By Catie George, Director, Communications & Storytelling
One week after the Dallas Regional Chamber’s (DRC) annual State of Public Education event, Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), joined the DRC to discuss local education challenges and opportunities at the Q3 Tomorrow Fund Investor Breakfast, presented by Santander and McCownGordon Construction, Wednesday, Sept. 25. Read the takeaways below.
The importance of partnerships and community support
Dr. Elizalde emphasized that students are also future employees, and the business community has a vested interest in their education.
“We educate 140,000 future employees that we want to serve and work with you. It’s more than just 140,000 students,” said Dr. Elizalde. “It’s 140,000 employees and their families because some of their families can become part of your companies, too.”
To prepare the next generation of the workforce properly, schools need support from the business community.
“This work is very hard, and we cannot do it without help. And we would be foolish to think that this is something we could do by ourselves,” said Dr. Elizalde. “Your input into aligning curriculum has played an enormous role in us being able to expand our internships and placement of kiddos who now become your workforce.”
Schools need high-quality instructional materials
Children in schools need exposure to a range of high-rigor materials across subject areas to excel in standardized testing. For instance, if a child has never heard of cricket but is tested on a reading passage about a cricket game, their scores will be negatively impacted regardless of their reading skill.
“We have selected a curriculum that allows our kids to be exposed to more and more while we’re teaching,” Dr. Elizalde said, to help students bridge exposure and opportunity gaps. “Those are the things that help us with the assessment. That said, in the first year, you always get an implementation dip because everyone’s learning the curriculum. I’m sure it’s true in most industries: if you put out a new technique or a new process, does it work right away, or does it take some time? This year, I feel very confident we’re going to see some huge increases in reading and math.”
While this implementation dip was expected, Dr. Elizalde clarified that students are still on the right track, even if they still have room to grow.
“I can’t ask people to support something and not share where we are. We cannot be afraid of telling folks where we’re stumbling. Otherwise, how do we ask for help?” said Dr. Elizalde. “Are we on the right track? Absolutely. Do we need help? Absolutely.”
Dallas ISD students are positioned to succeed
Dr. Elizalde concluded the discussion by sharing encouraging progress.
“We have never been positioned in a better spot than we are now. The future is absolutely bright with everyone’s help. And the indication is that for the first time in 10 years, we have had an increase in enrollment in Dallas ISD schools,” she said.
Students are also being positioned for post-graduation success with credentialing.
“We still produce more students in the country with a completed associate’s degree,” said Dr. Elizalde. “Almost 5,000 students in the last five years can go straight into a four-year university and only have to do two more years or go into the workforce.”
Awards
Also at the Q3 Tomorrow Fund Investor Breakfast, three companies and one organization were recognized with the Building Tomorrow Together Award. This award is for companies or organizations that have a positive impact on our region.
“We appreciate the decision made by each of your companies to locate and grow in our region,” said DRC Senior Vice President of Economic Development Mike Rosa. “We’ll work hard to fulfill the promise that DFW will continue to be a great place for you and your teams as you build here, and we’ll certainly be ready to support future expansions and additional steps.”
The Building Tomorrow Together Award Recipients were Verily, SteriTek, Foot Locker, and For Oak Cliff.
To learn how to become a Tomorrow Fund investor, email memberinfo@dallaschamber.org.