Impact: Volume 3

8/4/2019 Impact: Volume 3

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i m p a

c t

VOL. 3THE IMPACT OFSCHOOLS INTRANSFORMING

EDUCATION

76% of Americans think parents are themost important factor in determiningwhether students learn in school.

Reading for spiritual reflection

Our ancient rabbis wrote severalcreative explanations for whyAbraham and Sarah decided to begintheir first journey towards the Promised

Land. In one powerful midrash – story,the rabbis explain that Abraham lefthis father’s home because he wasdissatisfied with world he saw aroundhim.

The rabbis compared Abraham to manon a journey. The man saw a palacethat had been set on fire. The palacewas burning. Seeing no one around,the man exclaimed – “Where is theowner of the building? Who is going totake responsibility to put the fire out?”

After the man shouted his questions, theowner of the palace came to a windowand exclaimed, “I am the owner.” 2

The rabbis teach that the palace’sowner is like God and the flames arelike the tragedies in the world around

us. Abraham saw that the world is filledwith pain, sorrow, evil, violence and theflames of injustice. And his first stepstowards founding our faith began witha fundamental question: Where is Godas the world’s palace burns?

Commenting on this story , Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes that there areoften two answers given to thequestion.3 One response is to say thatthere is no God. There is no palace

[owner] There are only flames.” A

second view is to say that, “all thappens and transpires is becauGod willed it...Injustice is an illuThere is a palace [owner], but tare no flames.”4

The first answer says that if evil

God does not exist. God cannopresent in a world filled withsuffering. The second answer sathat if God exists, evil does not Our suffering may serve a Divinpurpose that we don’t understanAbraham’s radicalism – and thefoundation of Judaism – comes refusing to accept either answerGod exists AND the world is on continu

by Rabbi Asher Knight



questionsfor discussion.

Use the space below eachquestion to record your thoughts and the thoughts of others in your Action Group.

what do you think ismore effective in

promoting changein schools:mandates or incentives?

what do you thinkmakes a teacher a

good teacher?

why might schoolsbe resistant to

change and evenresistant to parentinvolvement?

Post responses on your Action Group’s page atDallasFACET.org.

“It is difficult, often impossible,to raise healthy children in adisintegrated community.Without local institutions thatdraw families and youngpeople together aroundcommon interests andactivities …even the most

heroic child-rearing is likely tofail. Conversely, by gatheringand organizing members of the community aroundactivities of common interest —particularly the healthydevelopment of children —even the most devastatingconditions can be reversed.”

The Harlem Children’s ZoneBusiness Plan 2001-2009

Sacks writes, “Judaism begins not inwonder that the world is but in protestthat the world is not as it ought to be.It is in that cry, that sacred discontentthat Abraham’s journey begins.” Heconcludes, “When things are as theyought to be, then we have reachedour destination. But that is not now. Itwas not now for Abraham, nor is it yet

for us.”2

The world as it is today is not theworld as it ought to be. We know thata society that is unwilling to hear andrespond to the pains of our friendsand family is a society that isprofoundly sick. We know that our education system is broken for somany. And we know that the brokensystem is hurting children, parents,

teachers, our community, and theprospects for our future.

We must therefore respond to thevoice of our conscience. Our biblicalancestors didn’t know where theywere going when they left their home.And that reality – feeling uncertain

about the future, is certainly familiar tous. But Abraham and Sarah were notalone. God was present for them ontheir journey. They also had their households with them. They had eachother. They helped each other feelsafe enough to risk being uncertain.They faced the call of the unknown,not in isolation, but in relationship.

And so do we. This is the work of DFCC – and what we can do together.

This is perhaps the first and mostimportant principle of our tradition.

Judaism is built upon the model of loving and supportive relationships. Inloving relationships we listen andrespond to the needs of our friendsand family. We look beyond ourselves,open ourselves to hearing the stories,

the experiences, and the needs of thepeople around us. When our lovedones are hurting, we let them knowthat they are not alone. We advocatefor or against the things that affectthem. We stand with them, we supportthem, and we walk on their journey –as much as possible - with them.

http://www.dallasfacet.org/






ume THREE

The Impact

of Schools inTransforming

Education Part 1: Incentives,

Mandates & Leadership

We have already discussed twopieces of legislation about the

transformation of failing schools.

No Child Left Behind is a mandate

—meaning all schools are required

to make certain changes in order

to receive funding. Race to the Top

is an incentive program—meaning

schools are not required to

change, but if they do make

changes to improve they willreceive more funding.

Incentive programs like RTTT are

very competitive. Competition can

be very useful in driving change.

