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DISD

Election Packet (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



DallasKidsFirst Voter Packet District 9 | South and Central Dallas | May 12, 2012 Elections Who is DKF? DallasKidsFirst (DKF) exists to increase citizen engagement by providing voters with actionable information about public school governance. DKF believes that district-wide transformation requires Trustees who will honestly assess Dallas ISDs challenges and aggressively move from status quo thinking to student-based decisions. Following years of low voter turnout and cancelled elections, DKF wants to engage every Dallas ISD stakeholder by shining an intense light on school board activity, clearly outlining candidates strengths/weaknesses and distilling complex issues into actionable scorecards. Whats a Candidate Scorecard? DKF has given each candidate a score from A (very strong) to F (very weak) based on (i) school board voting history, if available; (ii) written responses to DKFs Candidate Survey; (iii) in-person interviews with DKFs interview committee; and (iv) demonstrated problem solving success in governance. DKF scores were designed to give voters a recognizable candidate benchmark. Are DKF scores transparent? Hundreds of hours of research and documentation have gone into DKFs scores, and voters can easily understand scores by reviewing the candidate rubric, each candidates positions, and (for incumbents) self-contained voting history source documents posted on www.dallaskidsfirst.org.

Summary

Side-by-Side Scorecard

Candidate Positions

Candidate Surveys


Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Scorecard (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



District 9 Candidate Name Profession Status Survey Completed? Interview Completed? Key Additional Info Experience Awareness Perspective Urgency Candidate Score District in crisis Defining Issues Dallas ISD has seen meaningful improvements but is still primarily defined by challenges. SAT/ACT scores still lag most Texas districts (90%+ not college ready), and Dallas parents are struggling to deal with underperforming middle and high schools. Trustees must honestly assess these challenges and aggressively move from status quo thinking to student-based decisions. State budget challenges have made managing Dallas ISDs $1.5 billion annual operating budget extremely difficult. Trustees must work together instead of casting blame, and focus on balanced, student-based budgeting. Recent departures of key personnel (e.g., superintendent, head of instruction, chief of HR) provide the district with a unique opportunity to accelerate progress, which highlights the importance of electing the best possible Trustees in this critical time for Dallas ISDs future.
Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Location South Dallas and parts of Downtown, Uptown, Pleasant Grove, Deep Ellum and East Dallas Bernadette Nutall Program Organizer Incumbent Yes Yes Voting record A A A A A Very Strong Damarcus Offord Unemployed Challenger No No None F - - - F Very Weak

Voting Date Saturday May 12, 2012

DKF Review Completed March 2012

Budget woes Central staffing

Candidate Scorecard (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



What valuable traits would the candidates bring to the DISD Board of Trustees?

Trait

Experience

Awareness

Perspective

Urgency

Total

Bernadette Nutall Damarcus Offord Description Score Description Score A F Served as a DISD community liaison for eight Has insight from being a recent DISD years, providing first-hand experience of graduate and student leader. communitys perspective. Is the only candidate that refused to Co-founded a summer enrichment program respond to DKF survey (five requests). that has educated hundreds of students. Is the only candidate that refused to Sponsored and passed DISD boards policy shift interview with DKF members (five to performance based staffing (2011). requests). Sponsored and passed the strongest anti- Lacks related professional/career bullying policy in the state of Texas. experience. A F Trustee Nutalls experience as a DISD parent, community liaison and educational coordinator anchor her awareness about the gravity of DISDs challenges. Nutalls ability to sponsor and pass student- based policy confirms that she understands the responsibilities of her role. A F Stood against intense personal criticism, including protesters at her home, when she supported the consolidation of campuses in response to underutilization concerns and severe budget cuts. A F Has sponsored and passed several significant policies during the last three years. Stated clear goals for continued policy-progress should she be re-elected. Trustee Nutalls community focus and leadership A Mr. Offord lacks governance experience, and his F on the DISD school board have resulted in unwillingness to discuss experience and undeniable contributions to DISDs progress. opinions raises significant concerns about his ability to positively affect the board.
Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Rubric (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



What qualities define school board candidates?


