Dallas ISD Bond Program (January 2002)
Dallas area citizens overwhelmingly (63+%) approved a record $1.366 billion Dallas ISD Bond Program. The bonds were approved to:
- Construct 20 new schools (one high school, three middle schools and 16 elementary schools)
- Construct 36 additions to existing schools to relieve overcrowding
- Provide critical renovations and upgrading at many facilities targeting health and safety, ADA, etc.
- Reconfigure science labs, remodeling or expanding library facilities and developing and improving technology infrastructure
- Construct multi-disciplinary athletic facility
- Build a preparation kitchen facility to support schools
- Provide for new classrooms for early childhood education available at every elementary school
- Provide critical needs and contingency funds
For the past three years, the Foundation for Community Empowerment has been convening members of the Dallas community to support the educational efforts of Dallas ISD in a major way.
Dallas Kids - Early Childhood Reading Initiative (April 2002 - Present)
Reams of research document the fact that children whose caregivers do not read to them and engage them in play that teaches basic concepts such as colors, numbers and shapes are behind when they enter kindergarten – and that they very seldom catch up. Put another way, college prep begins at birth.
More than 12 years ago, Texas Instruments underwrote the development of the Language Enrichment Activities Program (LEAP), a scientifically-based, language-rich curriculum for preschoolers at the Head Start center that feeds into Frazier Elementary School, then the lowest-performing in Dallas. The impact was dramatic; before LEAP was in place, children from the center scored in the bottom third of preschoolers nationwide on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills; once the center adopted LEAP, its children fared at least twice as well. FCE engaged a dozen sponsors that paid to replicate the curriculum in other Head Start centers, Dallas ISD’s pre-school classrooms and a consortium of private, licensed preschool programs throughout the city. In 2006, two-thirds of the 19,000 low-income preschoolers within Dallas ISD’s boundaries were taught using LEAP.
Investments to date, including a $500,000 special appropriation from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, grant support from FCE, TI Foundation, the Meadows Foundation, and others, are over $2.5 million.
Principal Empowerment (January 2005 – Present)
Dallas Achieves began on the campuses of 26 South Dallas and West Dallas schools: Madison, Lincoln and Pinkston High Schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed into them. This effort started with data comparing the target schools to others with similar student populations and with the highest performing schools across the state. Research into how those top schools succeed shows that the principal – his or her skill as an instructional leader, plus the leeway he or she is given to chart the school’s course – is hands-down the No. 1 factor. So Dallas Achieves gives principals intensive training in spotting teachers who need help and coaching them to become more effective. Mentors recruited from the corporate world also advise principals on leadership and management skills. Starting in the 2006-2007 school year, Dallas ISD will extend the program district-wide.
Investments to date, including support from TI Foundation, FCE, the National Center for Education Accountability (NCEA), and others, are over $1.3 million.
Central Administration and the Formation of the Dallas Achieves Commission (January – March 2006)
A diverse panel of more than 60 leaders was appointed to the Dallas Achieves Commission to begin the necessary transformation to increase academic achievement within Dallas ISD. A team led by FCE and supported by the Boston Consulting Group and others, conducted an analysis of Dallas ISD’s central and administrative operations and researched the practices of some of the top urban districts around the country. That analysis helped the commission form a set of recommendation that, once fully implemented, should save the district $14 – 20 million annually. At their board meeting in April, the Dallas ISD Trustees unanimously accepted all of the commission’s recommendations. Work is currently underway with the senior staff of Dallas ISD to start the implementation.
Investments to date, including pro bono support for this effort from The Boston Consulting Group, FCE, and others, are over $500,000.