Dripping Springs ISD

Texas Association of School Boards, Inc.

EXECUTIVE SEARCH SERVICES

PO Box 400 Austin, TX 78767-0400

512.467.0222 or 800.580.8272 (TASB) 512-467-3690 (ESS)

Dripping Springs Independent School District Thursday, September 5, 2019

INTRODUCTION

This document presents the findings of the Community Profile Assessment conducted by Dr. Marian Strauss, Mr. Jack Damron and Mr. Butch Felkner from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Executive Search Services (ESS) on September 5, 2019 for the board of trustees of the Dripping Springs Independent School District. The consultants met with faculty, students, district staff and community to collect the data.

The Community Profile Questionnaire was made available through the district, on the Internet, and from the consultant. 332 responses were received from the internet and 15 participated in the onsite group profile sessions.

The first objective of the Community Profile sessions was to make sure that everyone in the community had the opportunity to participate, and that objective was accomplished through advertising, letters, and announcements. The second objective was to receive responses from a cross section of the community. Though some of the responses may be duplicates, we believe the 347 responses should yield that cross section.

In developing this assessment, the consultant sought general comments on preferred candidate traits and qualifications, district strengths, issues, and concerns that could bear on future leadership requirements and influence the selection criteria for the next superintendent of schools.

Under each group, the comments heard or provided with some regularity are listed randomly in no particular order. It should be emphasized that the data is not a scientific sampling, nor should it necessarily be viewed as representing the majority opinion of a group. Items are included if, in the consultant’s judgment, they were repeated by a sufficient number of respondents to warrant the board’s attention.

I wish to express my appreciation to the school board and the district administration for organizing the arrangements for the visit, to those with whom I met for their cordiality and responsiveness, and to all of the respondents whose concern for their school was evident in their comments.

Directors and Any District Employee: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. 6 participants

Strengths: Staff Student centered Community support High expectations Community is involved Excellent reputation and that’s why people move here It’s a sought-after district Embraces innovation Progressive Welcomes diversity Allows student voice Staff can talk to supervisors and higher Most of the staff feels valued Variety of opportunities for students

Issues / Concerns / Challenges: Growth Facility planning to accommodate the growth Infrastructure to support the growth Processes on opening a new school Hiring the right staff Maintain that relational feel as we grow Development of common language from campus to campus Accountability vs autonomy Old Dripping – New Dripping Transitioning between Old to New Demographics are shifting Being questioned about decisions made – more educated population We have to sale things to the public Social media Work force for auxiliary staff – cost of living Pivotal spot for determining a new high school

Professional / Personal: Able to build relationships Having a managed a fast growth district Background in facility planning

Progressive Visionary Started career in the classroom Willing to empower people A leader of leaders Not a micromanager Communications – written and speaking Personable Approachable Good with conflict resolutions Good common sense

Central Office and Any Staff Member: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. 5 participants

Strengths: Employees are allowed to be leaders Students are allowed to be leaders Culture Good past leader Atmosphere of learning for all

Issues / Concerns / Challenges: Growing pains Negative minority vocal in the community Perception that every decision is made by a committee Entitlement Negative sentiment from certain employees

Professional / Personal: Visionary Someone who will stay the course People person Polite but firm personality Able to handle the pressure from the negative comments Good sense of humor Communicator – internal and external Open listener Empowers people Motivates and listens and supports Treats each employee as an individual

Servant leadership Visible

Any District Staff: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. 0 participants

Open to the Public:6 p.m. – 7 p.m. 4 participants

Strengths: People outside of the top administration and the board Teachers, Parents and students Good Administrators on the campuses Parental involvement Very active PTA’s Education Foundation Community Staff

Issues / Concerns / Challenges: Huge Retention problem Lack of trust of school board Teachers are afraid to speak up – lose their job Secrecy among the board – they don’t listen to the community Not teaching science and math – teaching ideology Sex Ed issue – science based – Scott & White program wasn’t accepted Lack of transparency Superintendent and board to close Spending and debt Too much time on how nice the buildings will be and not on student debt Communication is poor Family values are not being respected No accountability for upper level administration

Professional / Personal: Someone who will respect family values Someone who will not push their own agendas but listen to the public Transparent Good communicator Respectful of community and the teachers Will stand up to the board

Not a stepping stone to another job Believes in bond oversight committee Accountable Fiscally responsible Ethical Someone who will not go rogue Able to interact with the community

Open to the Public: 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. 0 participants

Any District Staff: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. 0 participants

Any District Staff: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. 0 participants

Any District Staff: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. 0 participants

Online Survey Report - Dripping Springs ISD - September 11, 2019

Please select the group that best represents you.

6 Student 7 Administrator

4 Support Staff 1 Board Member

34 Faculty

280 Community Member/Parent

Value Percent

Administrator 2%

Board Member 0%

Community Member/Parent 84%

Faculty 10%

Support Staff 1%

Student 2%

Statistics

Total Responses 332 1. What do you consider to be the two or three most significant strengths of the district? Response

Enjoy my job and the students I work with

Academics And facilities

!. Parental involvement, which is the best predictor of student success 2. High quality teachers who prepare our students for challenging careers

> strong campus leadership > strong classroom teachers

* Beautiful facilities * Friendly staff and teachers; warm culture * Comprehensive program

* Parents and teachers care about the kids and their education. * DS has been a solid district for years, which is one of the reasons why people move here.

