6 Feb 2006
Rigorous curriculum and improved student performance are among her goals
DALLAS— Denise Collier has been named the new deputy superintendent of Instructional Services for the Dallas Independent School District.
Collier, who came to the DISD in 2005 as associate superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, replaces Lorenzo Garcia, who left the district to become superintendent of the El Paso Independent School District.
Collier said she is "grateful and honored to serve the students of the Dallas ISD" in her new position. "With the assistance of the district's principals, teachers, and instructional support staff, the Instructional Services support team will continue the work of improving the district's curriculum and instructional programs," she said.
Since her arrival at the DISD, Collier has been a key figure in the development of rigorous student performance standards for the next five years and in developing a plan to implement the recommendations of the National Center for Educational Accountability audit.
"The district is undergoing significant changes in how the curriculum is taught in the schools, and Denise Collier is the perfect person to lead this transition," Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. "She has a lot of experience in curriculum implementation and alignment and has been doing a fabulous job already for the DISD with her work in the National Center for Educational Accountability audit and the Curriculum Advisory Council."
Collier will continue to lead the recently established Curriculum Advisory Council, which currently is developing a detailed analysis of the curriculum to help teachers and school administrators know what skills and knowledge students are expected to know at each grade level and on each subject from kindergarten through 12th grade.
"To support meeting the Board of Trustees' student performance targets, implementation of the curriculum audit recommendations will be the No. 1 priority of the Instructional Services Division," she said.
Before coming to the DISD, Collier was executive director of curriculum at the Austin Independent School District, where she led a research-based redesign of all curricular and instructional programs. Collier also served as associate superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at the Bastrop Independent School District and director of curriculum at the Leander Independent School District.
She obtained her Doctor of Education degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and earned a Master's of Education degree from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M–Commerce) in 1984.