But since incentive programs are

voluntary, not every school has to

participate. School leaders are the

people who must be willing to take

on this competition in order to

achieve more for their school. Even

in mandated programs like NCLB,

it is the school leaders who have to

lead the way for change in their

schools. This is why the leadership

of schools is very important.

Most definitions of leadership say

that “providing direction” and

“exercising influence” are

important parts of leadership.

Good leaders do not just orde

people around. Instead, they

with others to form group goa

and motivations. A good princ

must set the academic tone an

goals of high standards by wo

actively with teachers and fam

It is also the principal’s

responsibility to outline, organ

and communicate the school’s

philosophy regarding teachin

learning expectations.

The principal can no longer si

maintain order and avoid maj

crisis. He or she must also: • Recruit and hire quality teac

who are interested in doing

whatever it takes to help stu

learn;

• Provide regularly scheduled

professional development a

create opportunities for teac

to deepen their knowledge

subject matter;

• Set high standards and

expectations for teachers to

to teach and for students to

to achieve;

• Determine how best to eval

teacher performance;



Create an atmosphere of

camaraderie and a spirit of

cooperation among staff around

their efforts to improve the school;

Review and study studentachievement to determine

whether learning is actually

occurring;

Work with community

organizations who desire to

support improved educational

opportunities for students; and

Create opportunities for parents

to be involved in the learning

process.

art 2: Teachers

eachers play a big part in a child’s

evelopment. The school years are

formative,” which means that the

nfluences a child has, the people ahild interacts with, and the things a

hild learns during these years will

ave an important effect on his or

er future.

eachers do not only teach

cademic subjects like math and

nglish, but also they set an

xample for children and contribute

o a child’s social development.

In public schools, teacher quality

has a greater effect on student

learning than low levels of parental

education, poverty, race or other

attributes believed to put children at

risk. Students assigned to the mosteffective teachers three years in a

row performed 50 percentile points

higher that did their peers who had

been assigned to the least effective

teachers. This means that teacher

quality can make a large difference

in a child’s life trajectory.

Texas schools use the TAKS test to

determine a student’s level of

academic performance. The STAAR

test (State of Texas Assessments of

Academic Readiness) will replace

the TAKS test starting in the

2011-2012 school year. STAAR is

more rigorous and will test a child’s

knowledge more in depth than

before. STAAR will also measure

academic growth and improvement.

The Classroom Effectiveness Index

(CEI) is a way to see if specific

teachers are effective. The CEI is

also based on test scores, but it

compares the students in a

teacher’s classroom to similar

students in the district to see how

much progress the students made

with that specific teacher.

What makes an excellent teache

Teachers who have higher levels

intelligence, subject knowledge,

teaching skills have students who

perform better. Also, teachers whave higher verbal ability are

associated with higher student

learning. This means that teache

who are better at communicatin

tend to have students who do be

on standard exams.

The “best and the brightest” sho

be encouraged to consider

teaching, so teacher salaries mube competitive and should be ba

on performance not necessarily

education and experience.

Teachers must be better prepare

with a thorough understanding o

the subject matter they are

expected to teach students.

Teach for America is a programbrings in accomplished and

qualified young college graduat

to teach in low income commun

Their goal is to close the

achievement gap. The program

been shown to make a differenc

many communities.



There are many debates in the

country about reducing class size.

Reducing class size is an expensive

change because it requires hiring

more teachers, and some say that

spending money on training morequality teachers would be the best

nvestment. Others argue that

smaller class size is the key to

educational success.

Part 3: How Are the SchoolsDoing?

Nationally, most parents seem to

think the schools their children

attend are good schools.

According to the 2004 Gallup poll

most American parents (70%) think

schools in their community should

be graded an A or B. When asked

about the broader community

about 50% still said the schools

should be graded an A or B. But

when asked about the public school

system as a whole only 25% gave

the system high marks.

n DISD, graduation and

attendance rates have been below

the standard for three years in a

row, and DISD has had a dropout

rate more than two times higher

than the state of Texas.

Dallas ISD retained a higher

dropout rate (19%) and a higher

percentage of Academically

Unacceptable schools (7%) than

the five other major Texas school

districts (Houston ISD, Fort WorthISD, Austin ISD, Northside ISD,

and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD).

To look at the statistics and

numbers about how a specific

school is doing, “school

scorecards” are provided by DISD.

These scorecards use data that has

been collected by the Evaluationand Accountability Division of

DISD, who is responsible for

collecting the test scores and other

information about school

campuses, attendance, teachers,

and administrators.