*strong academics *strong ms/hs band programs

- Sense of community in this rapid growth arae

- Teachers who are willing to stand up for what is right for their students and the Dripping Springs community in spite of risks to their career including threats, bullying, and intimidation by supervisors, school administrators, School Board Trustees, and student parents and other community members who join the supervisors/administrators/Board in working to advance personal and special interest agendas that are counter-productive to DSISD's educational mission and harmful to our Dripping Springs community. Equally, teachers whose commitment and loyalty to the DSISD students and community results in them remaining in this district despite being paid less than neighboring districts and Texas' statewide teacher pay. - Relatively well-educated and well-to-do parents with the means and understanding necessary to ensure that their children get a well-rounded and exceptional education above and beyond DSISD schools/outside of school hours due to DSISD's under-performing schools that are

- engaged teachers - communication - PBL learning model and adaptable to teaching +learning modalities

-Creating unique learning environments where kids can strive (e.g. the Sycamore Springs campus). -Providing respect and protections for the rights of LGBTQ+ children, even when many in the community would choose discrimination over equality and protection.

-Excellent resources for children (facilities, technology, etc.) -Rich and diverse curriculum (excellent electives offered)

-Personalized education -Creative freedom for teachers, allowing them to teach in the way that best meets the needs of their students on any particular day/year.

-Positive attitude by the majority of the staff -Relative autonomy to be professionals/not micromanaged (which is why the first one is happening)

-Quality of teachers/administrators -Focus on developing leadership qualities in our students - common language with 8 Habits - Focus on personalized learning and agility to meet students where they are

-STAAR/state assessments aren’t sole factor for a successful student. -Great teachers/staff/admin

-engaged parents -blessed with financial resources -proximity to other districts with similar academic and sports rigor, as well approaching equivalent socio-economic parity (Eanes, Lake Travis)

-proximity to well paying jobs -demographic values education

1) Dripping Springs community pride 2) Our location 3) Our strong economic base

1) Geographical proximity to Austin 2) Quality of extracurricular academic programs Response

1) Giving students lots of opportunities for enrichment. 2) Good community support 3) Strong upper level academics

1) Provides many elective and extracurricular opportunities for students. 2) Teachers are invested in student success

1) Strong leadership 2) School improvement efforts 3) High expectations (from both students and teachers)

1) We no longer have Bruce Gearing as an ongoing liability in our town. 2) We had Mr. Burns protect the DSHS from the Board of Trustees and Gearing during his tenure and thankfully Gearing retired. 3) A large portion of our teachers are willing to stand up to intimidation, misinformation and bullying by Board of Trustees.

1-caring involved parents who support education for their children 2-students who want to perform and willing to work hard 3- good teachers who are effective and enjoy teaching 3-

1. Not weird 2. Parental involvement 3. Transparency

1. We have a District largely populated by families that deeply value education. 2. We have parents who are willing to invest in their children's education. 3. We have an above-average population in terms of intelligence.

1. Academic rigor 2. Variety of opportunities for students 3. Community Closeness

1. Child safety 2. Academic development 3. Communication with parents

1. Classroom Educators 2. Parental/Community Support 3. Campus Administrators

1. Encourages creative thinking while not being afraid of smart risks. 2. Respect for student agency and voice. 3. Teachers are not bound by a district mandated curriculum.

1. Excellent education and educators that takes a holistic approach in regards to developing the student. This also encompasses the communication between teachers and parents. 2.Encouragement of student involvement in the community for the benefit of the community. 3. Diverse offerings of extracurricular activities also geared towards developing the student holistically.

1. Focus on innovative teaching practices 2. Development of individualized learning plans for students

1. Growing district 2. Board listens to parents 3. Inclusive environment

1. High education standards 2. Extracurricular classes like art, music, PE and activities

1. High quality education. 2. Ability to individualize education plans. 3. Feeling of small town community.

1. Inspiring passion and creativity in education. 2. Community support and engagement

1. It has a strong Gifted and Talented program 2. It places family/values at the forefront 3. Great communication with the community/parents

1. Parent support/involvement 2. Overall excellent teaching staff 3. Excellent facilities

1. Sense of community 2. Going away from segregated campuses for to have ECE at all campuses. 3. Open to having trainings for teachers regarding inclusion

1. Strong values 2. Small town mentality 3. Believes family is important

1. Teacher passion 2. Parental commitment and involvement 3. Knows that children are more than a number or score Response

1. Teachers and staff are truly entrusted to do what is right for the kids. Meaning that there is no standard curriculum and we are all trusted to make the best judgment call when it comes to the students in our classroom. 1. We provide a lot of opportunities to get studnets involved in and out of school

1. UIL Programs 2. Caring Staff 3. Great Facilities

1. teachers who love to teach 2. a district that is responsive and responsible to kids who qualify for special services no matter what the state tells them their threshold should be

1.Pride and loyalty to our district 2. Positive rapport with staff, students, parents and community

A growing, dynamic population should make change easier to accomplish. A strong history gives us a stable foundation to build on.

A strong support system for the students both in school and at home. Broad community support. The small town the district originates from keeps the feel of the large school small.

Ability to acknowledge all programs in the district, open-mindedness, experience/ knowledge

Ability to individualize learning to the student and following science-based principles.

