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Dallas SD 2 presents annual integrated-plan report, highlights literacy work and data cleanups
Summary
Director of teaching and learning Nick Ingalls told the Dallas SD 2 board that K–3 literacy training and MTSS efforts are under way, graduation-rate measures have been affected by PowerSchool data cleanups, and the district still needs to design extended-learning supports required by the early literacy grant.
Nick Ingalls, the district’s director of teaching and learning, presented Dallas SD 2’s annual integrated-plans report, saying the district is focusing on four outcomes: K–3 literacy, on-time high-school graduation, increased academic achievement and social-emotional learning.
"All of our elementary staff have now been trained in constructing meaning," Ingalls said, describing recent professional development and an intensive two-year literacy training pathway for some staff. He said the district has emphasized tier 1 instructional practices through MTSS (multi-tier systems of support) and that the aim is to ‘‘know all of our students by name, strength and need.’’
The presentation highlighted early successes but also flagged two constraints. First, a new requirement tied to the early literacy grant calls for some form of extended learning outside the regular school day; Ingalls said the district has not yet implemented a consistent model for after-school or summer supports. "That's one place that we still need to figure out how we're gonna support kids after the school day," he said.
Second, Ingalls said reported graduation measures have been affected by data-cleanup work tied to PowerSchool. "We've had some issues in the past with some of our graduation-rate tracking not being sent to ODE correctly," he said, adding that internal corrections have moved rates substantially and that some internal numbers cannot be shared publicly until October.
Board members pressed for detail on which student cohorts will reflect the benefits of recent instruction training. A board member asked whether this year’s kindergartners or last year’s would be tracked; Ingalls responded that this year’s kindergarten cohort will be the first to show the full benefit of the districtwide phonics training.
The presentation also noted a staffing decline that district staff said has made implementation more challenging; speakers cited reductions in recent years (estimates ranged from about 60 to 75 fewer staff). The district plans to align integrated-plan goals with its strategic plan and with ODE’s longitudinal performance-growth targets, although Ingalls warned that targets set in 2022–23 may change under new state accountability rules.
The board did not take formal action on the integrated-plan report at the meeting. The district said it will share more public data in October and continue developing an extended-learning approach to meet grant requirements.