The Evaluation and Accountability

Division takes this information and

creates reports on programs,schools, students, Adequate Yearly

Progress (AYP) and other divisions

of our public schools.

All of these resources and reports

are available online (see the

“further information” section at the

end of this booklet).

Schools are responsible for usin

this data to see where they need

improve their school.

How to read a scorecard

Refer to the insert and see the

sample scorecard from the West

Dallas high school, Pinkston.

On the first page, the student

enrollment and demographics

section will show you how many

students go to the school. It will

also show you the percentage o

students from minority groups an

the percentage of students with

limited English skills.

On the second page, the

percentages of students and the

green and red arrows between

them show improvement (GREEN

or declines (RED) as compared

the year before.

There are also percentages in th

darker gray boxes that are the

goals for the schools. There is

information on student test score

parent satisfaction, student

attendance, and more.



For Elementary schools, there is

information about whether or not a

student is “on track” for middle

school—this means that the school

determines how many of the

students are ready to start middle

school after leaving the elementary

school. For middle schools, there is

information about high school

readiness. And for high schools,

there is also information about

college readiness and the SAT.

It is important for parents to know

how to access and understandthese scorecards. Knowing how

their child’s school is doing can let

them know what areas to work for

improvement in that school.

One essential way that parents can

become closely involved in

working on their school’s

improvement is in the Parent-

Teacher Association (PTA). The PTAis a formal organization that

supports the school and teachers

and organizes parental and family

involvement in school events.

There is a National PTA that every

member in a local PTA

automatically becomes a member

of when they join.

The National PTA has developed

standards to encourage parent

involvement in their children’s

education:

• Regular, two-way, meaningfulcommunication between home

and school,

• Promotion and support of

parenting skills,

• Active parent participation in

student learning,

• Parents as welcome volunteer

partners in schools,

• Parents as full partners in school

decisions that affect children and

families, and

• Outreach to the community for

resources to strengthen schools.

Part 4: How Are theStudents Doing?

Report Cards

Report cards in DISD are issued in

October, November, January,

February, April, and May. These

reports are great ways for parents

to monitor their child’s progress

report card usually includes gra

or test scores along with teache

comments about the child’s

performance. It is very importan

for the parents to review their

child’s report card with him or h

This way, they can talk about

subjects that the child needs to

improve on and decisions can b

made about changes in study

habits or routines necessary for

improvement.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

In DISD, conferences are held tw

times per year: once in the fall a

once in the spring. The conferen

provide a time for the parent to

meet with their child’s teacher a

go over the child’s progress,

accomplishments, needs, concer

and to make plans for the child’

education.

DISD emphasizes the importanc

of parent/teacher conferences

because parental involvement is

important in a student’s

educational life. Also, the allian

of a teacher and a parent

strengthens the education receiv

by the child.



ven if a child has good grades, it

s important to make the most of

he parent/teacher conference

ecause there are other important

arts of a child’s education to

iscuss, like social, emotional, and

ehavioral development. A

arent/teacher conference can be

cheduled at any point during the

ear if there are any concerns.

Conferences can even occur over

he phone and through email.

Communication with a teacher

hould be open and comfortable.

o prepare for a conference with

he teacher, a parent should make

list of questions and other

oncerns he or she has about their

hild that the parent would like to

iscuss. And of course, being on

me is extremely important.

Testing

Testing is central to tracking

student progress in public schools.

In Texas, the TAKS test was given

in past years. Now, the STAAR testis replacing the TAKS test. This test

is a longer, more extensive, and

more difficult test to examine a

child’s knowledge and academic

skills.

Parents should review their child’s

test scores and ask about their

child’s test scores in their parent/

teacher conference.

How a child does on these

standardized tests determines

whether or not the child is ready

to move onto later grades.

Parental intervention in a child’s

education can make the difference

between later educational success

and dropping out.

How a child

on standard

tests determ

whether or no

child is read

move onto

gra



Look more at the sample

school scorecard provided.

Identify areas that need

improvement in the school.

Discuss ways that you could

work to help make thesechanges.

Look up the scorecards of

other schools in DISD

(http://www.dallasisd.org/

scorecards/scorecards.cfm?

SchoolType=hs ) and

compare. Post your

discussion and reflections on

DallasFACET.org.

Get into pairs and act out a

parent/teacher conference.

