10 Sep 2003
Superintendent Says District Will Continue To Focus On Student Achievement As Job One
DALLAS—After receiving preliminary word from the Texas Education Agency about how the Dallas Independent School District's 218 schools are fairing under a new system of grading the nation's public schools, Superintendent Mike Moses on Wednesday said the district remains focused on Job One: improving student achievement.
Under the preliminary information released from TEA, 192 DISD schools were either identified as meeting Adequate Yearly Progress, were not evaluated or status is pending special review, while 26 schools were cited as "needs improvement." The new rating system is the result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The district has an option to appeal the classifications until Oct. 10. Final results will be released by TEA in November.
"Even if all 218 of our schools had received word that they were meeting adequate yearly progress, improving student achievement would remain as Job One in the Dallas Independent School District," Moses said. "That is the good thing about this new system. Even when students and their schools do well, they still are challenged to do even better the next year.
"With the release of this preliminary information from TEA, we have a new measure and new information about how we must continue to strive to make improvements in this district. What we need to do now is focus at all of our schools on ensuring that our schoolchildren are receiving the best education possible."
According to the preliminary information released from TEA on Wednesday, all schools in Texas were assessed as to whether they met Adequate Yearly Progress requirements that were established through the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
In all, the superintendent said that 19 high schools, four middle schools and three elementary schools received word that they "need improvement."
Those schools in the DISD cited as needing improvement include: Bryan Adams, W. H. Adamson, A. Maceo Smith, Moises E. Molina, James Madison, Hillcrest, Thomas Jefferson, Justin F. Kimball, Lincoln, L.G. Pinkston, F. D. Roosevelt, W.W. Samuell, Seagoville, South Oak Cliff, H. Grady Spruce, Sunset, Woodrow Wilson, David W. Carter, North Dallas high schools; O.W. Holmes, J. L. Long, Thomas C. Marsh, Pearl C. Anderson middle schools; L. L. Hotchkiss, Nancy Moseley, and Edward Titche elementary schools.