The Teacher Leadership Council is comprised of at least one teacher representative from each campus. These individuals meet regularly with the Superintendent to discuss and share insight on questions and topics submitted by teachers at each campus. The items of districtwide interest are addressed in the meeting and written responses provided to the teacher representatives for them to take back to their campus. Those same questions are also posted to this Teacher Leadership FAQ and shared in the regular internal e-newsletter "Staff News."
- When the athletic director has been reassigned during an investigation from UIL, who is responsible if more violations are uncovered? What happens to the players?
- Will the custodians receive a raise since they are doing two people work?
- The community is shocked that the UIL has not cracked down on the number of ineligible athletes due to grades. Is there an active UIL investigation of all Duncanville High School athletic departments since the recent investigation & judgment?
- How to make PDCE courses more accessible for teachers? When will the reading curriculum guide for kinder be added? It's been missing since December. Most teachers are creating their lessons.
- Too much testing. Pay. We are told to do XYZ but not how to do it.
- My fifth graders have lost a significant amount of time due to first middle of the year MAP testing, then 3 days lost to Interim testing. Are both tests really necessary?
- Why was the turn around time for the PLC conference reimbursement in San Antonio almost 3 months?
- Now that the district is offering a full day PK-3 program, are there any plans in the near future for new playground equipment to accommodate the needs of our PK students?
- Brandenburg What is the criteria for the "Continued Employment Incentive"?
- How will teacher evaluations be affected when teachers are evaluated with one to two other classes present. These students have no work left for them and teachers cannot get the students’ real name for disciplinary actions.
- How is the district going to be competitive to attract new teachers?
- Why aren’t assistant principals covering classes?
- The district continues to put teachers in an impossible situation. Due to teacher and substitute shortages, we are covering classes daily, with 40 to 60 students in a class. What is being done to prioritize this issue and focus on a solution?
- New PanelWhen will the district stop taking new to district students? We continue to get new students, placed in classes in the second semester, at the 3rd nine weeks, who have no content background or knowledge.
- Will students who purchased the Chromebook insurance and had devices serviced be getting them back this year? My students have not received devices back from months ago.
- Mr. William Groene dedicated 35 years of service to Duncanville High School. May we please ensure that he has a bronze plaque besides the other proud Duncanville Educators of the past? Thank you for your consideration.
- Is Duncanville considering going to a four-day work week?
- How many and what days are to be the make up days for the Ice Storm?
When the athletic director has been reassigned during an investigation from UIL, who is responsible if more violations are uncovered? What happens to the players?
Will the custodians receive a raise since they are doing two people work?
The community is shocked that the UIL has not cracked down on the number of ineligible athletes due to grades. Is there an active UIL investigation of all Duncanville High School athletic departments since the recent investigation & judgment?
How to make PDCE courses more accessible for teachers? When will the reading curriculum guide for kinder be added? It's been missing since December. Most teachers are creating their lessons.
Too much testing. Pay. We are told to do XYZ but not how to do it.
My fifth graders have lost a significant amount of time due to first middle of the year MAP testing, then 3 days lost to Interim testing. Are both tests really necessary?
Why was the turn around time for the PLC conference reimbursement in San Antonio almost 3 months?
Now that the district is offering a full day PK-3 program, are there any plans in the near future for new playground equipment to accommodate the needs of our PK students?
Brandenburg What is the criteria for the "Continued Employment Incentive"?
How will teacher evaluations be affected when teachers are evaluated with one to two other classes present. These students have no work left for them and teachers cannot get the students’ real name for disciplinary actions.
How is the district going to be competitive to attract new teachers?
Why aren’t assistant principals covering classes?
The district continues to put teachers in an impossible situation. Due to teacher and substitute shortages, we are covering classes daily, with 40 to 60 students in a class. What is being done to prioritize this issue and focus on a solution?
New PanelWhen will the district stop taking new to district students? We continue to get new students, placed in classes in the second semester, at the 3rd nine weeks, who have no content background or knowledge.
Will students who purchased the Chromebook insurance and had devices serviced be getting them back this year? My students have not received devices back from months ago.
