students. Finally, a coordinated, community-wide marketing effort in

the Spring and Summer of 2013 will emphasize the honor and privilege associated with working in the Strategic Feeder Pattern

communities as well as the other benefits that will be available.

All Dallas ISD teachers will be reviewed on a trial basis using a new evaluation metric (see 2. below) during the Spring of 2013.

Existing teachers in the Strategic Feeder Pattern who meet or are on-track to meet the new, more rigorous evaluation requirements

for teaching professionals (see 2. below) will be able to retain their positions and their current rate of pay if higher than the range for

their level of proficiency (see 2. below). Teachers who are on-track to meet will be given a grace period of up to three years within

which they must achieve at least Proficient I status. Strategic Feeder Pattern teachers whose evaluations indicate they are not on-

track for Proficient I status will be re-assigned within the District but not to a teaching position. Also, Strategic Feeder Pattern

teachers will have the option of transferring to a campus outside the feeder patterns. Teacher commitments to remaining in a

Strategic Feeder Pattern school and accepting the new standards or transferring to another Dallas ISD school must be made in the

Spring of 2103. Experienced teachers from outside the District who apply for a position in a Strategic Feeder Pattern school for the

2013-14 school year will be evaluated for their proficiency status (per student achievement data from their current students) and will

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be hired at the level of at least Proficient I.

A Predictive Model has been developed for evaluating applicants for Dallas ISD teaching positions and comparing their skills to the

new teacher performance metrics (described in 2. below). Rigorous pre-screening will ensure the applicant’s qualities are aligned

with the District’s Core Values and reflect superior levels of Achievement, Leadership, Commitment, Initiative and Perseverance,

Personal Responsibility, Respect, Professionalism, Mindset, Content Knowledge and Instructional Practices, and Behavior

Management. Thereafter, the Dallas ISD Human Capital Management team will use a four-step process to vet all teaching

candidates. Step 1: Online Application, including resume and academic transcripts, and completion of performance tasks, i.e., data

analysis exercise to identify trends and areas needing intervention in student performance, a written essay and a self-assessment of

competency. The online application will go live in January of 2013 to help secure highly effective teachers before the competitive

summer employment period. Step 2: Phone Screen, including probing questions pertaining to the online application. This Step may

be bypassed at the discretion of the screener. Step 3: Group Interview, to include a teaching-related group activity and discussion,

e.g., creating a response to a parent’s concerns about a student’s performance. Step 4: Certification and Background Check, the final

required element before a candidate is approved to enter the applicant pool. Next, Hiring Committees will be appointed by the

Principals on each campus (made up of Teachers, Principals and the Executive Director overseeing the campus) to review pools of

qualified applicants forwarded by the Human Capital Management team in correspondence to campus vacancies, and make hiring

recommendations. The Human Capital Management team also is creating and will distribute Hiring Manuals to Principals and will

train Committee members in the application of superior hiring practices. The entire interview and hiring process will be streamlined

(two to three weeks) to ensure that the most qualified candidates do not lose interest. The team also will prepare a best practice

guide to assist the campuses in meeting recommended timelines and targets for staffing. The Chief of Human Capital Management

has established the following goals for filling all teaching positions in the Strategic Feeder Patterns for the 2013-14 school year:

March 2013-complete 25% of hiring; April 2013-complete 50%; May 2013-complete 75%; June 2013-complete 85%; and, July

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2013-complete 100%.

Retaining Dallas ISD’s highly effective teachers will be a primary goal. To this end, the Chief of Human Capital Management will

create a Principal and campus leadership training module that will include best practices in teacher retention, beginning from the day

the teacher comes on-board through every year of contract renewal. The Principals also will receive training in proven methods of

mentoring Novice and Progressing teachers and ensuring the teacher leadership model (described below) is used effectively as both

a retention tool and a means of coaching new or struggling teachers. Whenever possible, cohorts of new and tenured teachers will be

organized each campus to build camaraderie and mutual support.