Academic Achievement Extra-curricular opportunities

Academic Excellence Challenging Bright Students Involving family/ Community to give small town feel

Academic Rigor Strong Community Engagement

Academic Rigor, diversity of opportunities, community spirit and camaraderie

Academic excellence Opportunities/electives for every child

Academic excellence , inclusive equity education, extra curricular activities

Academic quality and rankings Breadth of course material at the high school (not middle or elem)

Academic reputation

Academic rigor Sense of community Lack of violence

Academic, faculty, support staff

Academics Breadth and quality of electives and clubs Individualized attention and accommodations

Academics Community Location

Academics Hiring fantastic teachers/staff

Academics Sports Facilities

Academics Traditional classic learning style model

Academics and teachers

Academics, Traditional/Classic model school Response

Academics, teachers

Academics, variety of electives

Adaptability & looking to the future as growth becomes an unavoidable process.

Amazing teachers, responsiveness to curriculum changes and strong board

Approach to education through leadership values, respecting differences and supporting the individual student, connection with community.

Athletic programs, accelerated programs and the small community involvement

Athletics and nice facilities

Attempting to provide a good education for every child that more closely matches their individual needs. Friendly teachers and staff.

Attracting families to the district. Band program.

Being innovative Accelerated learning opportunities Dedication to aid less privileged

Care about our academics, many choices in academics

Caring and competent teachers, student leadership, the trust relationship on the campus we visited were the deciding factor for why we chose to buy a house in DSISD over Lake Travis or Buda

Challenging curriculum Fine arts

Close community working with established leaders as well as new leaders. Great staff which is dedicated to the students in the district. Good rating with the state.

Collaborative learning, sense of community, faculty and staff

College Readiness Caring Teachers

College readiness Community support

Commitment personalized learning, innovative thinking, and ability to plan for and manage growth.

Commitment to academics; commitment to gifted pull out programming; commitment to sound educational methodology focused on using social and emotional learning to support, rather than supplant, academics

Commitment to balanced and varied opportunities for students; teachers trained to respond to many types of learning and learners

Committed educators and a committed community

Communication Standing firm when forces in the community try to push division Not giving in to special interests

Communication within our town is our strength. Keeping each other informed whether it be teachers to parents or neighbors to neighbors; the exchange of information gives us the power to make informed decisions.

Communication, community, and an opportunity to get growth right. Response

Community

Community Teachers Communication

Community Support, Academics, Extracurricular options

Community bond, strong education,

Community involvement Dedicated teachers and staff High standards for learning (social, emotional, and academic)

Community involvement, option of classes, learning environment, availability of resources and technology.

Community support Parent support for individual campuses

Community, growth

Community-feel Forward-thinking-ness

Compassion- a good sense of compassion for all backgrounds. As our community continues to form, a flood do various backgrounds come as well. In the recent past, I was privy to some comments made directly by the leadership of our district to be elitist and a negative direction. The wild card factor. Someone that is futuristic but willing to do the work to make the work environment, learning environment and community culture the absolute best it can be for all.

Conservative values Focus on character along with academics

Core (STEM) education, family involvement, quality teachers

Creativity and innovation, mindfulness and well-being, high standards of excellence

Curriculum, handle growth.

DSISD is Innovative, the teachers/staff are hard working and committed, the schools are highly rated

Education Community

Education level, professional faculty, facilities

Educational excellence Inclusivity Parental involvement/support

Educational opportunities for advanced students. Amazing programs and electives available to all students. Receiving and listening to parent/community input. The amazing teachers who works for the district.

Educational opportunities for kids District and campus leadership Strong reputation

Emphasis on individualized learning. Strong advanced academics. Diverse course offerings, including a wide variety of fine arts, foreign language and other electives.

Emphasis on learning and NOT on STAAR scores Working to provide different learning environments and opportunities..

Emphasis on treating every student as an individual and making sure each of their needs are met. Approachability and communication of administration and school staff (I've always been able to meet with anyone in the district regardless of position. Pleasantly surprised by this and would like for it to continue) Teachers who love what they do and are energetic to teach our children

Estudiar amistad liderasgo Response

Excellent facilites, great staff, willingness to listen to parents and community.

Exceptional children with supportive families, strong academics and athletics.

Facilitating and promoting culture (good and bad) Importance/trust given to teachers and their autonomy

Facilities Level of education

Facilities and staff

Feels like a family Innovative Technology

Financial management, quality of faculty, parental support

Flexibility for students and emphasis on the individual Variety of classes offered Truly caring admin and teachers & not putting emphasis on the $*@#%! STAAR tests

Focus on Children Focus on Academics

Focus on flexible and diverse student learning environments. Attracting and retaining the best teachers and staff. Proactive planning for future needs

Focus on individualized education. Moving away from traditional school model with more project based learning. High standards for personal growth both academically as well as in leadership and character.

Forecasting growth Community outreach

Forward thinking with education and building new schools for the future.

Forward-looking Supportive community Strong teachees

GT kids going to college parent support

Gearing is gone. DSMS has some outstanding teachers & leadership.

Good faculty, good facilities

Good reputation quality teachers

Great teachers, and administration. Good communication.

Growing district where community wants to help the children thrive and be involved to make it happen

Growth High academic achievement

Growth Small town atmosphere Extra-curricular offerings

Growth management. Faculty (excluding sycamore elem principal).