Mr. William Groene dedicated 35 years of service to Duncanville High School. May we please ensure that he has a bronze plaque besides the other proud Duncanville Educators of the past? Thank you for your consideration.
Is Duncanville considering going to a four-day work week?
How many and what days are to be the make up days for the Ice Storm?
- Can we have some time in our classrooms on our early release days rather than making it a PD day?
- Why are we 1:1 with no technology resources for lower grade levels? for example, we did away with istation but we have nothing to monitor progress throughout the nine weeks.
- -My areas of concern for the district are staff shortages and low morale among staff.
- I am concerned about the lack of resources for teachers, particularly resources in Spanish for bilingual teachers. Valuable resources have been eliminated. I'm concerned about growing class sizes, currently have bilingual classes of 30 students.
- We are over testing our students. We do not need DAs and CAs and Interims and Mock STAAR test. Teachers should maintain their own records and their own data so that they can inform instruction accordingly.
- Can we get the autonomy and trust to calibrate the activities and lessons we have spent years developing? The Curriculum Guide was designed with the intention to be a guide for teachers rather than a BIBLE for teachers.
- We have too many kids per classroom to render effective teaching practices. Bilingual students at our campus are at a rate of 30+ students per classroom. English students are at 28+ per classroom. We are still reeling from learning losses to COVID.
- How can you help our Bilingual programs? Is there a way to provide support to teachers with high amounts of students per class?
- The curriculum guides are not aligned with what we are required to assess our students. The guides are never completed on time for us to prepare for lessons. The use of just a certain resource limits us to student needs.
- We understand that students need to be prepared for STAAR, younger students are not yet ready for abstract concepts, why force them to test on computers? What is the harm in allowing them to have the test in front of them as they take the test?
- Why aren't we doing more about students with low attendance? When will parents be held accountable instead of teachers being charged with the task of doing more work to fill gaps that are a direct result of poor attendance?
- How are teachers supposed to consistently implement initiatives when the individuals who are in charge of things like curriculum keeps changing?
- Every year we have new initiatives, sometimes they last a year or more. When more than one initiative is being pushed, have we considered phasing out initiatives to a few campuses to see the results before it is pushed to the whole district?el
- Can we stick to one lesson template for at least a few years. In the past 5 years we have had 4 different lesson plan templates. Keeping the same template will give teachers more time to focus on improving or changing activities from the previous years.
- DHS Student - Why do we have to take tests in classes where we didn't have teachers in, to properly learn the material on the test.
- I purchased insurance for my daughter's ipad. I thought she would bring it home. I was told today by her school that most elementary schools in the district will keep the ipads at school. If I am paying insurance, shouldn't the device come home?
- Is Dr. Smith aware that there is a lack of consistency in the district? Teachers are told several different things each day/week which causes for a lot of inconsistency in our instruction.
- Is the district looking into paying teachers that have to cover classes for consecutive days? For example, if a class isn’t picked up by a sub and the class must be split.
- My question is why are we having virtual teachers instead of in person teachers? I feel like virtual learning isn't efficient enough for us students, as a student, I feel that we should have in person learning where we can communicate effectively.
- Because of the over testing in CORE classes, CA, DA, and many others, many students are no longer putting forth any effort on these tests and are making grades of 14, 21, etc. How can the data we are required to compile be anywhere near accurate?
- Is there a plan for another district wide hiring event to try and fill teacher vacancies? If not, what is the district doing to try to address the situation?
- We are being told that we are spending too much time on topics. However, we are following the pacing guide from the district. Who should we speak with for further clarity?
Can we have some time in our classrooms on our early release days rather than making it a PD day?
Why are we 1:1 with no technology resources for lower grade levels? for example, we did away with istation but we have nothing to monitor progress throughout the nine weeks.
-My areas of concern for the district are staff shortages and low morale among staff.
I am concerned about the lack of resources for teachers, particularly resources in Spanish for bilingual teachers. Valuable resources have been eliminated. I'm concerned about growing class sizes, currently have bilingual classes of 30 students.
We are over testing our students. We do not need DAs and CAs and Interims and Mock STAAR test. Teachers should maintain their own records and their own data so that they can inform instruction accordingly.