2. Teacher Evaluation and Compensation. Dallas ISD’s current teacher evaluation system consists of four “check off” boxes for

job performance and results in the great majority of teachers being contract-eligible each year. Unfortunately, the high marks our

teachers routinely receive cannot be squared with the marginal student performance reflected in section A. The Dallas ISD

Superintendent has developed a new evaluation and compensation system that focuses on results and individual accountability. The

District has created rubrics to assess professional behavior and effectiveness and assign a skill level: Novice (up to two years after

entry into the profession), Progressing I and II, Proficient I, II and III, Exemplary I and II, and Master Teacher. {Note: Teachers at

the Proficient II level and above will be required to meet the RTTT-D definition of a highly effective teacher, i.e., a teacher whose

students achieve high rates e.g., one and one-half grade levels in an academic year, of student growth.} The corresponding teacher

pay scale has been restructured and a previously non-existent career ladder has been established. Teacher effectiveness, and

ultimately compensation, will be assessed using standardized metrics that feature equal parts of performance (quality of instruction,

student engagement, effective strategies and practices, curriculum alignment, classroom management) and achievement (student test

scores and teacher’s individual student achievement goals). Principals will award Novice, Progressing and Proficient I status to the

teachers they supervise. Proficient II or above status will be awarded by District administrators using an expanded performance

rubric that measures leadership, lifelong learning and contributions to the profession. Though educators will receive a significant

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raise when promoted, promotion is not expected to be a yearly occurrence. The plan was developed in consultation with current

research and evidence-based practices. Also, Dallas ISD staff actively participated in the development of the performance rubric. In

the Spring of 2012, focus groups were conducted with teachers, administrators, teacher representatives and stakeholders and their

feedback regarding items appropriate for inclusion in the performance rubric were incorporated into the evaluation plan. A similar

exercise will be conducted in the Spring of 2013 to support definition of the achievement rubric. The Superintendent has selected

and will train a cadre of focus group leaders from among central office staff and will assign them to District-wide facilitate groups

with teachers and administrators to obtain their feedback and recommendations on how this component of the evaluation should be

structured and the data that should be included. Their input also will be incorporated into the final metric for achievement.

The methodologies for evaluation and compensation will be introduced and refined over three school years. The plan has been

advised by the results of a District-wide listening process with teachers, Principals and key stakeholders (conducted by an external

source) that also has facilitated buy-in, transparency and inclusion. The performance component of the new system will be used

District-wide in 2013-14; the achievement component will be in place for all Core and High Demand Elective Teachers. Teachers

will be shown their achievement results but compensation consideration will not include this factor until 2014-15. At that point, all

teachers’ contracts will convert to a renewable year-to-year status and the two-part evaluation structure will determine eligibility for

renewal. In 2013-14, the two-part structure will be applied to both core and high demand elective teachers and by 2014-15, all

teachers will be evaluated and compensated under the new plan. Because the District is committed to creating a system that is

informative and fair, not punitive, no core subject teacher will fall below his or her 2013-14 pay in 2014-15 as a result of the new

metrics, and contract renewal will be possible (though not guaranteed) for up to three years for under-performing teachers if they

demonstrate significant progress towards proficiency. By the 2016-17 school year, contracts will not be renewed for any teacher

who has held his or her position for three or more years and has not earned at least a Proficient I evaluation. Non-renewed

individuals may be eligible for non-teaching jobs in the District.

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With RTTT-D funding, Dallas ISD will implement all of the components of the new evaluation and compensation system with

teachers in the Strategic Feeder Patterns (Lincoln and Pinkston) during the 2013-14 school year. Differentiated contracts and

compensation will be provided to Strategic Feeder Pattern teachers. The new contracts will allow for maximum flexibility (subject

to approval by the Board of Trustees) in terms of the enhanced responsibilities necessary to execute the initiatives outlined in

Destination 2020 and RTTT-D, e.g., extended school days, additional professional development and other duties necessary for

personalized learning and closing the achievement gap. The willingness of the Strategic Feeder Pattern teachers to participate in the

new system and accept increased responsibility for student performance will be rewarded with a clear path for advancement based

upon performance and differentiated compensation during the 2013-14 school year, one year ahead of their peers in other schools in

the District.

Also, teachers and Principals in the Strategic Feeder Pattern schools will be eligible for additional effectiveness levels in 2013-14

and beyond. Included will be: a Teacher Retention Bonus, available to teachers who elect to remain in a previously low-performing

school that shows performance improvement; Principal Bonus, available to experienced Principals who elect to transfer to a low-

performing school; and, a Signing Bonus for an experienced, high achieving Principal from outside the District who accepts a

position in a low-performing Dallas ISD school.