Growth, positive environment, engaged parents

High Parental Involvement Great Academic Achievement

High Standards and Community Involvement Response

High academic achievement Many outside opportunities for the students Feeling of community

High achieving, opportunities for acceleration, community involvement

High educational standards Accommodations for special needs kids

High level of community and parental involvement High Performing Schools Potential for Growth

Highly engaged parents Financially and emotionally supportive families Town pride in small town USA booming Academic, Athletic and Arts programs that make us a no brainer for raising a family

Honestly, I'm so disappointed in RSE that I can't see the strengths yet.

I am at a loss on comment here.

I am new to the district so I am not personally familiar with its strengths

I can’t even discuss any positives right now.

I love that our district focuses on growing the whole child. As an educator in the district, I appreciate that the district knows that they hire quality teachers, and gives us autonomy to teach the TEKS as best fits our individual students.

I think DSISD has a wonderful balance of strong community, family values, great job opportunities, and a great school district. This is a wonderful environment for students, young families, middle aged families, and the retired community. There is a great Texas Hill country feel for everyone in Dripping Springs Texas.

I think it’s okay to speak my thoughts. That’s why I am writing here and I think our sports teams are mostly good.

Inclusive, personal, high achieving

Independence from AISD (we don’t just copy). Focus on the student’s learning vs test preparation. Support for sports and the arts as part of a complete education.

Individualized learning plans for every student Focus on developing the whole student, not only academics

Individualized learning that views the student as a whole person. Striving for a happy healthy community.

Individualized learning, SEL, fighting for equality of treatment of students

Inertia of high quality expectations and outcomes of district students and staff dedicated staff and motivated students

Informing and organization.

Innovation Options for students with many various interests Resources

Innovation Creativity Dedicated teachers

Innovation and cultural diversity

Innovation and forward thinking

Innovation, personalized learning

Innovation--not just the TX Education Districts of Innovation definition but the idea of meeting children where their needs are (accelerated math for example) and teaching methods (like project based learning). Response

Innovation; high standards for students

Innovative Small town feel Focus on supporting the whole child/learner

Innovative Transparent Conservative

Innovative Autonomy Support

Innovative, empowering, and strong in technology

Instructional support for teachers and the support from parents.

Integrity Compassion Experience

Its teachers/staff, its conservative values, the community(we are all Tigers)

Leadership Self motivation Teamwork

Long range planning Student achievement

Losing our profligate superintendent. Some great teachers.

Most of the kids are from high income households, DSISD is not AISD...yet.

Not afraid to experiment based on evidence Focus on individual kid needs and willingness to be flexible to meet those needs Excellent, committed teachers and staff who plan to be around a long time and try to be unified

Not sure

Open minded toward rapid district population growth to respond to campus infrastructure needs. The personal, individual approach to education over a institutional mode.

Open minded. Good communication skills. Inclusion for special needs.

Open to feedback and I hope mine is taken seriously. We really appreciate many of the high school teachers we have encountered.

Opportunities for participation in many different types of enrichment activities including academic, athletic, and extracurricular competition. Outstanding individual teachers in many of the classrooms.

Organized Strong positive momentum with a track record of success

Our amazing teachers....who we can't seem to retain because we can't pay them enough because we have too much debt. Our amazing students and our parents and community members that give so much in terms of time, talents and resources to support our public schools.

Our district's greatest strength is teaching our kids to earn what they receive in life and to be patriotic about our Nation. Many men & women have died defending our Nation

Our kids The involvement of the parents The beautiful area we live in

Our teachers High level of education - students are well-prepared for college or other opportunities after High School Parent involvement

Overall performance of students is good. Response

Parent involvement Education level of parents

Parent involvement High academic expectations

Parent involvement and care. A community where good teachers want to live and work.

Parent participation Most teachers who care

Parental involvement and support Prior leadership that built a strong foundation of excellence Active and dedicated involvement of faculty and staff

Parental involvement and support Excellent principals and teachers Growth of area

Passion for the children’s education ( growth mindset) Passion for the teachers and their development and work/life balance. Passion for the community.

Personalized education and opportunities, support of special education and inclusion and age appropriate programming

Play-based learning in early grades Project-based learning in upper elementary Good teachers

Preparedness of high school graduates for life (college, work, etc.), fostering a culture of kindness, celebrating each student’s unique talents and strengths

Pride Dedication Perseverance

Progressive Collaborative Open

Promotion of innovative teaching strategies and culture

Properly addressing growth of the district. Ability to be creative. Offers steam programs.

Provide excellent support, services, programs with inclusion and help to kids who has HFA, ADHD, Dyslexia, Day, Dyscalculia, Asperger, PDD, etc. Usually those kids are excluded from General Teachers and typical kids are learning those bad values. Teach and include bilingual classes with bilingual teachers who know diversity, Inclusion and internationalization values in a fun way. Learning a second language needs to be fun!

Pursuit of excellence Teacher freedom and flexibility Parental and community involvement

Putting the needs of the stakeholders above their own (and their family)/not furthering for their own gain. Taking time to talk to teachers about their needs and their thoughts on potential changes. Honest and transparency

Quality of education for students Professional growth for teachers Emotional intelligence emphasis on students (leader in me, mediation, etc.)