Trait Description of Scoring Moderate (C) Some previous successes that demonstrate related problem- solving skills. Fully appreciates policy setting role Generally appreciates dangers of of the Board and is clearly anchored micromanaging and is motivated by by an awareness of Dallas ISDs Dallas ISDs challenges. challenges. Clearly values student achievement Appreciates need to improve above all competing interests and is student achievement, but has not committed to prioritizing committed to data-driven decision- accordingly. making. Strong (A/B) Demonstrated history of problem solving successes in governance. Aggressive about advocating for tangible improvements. Motivated to change status quo but lacks tangible action plan and/or likely will be slowed by politics or negative attention. Weak (D/F) Lacks tangible successes in similar environments. Lacks policy-based goals, will likely micromanage staff and/or does not appreciate Dallas ISDs challenges. Fails to appreciate urgency of need to improve student achievement and relies on unsupported and/or anecdotal evidence in decision- making Lacks tangible action plan and/or promotes status quo through action or inaction.

Experience Awareness

Perspective

Urgency

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Positions (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Overview of Candidate Position Research Two of DKFs primary goals are (1) track and highlight positions of Dallas ISD Trustees and candidates and (2) distill those positions into actionable information for parents and citizens. DKF expects that making sense out of a jargon-filled, emotional and often divisive subject will increase awareness and engagement and positively affect Dallas public school students. Summary of Findings from Candidate Observations Score A B C D F

Summary of Candidate Observations Scale Nutall Offord Very Strong 12 1 Strong Moderate Weak Very Weak 1 0 0 1 A 0 0 0 3 F

Total Score

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Positions (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Candidate Bernadette Nutall Position Description 1 Nutall has extensive experience coordinating DISD constituencies. 2 Nutall was a community liaison at Dallas ISD from 1995 to 2003. Her experience dealing with internal and external constituencies (including about 100 volunteers from many different organizations) around student achievement is valuable. Nutall has a long history of academic Nutall co-founded a comprehensive academic enrichment summer learning enrichment in the community. program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade in 1999, which provides summer educational programs for more than 250 students in math, science, art and reading. Nutall appreciates the challenges facing Survey response: Recognizing that education is not just received in the DISD students and strives to provide classroom, I have and will continue to advocate effective supplemental well-rounded development. programming that helps engage students in and out of the classroom. They face declining neighborhoods, frayed family structures and inadequate or insufficient role models to help instill a sense of purpose in their lives. I actively work with area non-profits and community groups to provide a platform of support to assist the development of children as citizens and as students as well. I am an advocate of not only community development within our city, but also is a supporter of life development for our youth. Nutall supports creative student- Nutall organized the National Take Our Daughters to Work: An Educational focused solutions. Mentoring Program for Minority Young Women in DISD. Nutall also developed innovative DISD programming such as Running for Success, E-Mentoring as well as various educational workshops. Nutall is focused on college-readiness. Nutall has helped high school seniors obtain scholarships from various sources and collaborated with counselors on the coordination of college recruiters, student recruitment and financial aid workshops for students and parents. Nutall is personally invested in DISD. Nutall is a DISD parent and often frames policy issues in terms of her perspective as a parent. DKF Score A A DKF Score A (Very Strong)

5 6

A A

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Positions (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Candidate Bernadette Nutall Position Description Nutall sponsored an amendment to policy that bases staff layoffs on performance instead of seniority (3/24/11). Nutall supported non-renewing teacher contracts on the basis of low performance (8/25/11). Nutall supported including performance as the primary criteria for moving teachers out of the classroom and into the re-assignment pool (9/22/11). Nutall opposed banning forced placement (6/23/11) of staff on DISD campuses. DKF supports staffing flexibility. Survey response: The failure of the district to generate an adequate and ready student population is a responsibility of DISD and the board of trustees. Survey responses: I view success from a district perspective not only by the numbers of those who graduate, but by the quality of the education that he/she receives. This is reflected and measured by their job readiness and post secondary preparedness. Obviously, what we have in place now is not working. New and innovative strategies must be developed and implemented to address this issue. The finish line for DISD is not where the student walks across the stage to receive their diploma, rather it's where students receive validation of their educational accomplishments through gainful employment and post secondary education success rates. Nutall voted for a controversial school closing program, and explained her position to the Dallas Morning News: Idling a school is never the preferred course of action. However, I believe a basic tenet of the civil rights struggle was access to a quality education for African-American children and not a particular facility. Nutall acknowledged that her vote would be controversial and would likely result in personal attacks. Nutalls vote led to personal verbal attacks and six people protesting her home.
Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

DKF Score A (Very Strong) DKF Score A

7 Nutall supports performance-based staffing decisions.

8 Nutall supported forced placement of campus staff. 9 Nutall believes that DISDs leaders are accountable for student performance (or lack of). 10 Nutall is focused on genuine student achievement.

