Under new leadership, DeSoto ISD works to put controversy in past: "Give us another chance"
DeSOTO – Orchestrating a "Do Over" in DeSoto.
Four years after a state takeover, revolving door leadership, and near-constant controversy, the southern sector district is working to convince families that abandoned their local schools to give them another chance. That includes families like Brittney Washington's.
"It's horrible," said Washington, when asked about her impression of the district. "It's terrible."
Washington lives within DeSoto school boundaries but opted for charter schools for her son M.J. and his older sister.
"You know, we're looking at the ratings … looking at 'are we going to have to go run from the school just because there's guns?" Washington said. "You know, it's scary."
Valid or not, perceptions have power. So DeSoto's current school leaders are working to convince families that left to give them another chance. And they're leading with an apology.
"We are a different DeSoto," Superintendent Usamah Rodgers said. "I think acknowledging that there were challenges, owning that there were challenges, and then also listening to the things that the community wanted and desired. I do think that's made a big difference and more importantly, that I see actions as a result of it."
Rodgers says earlier this year, the district took a hard look at how many families had left — and why. Then they began working to address those concerns.
"We surveyed our families in the community and they were pretty clear," Rodgers said. "They wanted Amber Terrace. We delivered and opened our early learning center. And so this will be the second year that we have our pre-K three and four-year-old campus open."
DeSoto parents also asked for advanced academics for students in earlier grades, and Rodgers says the district delivered.
"This year, we're excited to bring Ruby Young Talented and Gifted Academy online," Rodgers said. "And so I think I'm really excited that we were able to build on the legacy… of academics, arts, and athletics." But there's more: "To say that we hear you and we are being responsive again."
Now, the superintendent and her team are taking that message to the streets — literally. As part of an effort, they're calling "Welcome Home," school staffers have been walking neighborhoods and visiting apartment complexes to meet families and share specifics of the district's turnaround plan.
"The number one thing to increase academics is having a highly qualified teacher in front of every student," Rodgers said. "And so we have worked really hard to ensure that our teachers are receiving high-quality professional development and instructional materials that they need. Also thinking about their mental health and wellness. So, we've added some incentives for our staff along with that."
DeSoto has added two mental health days to teacher benefits as well as an overall wellness program.
"So taking care of the people who take care of our students is something that we're really working hard to do because we know that having a great teacher is the biggest factor in increasing student achievement," she said.
Like most districts, Rodgers says funding remains a challenge with no increase in the state student allotment since 2019.
"That's probably the biggest thing, figuring out how do we continue to provide those things for students when we no longer have those funds that supplement it," she said.
For now, she says there's momentum going into the new year, a more tangible sense of camaraderie, and an ongoing focus on reaching families like the Washingtons. And by the way, Washington says she's rooting for her home district's success.
"I do because it'll be closer for me," Washington said. "They can ride the bus. That'll be a lot off of me. But…"
For now, she says she's going to wait for more signs that the turnaround isn't temporary.
Meanwhile, school leaders will keep plugging away -- at making the present bigger than the district's past.
"We're not held captive to who we were," Rodgers said, "but that people see us as the district that we are today."
DeSoto's first day of school is Monday.