Quality of education, parent involvement

Quality of education, small class sizes, quality of teachers

Quality of teachers Collaboration with ARD meetings

Quality of teachers, diversity in teaching methods

Quality teachers Broad curriculum Strong community involvement

Quality teachers and staff Quality of facilities/resources Response

School pride, Culture

Sense of community

Size and it’s ability to take and use community input

Someone who understands the needs of SPED and 504. Personable with staff

Sport programs, facility development, communication of intent (projecting goals)

Sports programs campus resources

Staff & students

Stellar EDUCATORS, EDUCATIONAL rigor and strong SUPERINTENDENT!

Strong Faculty Nice Facilities

Strong academic opportunity New schools

Strong academic performance Small connected community Active, involved parents

Strong academics Innovative curriculum Addresses the needs of many communities well- special needs, ESL, high achievers, athletes

Strong academics Involved community

Strong academics. Quality teachers/staff. Quality facilities.

Strong community and parent support Our schools and students are a top priority

Student-centered focus. Open-minded approach towards trying new ways to meet the needs of students Parent support

Student-focus, flexibility for students to learn a wide range of things, opportunities for students to get involved in a wide range of things. Support for students finding their interests and pursuing them fully.

Support from families and Campus Admin

Support from the teachers Support from the community Our kids

Supportive Families with driven children and supportive community members; excellent and truly dedicated teachers and staff, and judicious investment in leading edge education tools

Teacher autonomy, community backbone.

Teachers Curriculum Athletics

Teachers Facilities Families

Teachers High School Opportunities/programs

Teachers Parent support District has a good reputation

Teachers Students Parents Response

Teachers Teachers Teachers

Teachers and staff are top-notch. Innovative- although I believe innovation should be tempered with proven methods. Student- centered- whether I agree with a direction the district takes or not, I know the direction is chosen with the students as the top priority.

Teachers do an amazing job Communication (sometimes too much but I'd rather too much than not enough)

Teachers when you can keep them. The curriculum and how classes set up our kids to be excellent in college or the trades.

Teachers who care and are well educated. A respect for values held by a family; for example parents are given the opportunity to view sex ed material and opt their children out of anything they aren't comfortable with, just like with other programs such as movies with different ratings (other than G) and coverage in class of traumatic events (such as 9/11).

Teachers, Parents

Teachers, innovation and opportunities

Teachers, strong community support

Teachers, teachers, teachers

Teachers, teachers, teachers! We would't be the district we are with our classroom educators! Teaching is not my calling but I was raised by teachers and know the hard work it takes.

Technology driven Quality teaching

Technology forward, parent involvement

The amount of wealth & parental support. Also the fact that it’s a 5A school district.

The classes offered and our teachers

The community / students Location Autonomy of each campus

The community support, the academic rigor, innovative vision

The conservative traditional education system. The quality teachers and the willingness to uphold the rules of our schools. The variety of classes offered to our students in the middle and high schools.

The district is highly innovative, highly geared towards individualization, and has been willing to experiment with new ideas/classes/methods of instruction to meet students' needs.

The highest strengths of the Dripping Springs district are faith in God, love of knowledge, and creative excellence in education.

The innovative environment. We focus on the bigger picture of a well evolved individual giving them the tools and support to grow into what hopefully inspires and intrigues them most to be successful long term.

The means that the district have available to them. Parents that care and that are involved

The number one strength of the district is the teachers. They are professional, warm and truly care for the students.

The reputation currently held by the district and the classroom staff employed by the district.

The school board members and involved parents. Response

The school board strength in standing up to Bruce. Dedicated teachers.

The staff and the students.

The strongest strength of our district is our dedicated teachers. They are passionate about our students and work extreme hours for little compensation.

The students The teachers The parents

The teachers and closeness of our community

The teachers and staff, exemplary education that students receive, parental involvement.

The teachers that are dedicated to this district and the growth or our students.

The teachers who care but this district is pushing them aside and continuing to get A LOT of new teachers every year because they won't stay is a reflection of the superintendent.

The teachers. The great teachers are the backbone of this district. Without them you have nothing.

This school district is headed in a very bad direction and we need immediate change starting at the top level. If a new superintendent is not brought in that can properly address these problems we are going to end up with severe long term effects.

Tight knit community High School has a really good vision, clear and supported (there seems to be some more accountability)

To be fiscally responsible. To stop overcrowding our schools and leave good schools alone. To listen the taxpayers and parents and not have their own agenda.

Unfortunately, in the past year I mostly observed signs of weakness. This is our only experience with DSISD. I have more concerns than confidence. I wish it were the other way around.

Vision - knowing where you’re going and a plan to get there Innovation- trying new things within the class, school, and community Long range planning

Vision/Mission: We believe our work is aligned to the right things--lifelong learning for all members of our community, personal and learner-driven learning, collaboration in the learning process, rigorous expectations. People: We have amazing staff, students, and parents. Our school board supports us and our vision and mission.

We are well funded, and community supported.

We have a high standard for hiring excellent teachers, because of this each individual classroom is treated with love and purpose. The high level academic standards is a bonus and a draw-in for parents (and a drawback for those "strugglers", which would not be considered strugglers in another district). And the value for students to pursue their passions and the availability of opportunities is a WONDERFUL aspect of this district.