F A A

11 Nutall has the resolve to make difficult, unpopular decisions.

Candidate Positions (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Candidate Bernadette Nutall Position Description Nutall responded to three DISD student suicides by sponsoring the most rigorous anti-bullying policy in the State of Texas that was unanimously approved by the Board (11/18/11). 13 Nutall supports student-based Nutalls policy agenda, if re-elected, includes a goal of prioritizing all DISD budgeting. expenditures around their direct affects on students. 14 Nutall supports a thoughtful integration Nutalls policy agenda, if re-elected, includes a goal of revamping DISDs of curriculum and technology. technology problems by ensuring that technology complements (rather than drives) curriculum. 12 Nutall is focused on providing a safe environment for students. DKF Score A A B DKF Score A (Very Strong)

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Positions (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Candidate Damarcus Offord Position Description Offords recent experience as a DISD student provides unique perspective. DKF contacted Offord numerous times requesting responses to survey questions and/or an interview. He agreed to return the survey, but in spite of five contacts from DKF, never followed up on his commitment to promote an open dialogue about his ability (or inability) to contribute to DISDs progress. Regardless of individual perspectives, DKF believes all Dallas parents and citizens deserve to know what candidates stand for. DKF believes that Offords refusal to openly discuss his candidacy is alarming and gives all voters reasons for concern. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that Offord is 20 years old, was attending Navarro College and was intending to transfer to Mountain View College. Offords lack of experience is alarming given DISDs size and complexity ($1.5B budget, 20k+ staff members, 150k students). Offord has received attention for threatening Trustees at the January 2012 Board meeting, but given that his comments were not explicitly threatening, DKF is more concerned with Offords willingness (or lack of) to advocate for district wide progress. In his public response (Observer 3/22/12), Offord explains his position on school consolidations by challenging the incumbent with, Who votes to close down 5 schools in their own district? Yet he has not publicly provided an alternative solution to the problematic reality of a state-driven budget shortfall. Several press reports indicated that schools had to be closed (cite 1, cite 2)), and DKF sees Offords comments as promoting polarizing criticism without a promoting solutions. 1 Offord is a recent DISD graduate. 2 Offord refuses to discuss his candidacy, policy positions, etc. DKF Score A F DKF Score F (Very Weak)

3 Offord lacks career and/or professional experience. 4 Offord lacks perspective about the role of Trustee responsibilities.

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Surveys (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Burnadette Nutall DallasKidsFirst Candidate Survey


Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Survey May 12, 2012 Election ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please complete, scan and return the following survey to info@dallaskidsfirst.org. On behalf of Dallas citizens, the members of Dallas Kids First thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses and for your interest in serving as DISD Trustee. Your response will be posted at www.dallaskidsfirst.org. Candidate Name Bernadette Nutall Candidate Signature District Represented District 9

Section 1: Brief Personal Profile (please keep responses to no more than two sentences) What personal experience most prepares you for the service as a DISD Trustee? I previously worked eight years as a Community Liaison with DISD as well as 13 years as Executive Director of Circle of Support, Inc. In these capacities I have developed innovative curriculum, facilitated community and business involvement in schools, worked with budgets and financial forecasting, kept abreast of trends in public education throughout the country and worked on practical solutions to a myriad of problems associated with public education. Why do you want to be elected as a DISD Trustee? The future of our children is my focus, passion and personal ministry and I am committed to the community as such. I am running to continue the efforts to provide our children with the best education possible in order to prepare them to be successful and responsible citizens of Dallas. Im vested in our district. Education has always been an important part of my life. I know we still have a lot of work to do, and I want to continue on to finish that work.

