Driving Impact Across All Grade Levels

As explored in our recent post, “How Instructional Coaching Can Drive Educational Outcomes,” school systems in Dallas County are taking intentional steps to strengthen instruction and improve outcomes for students at every grade level. A key strategy for reaching this goal is engaging district and campus leaders countywide to align efforts and scale what works.  

While Dallas County saw stronger gains than the state overall, less than half of local students met grade-level standards on the most recent statewide. Given this shift, bringing together instructional leaders— from district and campus professionals to instructional coaches— is more essential than ever.

That’s why Commit is proud to support school leaders across Dallas County as they begin or continue to close opportunity gaps and improve outcomes for all students. From early childhood through high school, we host a series of EC-12 convenings that provide a space for collaboration, learning, and sustained improvement.

EARLY LEARNING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE  

The Early Learning Community of Practice is a collaborative initiative to support early childhood campus and district-based professionals to improve early childhood education outcomes.  

Through a series of convenings, this initiative provides educators from up to 16 school districts and charters with the opportunity to develop a comprehensive early childhood instructional framework. These Communities of Practice offer a dedicated space for district leaders to learn, reflect, and collaborate on strengthening foundational literacy, numeracy, and bilingual instruction for pre-K through third grade students. By centering the voices and expertise of early childhood educators and leaders, this initiative aims to build stronger systems that elevate instructional leadership at every level—and ultimately improve student outcomes across Dallas County.

Want to learn more about the Early Learning Community of Practice? Reach out to Managing Director Amber Shields at amber.shields@commitpartnership.org.

BEST IN SOUTHWEST  

The Best in Southwest Community of Practice is a collaborative initiative supporting four southern school systems—DeSoto ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Lancaster ISD, and Duncanville ISD—in strengthening early literacy outcomes and closing the gap between their results and those of the broader Dallas County region.

Participating districts receive tools and assistance to develop and refine a comprehensive literacy plan focused on increasing literacy proficiency among pre-K through third grade students. The work begins with each district selecting one campus to serve as a Learning Lab Site, receiving year-long, comprehensive early literacy support from Instruction Partners. This includes leadership summits, instructional diagnostics, tailored coaching for campus and district leaders, and short-cycle action plans focused on improving K-2 foundational skills. Local data and assessments such as iReady and MAP are used to track student progress and guide future planning that will foster ongoing improvement. Additionally, teacher leaders will participate in four virtual after-school symposium sessions—two each semester—to build capacity around HQIM implementation and facilitate effective collaborative planning on their campuses. Best in Southwest and their partnerships create an uplifting initiative for Dallas County southern communities to learn and build solutions together and improve early literacy instruction and student outcomes.  

Want to learn more about the Best in Southwest? Reach out to Devron Armstrong at devron.armstrong@commitpartnership.org.  

MATH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

Our Math and English Language Arts Communities of Practice bring together 12 Dallas County school systems to share the best practices and tackle shared challenges in each of the respective secondary subject areas.  

These initiatives provide collaborative space that empower campus professionals to address obstacles, share practices, and strengthen instructional systems in math and English Language Arts— all with the goal of strengthening middle and high school instructional frameworks. These sessions are designed to ensure students across the county have access to high-quality instruction that drives stronger academic outcomes.  

Want to learn more about the Math and/or English Language Arts Community of Practice? Reach out to Director of Academic Readiness, Jeremy Yager at jeremy.yager@commitpartnership.org

TEXAS SUCCESS INITIATIVE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

The Texas Success Initiative Communities of Practice is a collaborative initiative to support college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) district leaders and strengthen academic readiness and post-secondary support.  

This initiative brings together up to 13 school systems to collectively problem-solve processes to better support students’ academic preparedness in high school, leading to better preparation for their post-secondary education. CCMR district leaders, along with content curricula coordinators, are encouraged to work together and develop strategies that help more students stay on a path to higher education—with one key approach being leveraging services that ensure students meet the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) criteria in reading and math. With aligned action, the TSI communities of practice helps ensure more students leave high school ready for whichever path they choose.  

Want to learn more about the TSI Community of Practice? Reach out to Travis Hill at travis.hill@commitpartnership.org.

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