We have a very active community, amazing faculty, and inclusiveness from the children.

We have amazing teachers. Teachers were brave enough to send letters with their dissatisfaction with the school board. Gearing is gone, finally.

Wiling to try new things.

Wonderful teachers and staff, community support, caring/generous parents, quality facilities

Your teachers are your best asset. The support from the PTAS is outstanding. Response autonomy for teachers community, innovation, empowering students community/village mentality progressive/cutting edge learning work/life balance focus course options excellent schools and curriculum, support by community, many different opportunities for students per his/her interest excellent teachers and staff innovative learning strategies great teachers support staff that go above and beyond quality education for all students it’s from the people here that make it a great district-community, family oriented with the same goals and interests. level of education innovative education plan for the future opportunities for enriched learning - innovative staff - leadership training for future adults in a changing world personalized learning strong reputation strong teachers quality of academic education quality of extracurricular activities students and parents teachers and staff semi-rural and mixed economic base parent/family commitment & involvement facilities socioeconomic standing growth retention of a feel similar to a "small" town 2. What do you consider to be the two or three most important issues / concerns / challenges facing the district? Response

> reactive community > reactive district culture > lack of structure/processes/guidelines/policies

* Academic decline due project base model rather than staying with the traditional/classic model Dripping Springs is known for (high academic standards) and why families move here. * Unaccounted for spending by school district * Inability to have insight into the new superintendent process * School board should have representation from ALL regions within Dripping Springs not at large elections

* Our children would benefit from a higher-agency, competency-based, personalized approach to education * Would like to see authentic blended learning, not cramming technology into traditional classrooms

* lack of elementary-level foreign language programs * school safety (shootings in schools and elsewhere are a national problem, and seem to be a particular problem for Texas)

- Fiscal mismanagement -- only one balanced budget in last 10 years, only 61% of budget spent on instructional expenditures (65%+ should be the goal), teachers underpaid relative to Austin area and statewide averages despite homes in DSISD being double statewide median (speaks to the high cost of living that means living in DSISD is unaffordable on a teacher's salary so long commutes), and years since School Board did more than rubber-stamp the school administration's buget so that unnecessary expenditures/waste, fraud, and abuse could be indentified and instead be spent in the classrooms or refunded back to taxpayers; and all of this despite record high growth (new tax dollars) and record high property appraisals (even more new tax dollars) w/ rate of new funds increasing at nearly 3x the rate of student growth over the past 7 years. - Obscene debt load -- already more per-student debt than 97% of TX ISD's and the District will need to raise the tax rate in order gain necessary fun

- How to handle rapid growth in general - Balancing needs of the district (more money and facilities to accommodate growth) with needs of community (maintaining low property taxes so people aren't priced out of homes). Perhaps some of the new subdivision developers could help offset some of these costs so they don't fall solely on established Dripping residents. - Transparent communication with regards to broad district decisions and the the community (ex: new school placements, school boundary decisions, and bond money)

- crazy growth and keeping up with it - I don't want it to take away from curriculum focus. - that all campuses are viewed equally - retaining and recruiting top talent although budget - challenges - keeping our kids educators and administrators safe

- gender neutral bathrooms - rapid growth and need to expand another high school

-Growth: we are already running behind on growing/adding campuses to keep up with population. We need a strong growth plan and swift execution. I believe the previously chosen growth plan is bad for the district and should be reconsidered. -The threat of actual sexual education being excluded from our sex education curriculum -The attempts by small but vocal minority anti-tax and pro-religion groups to hijack district hearings, elections, and policymaking.

-Increasing class sizes -Increasing enrollment/space

-Lacks culturally responsive pedagogy -High expectations for all students (all means all) -need to deconstruct deficit views of some staff

-Planning for current/future growth. The schools/teachers are already at capacity -State ranking of the district in all categories - Lack of STEM focus and technology

-Politicization of the school board -A retreat from traditional Texas values and direct opposition to majority opinion/direction from parents/community -Increasing debt/student is not sustainable in an economic downturn

-growth (instruction) - we do not currently have sufficient infrastructure to maintain alignment as we grow to multiple campuses at each level -growth (space) - we absolutely have to stay on top of bonds/buildings as we run out of space -the community faction that spreads misinformation Response

-mental health/behavioral health -drugs/vaping -It appears there is high turnover at many of the schools

-rapid growth -continuing the path of personalizing learning

1) *high growth and all the resultant mess The next two are not really particular to our district as many school districts face the same problems but are compounded by the small but fast growing nature of DSISD: 2) A well-funded, politically motivated group attacking every move, every bond, every idea and eroding confidence in DSISD and public school in general. This group appeals to those outside their core by feeding on various stakeholders' fears whether it's about property taxes, the "bathroom" issue, or just personal issues (like former employees or parents with troubled students) so that those concerns are never settled. So we're constantly fighting the same issues, in addition to whatever new challenges arise. 3) Being able to *truly* meet the needs of students who are in the middle or even higher up. There's a perception that it's competitive in DSISD as if we're actually achieving the Ivy League type results of Bellaire High School, Eanes or Highland Park ISDs (which,

1) Administration's inability to manage district's priorities 2) No industrial tax base creates unsustainable indebtedness 3) Community's lack of confidence in School Board

1) Board of Trustees continuing to play politics while pretending they're not politicians. 2) Budget deficits and overspending spearheaded by the district 3) Board of Trustees and City Counsel willing to sell out the future of our city for their own personal and family benefits.