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

What are the three biggest challenges facing DISD? The reduced budget environment. In this current environment it important that we ensure each dollar is impactful towards student achievement. Finding an effective superintendent. Key qualities we need to focus on are excellent communication skills and an appreciation for collaboration. We need someone who will take the time to meet with principals and teachers, who genuinely listens to people and who is not fearful of the problems that lie before us. Thats perhaps the single most critical qualitythe ability to recognize and acknowledge a problem. We need a hands-on problem solver. Personnel-Every classroom, every school, needs effective teachers and principals. Our students deserve nothing but the best. And when you look at it from a financial viewpoint, you have to keep in mind that 85 percent of our budget is dedicated to personnelwe owe it to our taxpayers to recruit and retain high quality people at every level of the organization. What specifically will you do to improve the educational experiences of DISD students? Success is when students are academically prepared to compete in this global economy. That means writing, doing arithmetic and thinking critically. If we can prepare them early on with those crucial skills, our students will be prepared to successfully enter, graduate from college and enter into the workforce. Success should not be defined by whether our students simply graduate. Success should be defined by our students graduating with skills necessary to succeed at the next stage of their life, whether it is post secondary education or the workforce. We should aspire to turn out a quality productnot just a particularly quantity of product. Having recognized the significant damage to students by a phenomenon called 'summer learning loss', I started a non-profit, Circle of Support, Inc., in 1999, that provides a full-day eight week, academic enrichment program that utilizes certified master teachers that work with students in the areas of science, math and reading as well as provides enrichment activities. The program is free to those students that reside in the South Dallas community. Last year, approximately 302 students attended daily. I fundraise approximately $350k yearly for the program, which came exclusive from private funding sources.

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Section 3: Topical Questions The average SAT test taker from DISD scores in the bottom 25% of all U.S. test takers. Is this failure to generate college and/or careerready graduates the responsibility of DISD and the Board of Trustees? Please explain. The failure of the district to generate an adequate and ready student population is a responsibility of DISD and the board of trustees. I view success from a district perspective not only by the numbers of those who graduate, but by the quality of the education that he/she receives. This is reflected and measured by their job readiness and post secondary preparedness. Obviously, what we have in place now is not working. New and innovative strategies must be developed and implemented to address this issue. The community will also need to be involved to better support the efforts of the district and those teachers in the classroom. DISD must move from being just a provider of education, but an active advocate of education. The finish line for DISD is not where the student walks across the stage to receive their diploma, rather it's where students receive validation of their educational accomplishments through gainful employment and post secondary education success rates. A DISD teacher recently told a Trustee (via email): We get dumped on by administration each day, cursed out by students, yelled at by parents, receive very little respect from the community, work long hours, and receive meager pay. If elected what will you do to support teachers, boost morale within the district and incorporate staff feedback into policy decisions? Teachers, like any other person, require not only words of encouragement, but practical support as well. As DISD Trustee District 9, it has always been my mission to provide the teachers in the classroom with the necessary resources to accomplish their difficult jobs. Recognizing that education is not just received in the classroom, I have and will continue to advocate effective supplemental programming that helps engage students in and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, one of the major difficulties of being an urban school district is that our children are subjected to the ills and difficulties that are associated with urban America today. They face declining neighborhoods, frayed family structures and inadequate or insufficient role models to help instill a sense of purpose in their lives. I actively work with area non profits and community groups to provide a platform of support to assist the development of children as citizens and as students as well. I am an advocate of not only community development within our city, but also is a supporter of life development for our youth. It is my hope that by helping students overcome the difficulties that they face outside of the classroom, they can be more engaged within the classroom. An engaged student is what every teacher wants. By non-traditional support as I have mentioned above, I hope to raise not only the morale of teachers, but their hope for having fulfilling careers as well.

If you were outvoted on a contentious school board issue and were asked by a reporter to comment on the vote, how would you respond? If the reporter pointed out that a fellow Trustee called you how would you respond? I will share with them why I voted the way I did, and that I understand how to agree and respect my colleagues even when we disagree. As to the second point, I dont respond to personal attacks but will be happy to debate, deliberate and discuss and decisions that would help the lives of children. T he children in our community are watching and I will continue to stay focused on addressing their needs through thoughtful discussion. They are our constituents and our future."
Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

Candidate Surveys (D9) May 12, 2012 Trustee Election



Damarcus Offord DallasKidsFirst Candidate Survey

Note: Offord was contacted by Dallas Kids First five times via email, phone and text message. He indicated that he would return DKFs survey, but failed to do so. Offord is the only 2012 candidate to refuse a DKF survey, which is especially concerning given his lack of experience and unknown policy positions.

Pol. Adv., Kids First PAC

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