Situation: Your child is

struggling with the material

and you don’t know how to

help.

post your good ideas on

DallasFACET.org

For further information see:

Data and reports from the Evaluation and Accountability division of

DISD: http://www.dallasisd.org/eval/index.htm

Teach for America: www.teachforamerica.org

DISD parents, a lot of important information and questions answered:

http://www.dallasisd.org/parents/

1. Go to www.DallasFACET.org & create a New Account2. Take action on current Action Alerts3. Join an Action Group & take part in the online conversation on your groups blog4. Invite friends to join.

Ste s to Take Action”Our lives begin to end

the day we become silentabout things that matter.”

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr

SPECIAL THANKS for the research and development of materials toAnn Drumm, Melva Franklin, Maria Rojas Fernandez, Leslie Johnson,

Shree Moffett, and Cameron Vickrey.

Work product of Dallas Faith Communities Coalition. Permission required for reproduction.

DFCC2011





http://www.teachforamerica.org/

http://www.teachforamerica.org/

http://www.dallasisd.org/eval/index.htm

http://www.dallasisd.org/eval/index.htm

http://www.dallasisd.org/scorecards/scorecards.cfm?SchoolType=hs








Metrics

Scorecard Metric Value 65%

Metrics


L.G. PINKSTON HIGH SCHOOL

SCORECARD 2009-2010

Overview

Lew Blackburn, District 5Board of Trustees

2009-2010 Principal

Superintendent'sLearning Community

9-12Grade Levels

SchoolLocation

2200 Dennison St | Dallas, TX 75212 | (972) 502-2700 | Fax (972) 502-2701 | http://www.dallasisd.org/scorecards

Student participants in Academic Success Programoffered more than $6 million in scholarships; $275,000awarded in athletic scholarships; Tennis team, 2008varsity district champions; boys golf, 2009 varsitychampions; 2009 UIL One Act Play District II–4A Zoneadvancing play; grand prize winner, 2009 Dallas AreaRapid Transit art contest; Art of Architecture CitationAward; Inventive Thinking Award; Collaboration Awardand Productivity Award; La Voz del Anciano PublicService Recognition Award; Outstanding Coach, TexasAssociation of Coaches; Rotary Club of Dallas

Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award semifinalist

Pinkston uses Saturday school, Supplemental EducationServices, individual tutoring before and after school, andcredit recovery as avenues for students to receiveadditional support.

LULAC, NAACP, Parkland Hospital Outreach Program,Friendship-West Baptist Church, La Voz del Anciano,Mercy Street, Everlast Productions, L.G. Pinkston HighSchool Alumni Association, Dallas Park and RecreationCenter, Dallas Housing Authority, Museum of Nature

and Science, Hobby Lobby, Big Lots, Odom’s, YoungLife, Jostens, Anthem, Smart Circle, VestigeInternational, the Parent Bridge Staff, the Anthem Staff,El Centro West, University of North Texas Go Center Staff, KKDA 104.5, and KBFB 97.9

AVID, Chocolate Club with La Voz del Anciano (TheVoices of the Elderly) service-learning project, athletics,Army JROTC, cheerleaders, drill team, band, journalism/yearbook, National Honor Society, AZTECAClub

Feeder schools

Student, School andFaculty awards

After-school / Before-school programs

External partnerships

Extracurricular activities

Norma Villegas

Enrollment

L.G. Pinkston High School began the 2009-2010 school year with a central theme, "Creating pathways for the futurethrough rigor, relevance and relationships." The school

introduced many programs designed to enhance studentlearning and improve student achievement such as FlexTime: 100 points for all, Academic Boot Camp, and PrincetonReview.

During the year, the school's faculty participated inProfessional Learning Community Sessions to review currentresearch in specific content areas and worked together intheir common planning sessions to assess studentperformance and suggest appropriate interventions.

L.G. Pinkston High School is becoming a community schoolwhere students learn through a rigorous and relevantcurriculum that leads to college and workplace success andbuilds relationships that will last a lifetime.

Elementary Schools

Middle SchoolsThomas A. Edison, Raúl Quintanilla Sr.

N/A

High Schools

Accountability RatingAcademically Acceptable

Metrics

Scorecard Metric Value 1,136

Student Enrollment / Demographics

MetricsScorecard Metric Value 19%Metrics

Scorecard Metric Value 79%Metrics


Limited English Proficient students

Students eligible for free/reduced lunch

Special education students

Metrics

Scorecard Metric Value 33%African American

Metrics

Scorecard Metric Value 1%Other

Hispanic

White

Gabe P. Allen Charter, Arcadia Park, C.F. Carr,Lorenzo DeZavala, Stevens Park, George W. Carver,Amelia Earhart, Eladio R. Martinez, Sequoyah, SidneyLanier Expressive Arts Vanguard

SLN: 012



Impact: Volume 3

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