Can we get the autonomy and trust to calibrate the activities and lessons we have spent years developing? The Curriculum Guide was designed with the intention to be a guide for teachers rather than a BIBLE for teachers.
We have too many kids per classroom to render effective teaching practices. Bilingual students at our campus are at a rate of 30+ students per classroom. English students are at 28+ per classroom. We are still reeling from learning losses to COVID.
How can you help our Bilingual programs? Is there a way to provide support to teachers with high amounts of students per class?
The curriculum guides are not aligned with what we are required to assess our students. The guides are never completed on time for us to prepare for lessons. The use of just a certain resource limits us to student needs.
We understand that students need to be prepared for STAAR, younger students are not yet ready for abstract concepts, why force them to test on computers? What is the harm in allowing them to have the test in front of them as they take the test?
Why aren't we doing more about students with low attendance? When will parents be held accountable instead of teachers being charged with the task of doing more work to fill gaps that are a direct result of poor attendance?
How are teachers supposed to consistently implement initiatives when the individuals who are in charge of things like curriculum keeps changing?
Every year we have new initiatives, sometimes they last a year or more. When more than one initiative is being pushed, have we considered phasing out initiatives to a few campuses to see the results before it is pushed to the whole district?el
Can we stick to one lesson template for at least a few years. In the past 5 years we have had 4 different lesson plan templates. Keeping the same template will give teachers more time to focus on improving or changing activities from the previous years.
DHS Student - Why do we have to take tests in classes where we didn't have teachers in, to properly learn the material on the test.
I purchased insurance for my daughter's ipad. I thought she would bring it home. I was told today by her school that most elementary schools in the district will keep the ipads at school. If I am paying insurance, shouldn't the device come home?
Is Dr. Smith aware that there is a lack of consistency in the district? Teachers are told several different things each day/week which causes for a lot of inconsistency in our instruction.
Is the district looking into paying teachers that have to cover classes for consecutive days? For example, if a class isn’t picked up by a sub and the class must be split.
My question is why are we having virtual teachers instead of in person teachers? I feel like virtual learning isn't efficient enough for us students, as a student, I feel that we should have in person learning where we can communicate effectively.
Because of the over testing in CORE classes, CA, DA, and many others, many students are no longer putting forth any effort on these tests and are making grades of 14, 21, etc. How can the data we are required to compile be anywhere near accurate?
Is there a plan for another district wide hiring event to try and fill teacher vacancies? If not, what is the district doing to try to address the situation?
We are being told that we are spending too much time on topics. However, we are following the pacing guide from the district. Who should we speak with for further clarity?
Q: We had a training provided by the Dyslexia therapists and specialist. It was great information but, one slide was particularly disappointing. It showed that 10-20% of a school population is usually Dyslexic. Our district, which has 11,000 students (according to the presentation), only has around 300 students identified as Dyslexic. They also expressed the concern of lack of identification. The experience when referring students to get tested has been the following:
- I’ve been asked why I’m referring so many students.
- Not all students that were referred were tested.
-I was asked to not refer any more students due to lack of personnel.
-Parent denial
I understand the need of the proper staff to have this completed but, we know how many students are in our district, as well as an estimate of how many students should be identified. Why not use this data to plan ahead and hire/contract the proper amount of personnel needed to identify our students?
As for parent denial, why not have workshops conducted by the Parent Liaison where they are educated on what it means to get their child tested and qualifying for services. A lot of parents believe that SpEd/Dyslexia services are like the past, where students were segregated in a classroom and treated differently. They also don't want their child to be "labeled" because of past experiences.
These are students that, if by the end of 3rd grade they’re not reading on grade level, they’re 4 times more likely to not graduate. This should give us more sense of urgency to identify them as soon as possible. I know there are dyslexia screeners conducted in kinder and 1st grade, but what about those students that’s weren’t identified, that came from other districts, that are in older grade levels and weren’t part of those screeners? We can’t fail them. And as the statistics show, we have not even identified 10% of our population.