3. Teacher Leadership Model. Dallas ISD’s proposed new Teacher Leadership Model represents a cost-efficient and effective

means of making professional development more plentiful and more spontaneous for Dallas ISD’s classroom teachers, while

simultaneously creating a new career ladder for our highly effective teachers. It is predicated upon two beliefs: 1) Dallas ISD’s

teaching corps includes large numbers of highly skilled educators and it is incumbent upon the District to create mechanisms

whereby their professional expertise can be shared, and 2) creating a multilevel career path for highly effective teachers will

preserve and increase their value to more students as their influence expands. The Model features new positions of Department

Leader (one for each core subject in a school), Grade Level Department Leader (one for each core subject and grade level), Team

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Leader (one for each small learning community in a school) and Master Teacher (at least one in every Strategic Feeder Pattern

school). Position responsibilities follow:

Department Leader. Supervises Grade Level Department Leaders and core teachers. Reserved for teachers who demonstrate the

highest level of achievement in the teaching profession. Works an 11 month year and has a reduced teaching load, with one-half day

spent in the classroom and one-half day conducting spot observations, providing support to teachers, teaching demonstration

lessons, planning instructional supplements or identifying evidence-based practices for possible implementation. Supervises,

coaches and mentors all teachers in the subject area. Accountable for the performance of the Grade Level Department Leaders and

core teachers’ in their subject area. Conducts weekly grand rounds to observe all teachers and identify needs for professional

development. Eligible for differentiated leadership pay based upon performance, subject area and number of teachers under

supervision.

Grade Level Department Leader: Supports core teachers in strengthening their practice and identifying problems requiring

immediate attention. Reduced teaching load (two planning periods per day in secondary and one hour without students in

elementary). Leads the planning effort to address department-wide opportunities for improvement and facilitates or recommends

professional development. Coaches and mentors core teachers within their same subject area and grade level. Accountable for their

teaching performance and that of the core teachers in their grade level and subject. Eligible for leadership pay based on

performance, subject area and number of core teachers under supervision.

Cross Content Team Coordinator: Manages the small learning communities. Organizes special activities and field trips. Ensures

teachers have the support required for interdisciplinary teaching. Coordinates the community’s activities grade-to-grade (6th through

8th or 9th through 12th).

Master Teacher: Supports new teachers or teacher interns as they develop their practice. Must have achieved Proficient III or above

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in the teacher evaluation system. Will receive an extra planning period in each school day to support novice teachers. May serve as

an entry onto the career ladder, with ascension possible to Grade Level Department Leader or Department Leader. Eligible for

leadership pay based on performance and subject area.

The primary responsibility of the leaders described above will be to work with one another and core subject teachers in each school

to support student achievement, graduation and college and career readiness. For example, both Strategic Feeder Pattern high school

will have both a Math Department Leader and Math Team Leaders for each grade (9-12) and together they will be dedicated to

improving the practice of all math teachers in the school using standard Professional Learning Community methodology. Similarly,

Grade Level Department Leaders in all secondary schools will work in concert with the Department Leaders to help core subject and

high demand elective teachers implement the Secondary Student Trajectory and the instructional arcs that support college and

career readiness (Exposure, Flight Plans and Annual Capstones). Also, as new digital learning tools come online in throughout the

Strategic Feeder Patterns, the Department Leaders and Grade Level Department Leaders will assist the entire instructional staff in

strategizing, planning for and adopting instructional uses that maximize impact and foster personalized learning. Finally, in the

Strategic Feeder Patterns targeted for RTTT-D implementation, the Department and Grade Level Department Leaders will plan and

present an additional two weeks of professional development before the school year begins covering: curriculum alignment,

instructional rigor within each content areas, engagement strategies, assessment and the dynamics and benefits of small learning

communities. Currently, Dallas ISD teachers report only a few days before students and participate in minimal professional

development. If students in Strategic Feeder Pattern schools show greater improvement on standardized tests than non-participating

students in other District schools, a longer, more intensive professional development period will become a District-wide requirement

by 2016.

RTTT-D funding will enable Dallas ISD to designate educators as Department or Grade Level Department Leaders or

Master Teachers for the 2013-14 school year. The District’s goals for implementation of the Teacher Leadership Model are:

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1. Keeping talented teachers in the classroom while leveraging their skills to the benefit of other teachers and more students.

2. Giving teacher leaders the opportunity for greater autonomy, creative freedom, and flexibility to meet the needs of teachers

and students under their purview.