1) Classroom planning for the increased number of students due to new homes in the neighborhood and adequate parking for parents who bring their kids to school 2) Keeping parents of elementary kids informed of assignment due dates, upcoming tests and weekly curriculums BEFORE they occur, not after. This helps the parent partner with the teachers. 3) Elementary kids overheating outside during recess and coming home with headaches due to dehydration 4) Too short of lunch times that can cause serious health risks of eating too fast: a) Obesity b) Diabetes c) Metabolic Syndrome d) Gastritis Ref: https://www.cleaneatingmag.com/clean-diet/5-health-risks-of-eating-too-fast

1) Growth 2) Traffic 3) Water usage

1) High growth and danger of failing to pass a bond and getting behind power curve. 2) understaffed IT Dept, data breach is an accident soon to occur 3) continuity in path laid out by gearing, ok to alter it but must be gradual; don't need wholesale change with new super

1) Maintaining a small classroom/community feel during district population growth and expansion 2) Focusing on sports/extracurriculars that are NOT football. It is extremely obvious at the middle school level that football is the most valued sport for boys as they continue to hire new coaches with only football experience. The absolute wrong message to be sending students with diverse back fronts and skills.

1) Managing the fast growth of the district 2) Finding the right teachers and support staff for every level 3) Providing competitive staff salary without raising taxes

1) my son was suicidal for a while due to being gay. He has not told his peers as he does not think the school is accepting of this. He was considering it this year but the LifeAustin presence on campus has made him feel that teachers would discriminate against him if they knew. This is a big conflict of interest with allowing them to use the facility and offer coffee to teachers and use the school as a church. LifeAustin has made it clear that being gay is a sin and it needs to be changed. For students it appears as though this is a stance of the school. 2) more inclusion needs to be done for those who are gay. Incorporate programs that speak about the reality of lbgt teenagers into sex Ed. Prepare students for the world beyond high school where they will encounter lgbt individuals in the workplace regularly. 3) bring in programming that talks about how being lgbt is OK, how to treat these people with respect, how bullying is NOT ok (as reported by my teenager the most severe bullyi

1)growth, growth & growth 2) lack of classroom space /poor planning with developments on contributing to the ISD resources vs straining the limited resources in place 3) need another high school (and more facilities in middle and primary) to maximize students involvement/ and appropriate resource space

1. No child left behind is taxing our teachers 2. There is no need to make all children equally academic 3. Education system, including TASB, need to be held accountable. Response

1. Tremendous amount of turnover. 3. The faculty/staff do not have enough support from the superintendents office. 2. There is a lack of oversight in making sure an IEP is followed. I hope the next superintendent will make sure that after countless time and money is spent determining an IEP, that it is followed. It would prevent emergency ARDs, which take up a lot of our resources/time.

1. Abandonment of tailored learning plan. 2. Growth and excessive spending / taxes. 3. Student teacher ratio and teacher compensation.

1. Currently, we are not addressing the staffing needs of Special Education. We are not being supported by staffing to student need, we are out of compliance on federal law. For example, if a student needs a Resource setting, but we know at a campus level that we do not have staff (and cannot get staff approved) we are not doing what is legally required and best for students. During a meeting Dr. Gearing told us, "I don't care about the law." 2. DSISD continues to release initiatives that are not fully thought out and cause stress at the campus level. This leads to an all in approach and then quickly abandoning programs. (CANVAS, SpEd Co-Teach) 3. There is a huge difference of conference time allotted to elementary vs secondary teachers. When I do the math, that equates to about 125 hours per year. Elementary is expected to lay a firm foundation for students that are moving to secondary, but we do not support (with time) that vision. As a 5th grade teacher, to do my job, I wa

1. Cutting of funds for GT/funding 2. the spread of anti-education funding PACs in our community that are spreading conspiracy theories and untruths to prevent the passing of future bonds 3. the lack of support by state government officials

1. Dealing with growth of the population 2. Maintaining quality educators and leaders in the district

1. Growing too fast. 2. Bonds costing too much or taxes are too high in certain areas

1. Growth 2. Finances 3. Maintaining excellent classroom staff

1. Growth that dilutes opportunities for students and negatively impacts student performance 2. Loss of the tight knit community atmosphere

1. Growth while staying personalized 2. teachers (while thankful for their raise they got this year!) still not paid what they're worth.

1. Important to NOT follow the disappointing lead of larger/local districts like Austin ISD (which we recently left to live in DSISD) that are making some extreme decisions about academic content (e.g., comprehensive sex education starting in Kindergarten) 2. Growth - Neighborhoods still being built, and likely large influx of conservative families leaving AISD to join DSISD (like we did) due to the anti-family, anti-value, anti-Christian sentiment often present in AISD's decision making and at the teacher level. Will need to stay ahead of growth so schools don't get overcrowded.

