Moderated by Director of Communications Tiffanie Blackmon-Jones, the virtual town hall extended our message to a broader audience. Superintendent of Schools D'Andre J. Weaver, Ph.D.; Chief Academic Officer Celeste Barretto; and Chief of Research, Evaluation and Design Benjamin Mackey fielded questions from parents and community members live while online.
Dr. Weaver provided an overview of the district's FOCUS plan to open the town hall. The five main FOCUS priorities are as follows: Finance, Organizational Redesign, Campuses and Classrooms, Unity and Systems and Sustainability.
Barretto shared the details regarding the new Collaborative Learning Cycle (CPC). The CPC is the district's approach to instructional planning, to aid its intense focus on teacher development and high-quality student learning that is being implemented throughout the district.
Mackey highlighted the recent Texas Education Agency Student Success Initiative grant received by the district, the unprecedented approach that DeSoto ISD is taking to create its Joint Strategic Plan, and the progress of the DeSoto ISD partnership with The University of Texas at Austin for the district’s new admissions-based campus, Katherine Johnson.
The district will host subsequent online town halls via Facebook Live on Jan 23 and April 30.
Revisit the Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Facebook