6 OctOber 5–11, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents mish is TEA’s controversial update to the state’s system for school ratings. Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde likened the change to an “injustice” in a statement posted to X (formerly Twit- ter) last week. “We ask folks to be upstanders, not by- standers, when there’s an injustice that’s oc- curring,” she said. “I consider this an injustice to the work of our teachers, princi- pals, parents, and community partners.” TEA announced it would boost its scor- ing benchmark back in January, with Com- missioner Mike Morath, a former Dallas ISD trustee, arguing that improvements must be made to student learning. Now a district will receive an A rating if 88% of its students are considered ready for college, a career or the military; previously, the threshold for that portion was only 60%. School officials state- wide have argued that the latest grading sys- tem is effectively stacked against them. Other North Texas districts are locking arms with Dallas ISD in the lawsuit, includ- ing Fort Worth, Plano, Denton, Frisco, Red Oak and Prosper ISDs. TEA did not return the Observer’s re- quest for comment by publication time. Accountability scores help families choose where they want to enroll their child. They also aid developers in determin- ing the marketability of new homes. If the state sees a certain school or dis- trict having trouble with performance, it can swoop in and demand interventions, accord- ing to TEA’s website. Critics say that the grading system is detrimental to campuses in poorer communities and that such schools could get slapped with state sanc- tions, including being forced to shut down. Exhibit A: The state’s recent Houston ISD takeover came after a single campus performed poorly on the accountability rat- ing system for several years. Morath was the keynote speaker at a re- cent public education conference hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber. He didn’t ex- plicitly mention the lawsuit against TEA but did reference the grading system. “We engage in continuous improvement, we publicly report the A–F scores of our campuses, and as it turns out this is a good idea,” he said at the conference, according to NBC-DFW. “It has been studied methodi- cally by researchers and publicly reporting accountability scores and having high ex- pectations in that accountability systems causes children to earn more money when they’re in their 20s.” Under TEA’s rating system, districts and individual schools receive A–F letter grades related to graduation rates, test results and other metrics. Dallas ISD received a B on its report card for 2022, taking home an overall average of 86. Dallas ISD’s trustees voted unanimously earlier this month to participate in the law- suit. They took issue with the lack of notice surrounding the system update and said it would work to harm students, families, team members and the broader Dallas community. The district grading change comes at a time when Texas Republican lawmakers are gunning to expand privatized educa- tion. Elizalde and other critics believe that TEA’s move is meant to bolster the push for school vouchers, which Gov. Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to address in an upcom- ing special session that’s likely to start in October. Some superintendents have alleged that the update is less about creating upstanding citizens than it is about undoing public ed. Certain proposed legislation would let par- ents receive private school vouchers only if their public school isn’t passing, according to NBC-DFW. Elizalde insisted in a Sept. 14 statement that the district believes in accountability and works to reach and exceed lofty stan- dards. She argued that all expectations and rules should be set ahead of time. “Instead, the new state A–F refresh will be applied retroactively after the test has been taken and a new school year has al- ready begun. This does not reflect our dis- trict’s recent improvements, which currently outpace the state in many areas,” she said. “Put simply, our test scores have gone up, but under the new system, our rat- ings are projected to decrease. This does not make sense.” TEA has delayed the release of its latest school and district ratings and is expected to unveil them in October. School leaders statewide worry that the system change will cause their scores to drop significantly at a time when districts are still struggling to address setbacks caused by the pandemic, including growing teacher shortages. Opponents of the accountability rating update claim that it’s like moving the goal- post mid-game. “The perception of that is ‘I’m doing worse than I was last year,’ but the reality is ‘I’m doing exactly the same or better but the rules have changed,’” Carolyn Hanschen, Austin ISD’s executive director of accountability and assessment, told the Austin American-Statesman in March. Dallas ISD recently celebrated making progress in narrowing the academic achievement gap, but Elizalde predicts that overall school ratings may still decline be- cause of TEA’s retroactive rules change. She justified the district’s decision to join the lawsuit in a statement earlier this month. “Many times, our commissioner, whom we all respect, has said his hands are tied by the law,” Elizalde said. “Our hands are equally tied, and we must take a position to allow the court system to help us all inter- pret the law.” ▼ SPORTS (NOT SO) PRIME MUCH OF DEION SANDERS’ DALLAS PAST ISN’T SO PRETTY. BY RICHIE WHITT H e’s a self-proclaimed humble servant of God, yet his boastful bling in- cludes a flashy nickname, designer sunglasses and a giant, gold-encrusted cross necklace. He communicates the tenets of discipline and loyalty via dramatic preach- ing, but he bolted his supposedly ordained “calling” the moment a higher-profile op- portunity complete with $5 million-a-year raise presented itself. His 21-year-old son drives a $190,000 Mercedes Maybach, and he’s desperate for all your attention and ac- colades, because he measures success in the currency of maximum fame and material fortune. Surprise, he’s not Joel Osteen. He’s Deion Sanders. And, this year, his mega-church is all of college football. A sampling of Sanders’ epic self-aggran- dizement: On his persona: “I just have ‘it,’ and that makes people nervous.”On the best coach in college football: “Somebody bring me a mirror.”In 2022, on taking the head coach- ing job at historically Black Jackson State: “I truly believe with all my heart and soul that God called me here. This is what I’m supposed to do.” In 2023, on leaving Jack- son State for lily-white Colorado: “God wouldn’t relocate me to something that was successful. He’s brought me some- where that needs me.” Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is one of the greatest, most legendary athletes in the history of Ameri- can sports. He played in both baseball’s World Series and football’s Super Bowl. He is both one of DFW’s all-time sports heroes (the free agent who signed with the Dallas Cowboys and helped lead them to their most recent Super Bowl victory in 1996) and one of its most fraudulent blowhards (the charter school founder whose name- sake abruptly closed after years of scandal, mismanagement and even administrative physical altercations). By transforming Colorado from 1-11 a year ago into a surprise team that upset 17th- ranked TCU in Fort Worth to start the sea- son, Sanders has turned his Buffaloes into the Cinderella darlings of the college foot- ball season. Season tickets in Boulder sold out for the first time in 27 years. Colorado has played in three of the five most-watched games of the season. Because of Sanders’ charisma, five-star recruits and national TV shows – from ES- PN’s College GameDay to CBS’ 60 Minutes – are flocking to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. His revolutionary impact has added $7 million in tuition revenue. CU merchandise sales are up an astounding 800%. And his endorsement with Blenders Eyewear has netted the company a cool $4.5 million. Said Blenders CEO Chase Fisher, “We found our Michael Jordan.” With the expected bumps in at- Ron Jenkins/Getty Images Deion Sanders claims to be a humble servant of God with flashy accessories. Unfair Park from p4 >> p8