3. Breaking down existing silos within schools and fostering a collaborative, team-oriented professional environment.

4. Increasing accountability for each individual teacher, department, and small learning community.

5. Increasing the proficiency of all teachers on the campus.

6. Developing a career ladder and a leadership pipeline.

The availability of Teacher Leaders, and the improved instructional methods they foster, will help to more quickly narrow the

student achievement gap by strengthening content in each discipline and by creating a collaborative, team-oriented approach to

instruction in each school. By 2015-16, Dallas ISD plans for at least four Strategic Feeder Patterns to have implemented the Teacher

Leadership Model, producing a critical mass of proficient teachers available to transition the educational norms in Dallas ISD from

low academic rigor, high dropout rates and poor standardized test scores to engaged, proficient teachers who cultivate deep

relationships with their students and use personalized learning environments to foster college and career readiness.

The Chief of Human Capital Management will be responsible for implementation of the Teacher Leadership Model, including

developing the job descriptions for each position and finally selecting all Department Leaders, Grade Level Department Leaders and

Master Teachers. Campus Principals will select the Team Coordinators for their school. Selected teacher leaders at all levels may be

re-assigned from their current school to another with greater need for their support. The Chief of Human Capital Management will

conduct informational sessions on all Dallas ISD campuses during the Spring of 2013 to inform teachers of the new Teacher

Leadership Model and encourage their application for these coveted positions. Recruitment for these positions also will be

incorporated into the previously described external recruitment process. The Chief Academic Officer will develop and execute

necessary professional development training to equip the leaders for their positions. The Chief of School Leadership will conduct

on-going monitoring of and will receive feedback from the leaders using a standardized continuous quality improvement process

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(see section E). This work will advise needed modifications to the Teacher Leadership Model prior to its implementation District-

wide in 2016.

4. Professional Development. This proposal already has described peer coaching, spot observations and on-demand professional

development resources to be delivered by as part of the new Teacher Leadership Model and an extended professional development

period before school starts in the Strategic Feeder Patterns. However, a major step toward professionalizing the position of teacher is

to acknowledge that skills develop over time and often must be upgraded in response to new challenges or opportunities. Therefore,

Dallas ISD will implement a new track for enhanced professional development specifically targeting novice teachers, those who are

new to their grade level or content area, or those who are struggling. These teachers will have flextime built into their schedules to

be used for instructional skill development and observation of Master Teachers. The need for flextime will be determined by the

Department Leader (who also will take over the teacher’s class while he or she receives training) and may be scheduled for as long

as one half-day per week. Struggling teachers will be placed on an improvement plan that stipulates hours and type of training.

Novice teachers and those who need skills upgrades in order to complete new assignments will participate in flextime training or

will be mentored through observation as often and for as long as needed until full proficiency is achieved, per evaluation by the

Department Leader. Also, in an effort to diminish the isolation experienced by a large percentage of teachers, weekly group peer

coaching will be scheduled on every Strategic Feeder Pattern campus. During these sessions, teachers will be able to share

successful practices, brainstorm challenges, address instructional problems and receive support from their peers and teacher leaders

without fear of reproach or judgment.

Dallas ISD also will introduce Grand Rounds in Strategic Feeder Pattern schools. Based upon hospital rounds made by physicians,

interns and residents in teaching hospitals, Grand Rounds are regularly scheduled group classroom visitations by student teachers,

core teachers, Department and Grade Level Department Leaders and visiting educators. The group will observe and debrief and the

Department Leaders will share their expertise and provide insights into instructional methods and their impact for students. Core

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teachers and Grade Level Department Leaders will be expected to attend three Grand Rounds during each six-week period in an

effort to continually improve instructional quality throughout the Strategic Feeder Patterns.

These comprehensive, on-demand resources will support the rapid acquisition of highly effective teaching practices and also will

identify teachers who, regardless of typical professional development support have not achieved proficiency. These individuals will

be recommended for other, non-teaching positions in the District.

5. Principals as Academic Leaders. In schools across America, including Dallas ISD, the traditional role and value of a campus

Principal has been co-opted by the inordinate amount of time required for campus operations. This robs students and teachers of the

academic and leadership skills most Principals have acquired through rigorous training and experience. With RTTT-D funding,

Dallas ISD will restore the Principal’s capacity to focus almost exclusively on improving the quality of instruction on his or her

campus. A key means of achievement will be the re-assignment of most operational responsibilities to an Assistant Principal for

School Operations who will be responsible for transportation, building and grounds, technology, budgeting, scheduling, and internal

and external communications. The Principal will then be able to work collaboratively with the teaching staff to develop and support

the school’s vision, established in correspondence to student and family needs, and fully incorporate the District’s core values and

beliefs. The Principal also will have control over staffing and supervise his or her school’s teachers and ensuring they have the will

and skill to achieve academic equity and quality for all students. The Principal also will lead the new school leadership team --

Department leaders, Grade Level Department Leaders and Master Teachers -- and will meet with them each week to identify and

resolve curricular or student performance issues and identify teachers in need of practice improvements. The Principal will mentor

all campus leaders, will provide daily, embedded professional development and continuous feedback and will be the face of the

school in the community, informing parents of school goals and addressing their concerns. All Principals will be mentored and

coached by Dallas ISD central office staff (the Executive Director responsible for the school group that includes their campus) and

experienced Principals will mentor new Principals, providing peer coaching in an effort to deepen instructional quality in the

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District.