Our Child Find obligations require us to actively find and serve students with disabilities. We are always looking to improve our processes and practices in Duncanville ISD. With that, we are rolling out a new special education referral process districtwide on December 13th to go into effect in January 2023. This new process will allow stakeholders (administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, etc) to be a part of the decision making process regarding next steps to getting students the support and services they require to be successful in school.
State law in Texas changed in February 2022, requiring all dyslexia evaluations to be initiated through special education. Previously, many of the evaluations were initiated through 504. Because of this change, districts across the state are walking into uncharted territories and therefore, we don’t have any previous data to guide our staffing decisions. Moving forward, we will continue to monitor the number of special education (dyslexia) referrals and evaluations to better guide our staffing needs.
In addition to the above improvements, we implemented an MTSS program across the district. With MTSS, we are prioritizing the needs of all students through intervention, remediation, and extension. Our hope is that not only will we be addressing student needs, we will also be able to increase the number of students identified with dyslexia, and the rate of doing so, because we are actively monitoring how students are responding to provided interventions. In addition to our MTSS process, we are working to increase our dyslexia identification rate this school year by:
Training all principals and district leadership on the characteristics of dyslexia (completed)
Training all campus staff districtwide on the characteristics of dyslexia (completed)
Kinder/1st grade dyslexia screening (Spring 2023)
Kinder/1st grade teacher training (January 2023)
Parent Program - (in development)
We are always looking for ways to better support our dyslexia program and increase the number of students we serve. If you have any additional questions or feedback to provide, we welcome you to reach out to Samantha Sneed-Echebelem, PhD - Director of Intervention Services.
- Can same grade levels across different campuses meet to share effective ideas? This can bring about collaboration within the district.
- Teachers are currently being marked down on evaluations for students who have their heads down on their desk during class, after the teacher has re-directed the student numerous times, in front of the administrator.
- In the District’s attempt to be proactive regarding higher scores on this year’s STAAR Test, you are effectively burning out many teachers. What is the District willing to do to lessen the burden on these teachers?
- Why is the district not hiring more administrators that are more representative of the student population. Currently, the Latino/Hispanic population is the highest percentage in the district; but looking at campus' Administrators, that's not reflective.
- Is the new raise for those employees that have been in the district for 15 plus years going to be a separate check or will it be dispersed over each monthly paycheck?
- Why is the district not releasing the pay scale for staff prior to signing contracts? Why does the district believe it's ok to sign a contract not knowing a salary? Do employees at Central Office sign a contract not knowing their salary first?
- What is considered the mid-range salary for teachers? The pay scale only lists up to year 20. Why does the district only list up to 20 years? Is 10 years considered mid-range point for the 6.6% raise or 15 years since 30 retirement age?
- What is the district doing to step-up the security at each campus in lieu of the recent events in Uvalde? Why is there not an assigned resource officer on each campus?
- Will the district be purchasing the Fitnessgram software to assist with the required TEA State mandated fitness testing? The district has had the software in the past, why was the license not renewed and allowed to lapse the past several years?
- Some of our classes have exceeded the recommended class size. Students weren't moved because the desire was not to interrupt the learning, but the learning is already disrupted. 29 students in one elementary class is not beneficial to anyone.
- Since we know k-2 are foundational grades levels, why aren't more resources put into strengthening the instruction in those grades? If students are given a strong foundation, wouldn't that help prevent reactive teaching in the upper grades?
- Have we considered that instead of having content conversations, allow successful schools to meet with lower rated schools and collaborate on what is happening in their schools?
- What will take the place of Istation? When will the replacement program be available? When will training for the program start?
- There is supposed to be a longevity bonus paid to those employees who have 15 years with the District. Does all 15 have to be in Duncanville? And, how is that bonus to be paid? All at once or spread out over the year?
- What is being done to retain quality teachers? There is a push to increase the pay in order to bring teachers into the profession where is the same push to keep teachers.
- When our website moved to the current platform, Teachers lost the ability to create an informational website of their own. Will we ever get that capability back or is it gone forever?
- Why did they eliminate Achieve 3000 when the data showed a marked increase in student reading Lexiles for students that used it?
- New Panel