DISD Working On Remake For Lowest Performers
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When Students arrive at Annie Blanton Elementary School in two weeks, they'll see more than a new principal.
"The mascot is new. We have new uniforms. We want to change the culture," principal Laura Garza explained during a tour of the school.
The school sits in the middle of a working poor Southeast Dallas neighborhood. More than half of all students have English as their first language. Only 30 percent of the student population has met state standards on Texas student assessment exams.
After five years of struggle, the Dallas Independent School District moved all teachers from Blanton, and hired Garza to recruit a new team of distinguished teachers, offer them enhanced salaries, while requiring them to work longer hours and produce better results from students.
Dallas ISD calls the plan ACE, Accelerating Campus Excellence. Seven schools will become ACE campuses, hiring principals like Garza to chart a new course of achievement. "We want to change the history that they've been living with, make a difference in their lives," Garza said.
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