To further restore academic excellence and instructional quality, each Strategic Feeder Pattern school also will have a second

Assistant Principal for Curricula or an Academic Dean. Their primary focus will be ensuring instructional quality and they will

coach, mentor and support core teachers, Department Leaders and Grade Level Department Leaders by monitoring curricula use,

fidelity and impact and enriching content and methods, as needed. Like the Principal, the Assistant Principal for Curricula will be

held accountable for the performance of all students in the school and will receive differentiated compensation as a result.

6. Data-Based Decision Making. The C.1 response includes a description of the comprehensive, action-oriented data tools

available to Dallas ISD teachers, Principals, parents and students. These resources place usable, timely information at each

educator’s fingertips, allowing him or her to conceptualize optimal learning approaches in correspondence to individual student

academic needs and interests. The various dashboards that can be produced by the Dallas ISD data system also help teachers align

content with college and career ready standards and help students and parents monitor progress towards the college or career goals

they have established. Finally, the information available from MyData Portal and similar, customizable digital reports help teachers

match student needs with specific resources and approaches, from developing Exposure, Flight Path and Student Learning Plans

to identifying the need for SAM team support to minimize distractions and increase attendance and learning to recommending early,

after-school, Saturday school and summer school supplemental education to support grade advancement, credit recovery, improved

scores on standardized testing and four year graduation. Because students, parents and teachers can access much of the data, the

opportunity exists for a continuous feedback loop regarding the effectiveness of resources applied in meeting student needs.

As previously acknowledged, the availability of these tools does not guarantee their consistent use. In response, Dallas ISD, with

funding from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, has employed a three person Data Coaching Team and given them

responsibility for assisting teachers and administrators in effectively using the District’s comprehensive data system and data

analysis capacity and supporting the systemic use of data to increase student achievement. The Data Coaching Team has developed

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a Data Analysis Model and Process within a Data Literacy Toolbox, which includes resources to analyze data and develop action

plans for improving student achievement. With RTTT-D funding, Dallas ISD will employ new Data Coaches and the expanded

Team will be expected to steadily increase teacher and Principal use of data products to monitor performance at the student, class

and school levels. The Teacher Leadership Model and additional professional development requirements for Strategic Feeder

Pattern teachers in 2013-14 also will assist instructional staff in making optimal use of all of the digital tools at their disposal. On

every Strategic Feeder Pattern campus, the Principal, Assistant Principal, Department Leaders, Grade Level Department Leaders and

teachers will be held accountable for the growth of every student. Whenever performance lags, instructional and leadership staff

will be expected to review all relevant data, determine the causes of poor performance and develop, implement and monitor the

impact of a remediation plan. With this data-driven, highly proactive approach, increases are projected in student standardized test

scores, graduation rates and the widespread adoption of personalized learning strategies to improve college and career readiness by

the 2014-15 school year.

The aggregate impact of the aforementioned reforms of Dallas ISD’s approach to Learning, Teaching and Leading will further

multiple goals articulated in Destination 2020, and support achievement of key outcomes, as follows.

GOAL BY 1 AUGUST 2013 BY 1 AUGUST 2015

Improve the quality of instruction. As measured by at least 50 spot

observations per school, 75% of the

schools will be partially proficient or

higher in: lesson objectives,

demonstrations of learning; purposeful

aligned instruction; and, multiple

response strategies.

As measured by at least 50 spot

observations per school, 75% of the

schools will be proficient or higher in:

lesson objectives, demonstrations of

learning; purposeful aligned instruction;

and, multiple response strategies.

At least 65% of teachers will be

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At least 75% of teachers will be

evaluated as Proficient or Exceeds

Expectations.

evaluated as “Proficient” or above.

Develop Principals into effective

instructional leaders.

At least 80% of Principals are evaluated

as Progressing II or above.

At least 90% of Principals are evaluated

as Progressing II or above.

At least 75% of Principals are evaluated

as Proficient or above.