1. Inclusion 2. Hiring and training enough aides for sped students.

1. Internal communication 2. Consistent/intentional/aligned programs and curriculum 3. Lack of instructional technology support

1. Keeping a small town feel/mentality with extreme growth in population 2. Not implementing a sex ed program at too young an age like AISD's new program 3. Getting necessary services i.e. adequate 504 plans within a rapidly growing district

1. Lack of top down organization 2. New initiatives are rolled out from district prior to full vetting and a lack of understanding of what we will do and how we will do it (Canvas for a huge example--it is not at all doing what we were told and is an extreme new load to be ADDED, still having to use Eduphoria and Skyward, etc. Other examples- attempt and then abandonment of co-teach, Stetson)- lack of support/training for new district initiatives 3. Insufficient special pops support, saving money over filling needs or using money for "high end" classes/electives that look good to the world rather than needs.

1. Maintaining a smart and creative culture in the face of such rapid growth and change. 2. Settling on a superintendent that will appease rather than genuinely push the district into the future with bold and thoughtful ideas. 3. Being careful about not allowing a very vocal minority to overshadow the wishes and philosophies of a more sensible, but less vocal majority.

1. Maintaining the safety of the students 2. Supporting the mental health of the students 3. Preventing bullying Response

1. Out of touch school board with conflicts of interest, especially financial, but also ideological at times. Ignoring state law. 2. School board making decisions that betray the current students in favor of developers 3. School board needs to either change or be entirely replaced.

1. Rapid growth 2. Teacher pay 3. Standardized testing

1. Recognizing the proven value of the classical educational model yet incorporating technology 2. Finding ways that actually promote learning and critical thinking in the ever-distracting digital age 3. Balancing technology and innovation with proven educational models

1. Resources of curriculum: lack of classroom resources ( a true curriculum with textbooks for students, not just online) We have a guide but NOT resources that are engaging and ready to implement. We, teachers are able to create meaningful engaging lessons but this is very time consuming. However, with meetings that we are required to attend to unpack our TEKS, create all assessments, analyze data, and so much more, our time is consumed. Having a curriculum leader/department that guides us with a true grade level curriculum with resources and assessments to meet the needs of our students would free up time to actually prepare and implement lessons in a more meaningful individual base. Also, with 504s, ARDs, parent conferences, and planning most teachers are working until 6:00 or bringing so much work home, we are way exceeding our time contract hours due to so many responsibilities. Most districts have a curriculum team that supports with curriculum and assessments, we however do no

1. Too large class sizes 2. Special needs and behavior issue children receive a SIGNIFICANT amount of resources and time from staff, but it comes at the expense of other students who don't have such needs/issues.

1.Special Education program/policy 2. DSISD needs improved community communication 3. Managing the growth

A tight community that has suffered a break-up through campus distance and conflicting cultures HUGE lack of student and teacher diversity

Academics, growth, staff retention

Accommodating the growth of the student population as it increases quickly - providing enough schools to handle to population growth. Hiring quality teachers that reflect the DSISD values and offering competitive salaries to ensure retention. Continuing to enforce rules and regulations to which students and parent must abide.

Accommodating the growth—over capacity in schools less than 5 years old plus a high school that's getting too big to maintain the level of rigor and opportunity the students/community want Too much debt and questionable spending

Accountability in elementary schools. Not able to score higher in student progress. I am concerned that new coming elementary students will not be as prepared for school since we are getting so much bigger. I am concerned about having one high school versus a smaller setting with 2 high schools. Academics should be much more important then athletics for our growing district.

Administration/staff relations, educator job satisfaction, transparency and follow up on programs and initiatives within the district

An active anti-progress, anti-bond force is stirring up trouble in the community. They are loud, organized, and completely unreasonable (but the can sound reasonable to the uninformed). Significant challenges related to fast-paced growth of our district.

Balancing a budget More representation on the board Traffic congestion on 290 at the high school

Balancing growth and taxes / debt, paying teachers and staff well enough to be able to stay here / live here, building facilities that aren't overbuilt or under built

Balancing the growth without losing the original feel of the district which was the draw to the area in the first place. Educating our students on becoming world class learners but not falling prey to every new learning trend. Finances moving forward need to be more carefully spent. This pattern of growth will subside and the households will age losing the tax basis. Response

Being able to adapt to rapid growth and overcrowding of facilities and classrooms while maintaining high standards of excellence for staff and students. Moving toward personalized learning for all students

Budget: 1. Attracting and retaining great teachers with the lack of affordable housing in our surrounding areas. Teachers can not afford to live here and truly be a part of a great community with their current compensation. 2. The mismanagement of school district and tax payers funds: ex: Unnecessary new elementary school to accommodate administration Ex: an exorbitant amount of overhead in the schools that don't directly support students or teachers 3. Continued inner spending on a 2 year old stadium

Building interpersonal relationships with a high rate of turn over and rapidly expanding population base on top of the already alienating effect of modern technology is a major challenge and frankly the at the root of the community issues this district faces.

Bullying Drugs

COMMUNICATION- especially ensuring that the District gets the truth as it understands it out, rather than letting others drive the discussion CHILD DEVELOPMENT- encouraging healthy student brain development including Executive Function, play/ experiential learning, SEL, varied teaching techniques to reach varied learning styles, etc. Being a district that grows ALL of our kids toward adulthood. SAFETY as it relates to the above- feeling heard & understood and making healthy, positive choices; creating schools where everyone feels welcome, where students with problems are seen & offered help and where student misbehavior is faced head-on as a team with the student and parent, not ignored.

Changing how we educate our kids in a way that is right for them, not just the way it has always been done. Making sure teachers get training in the new types of learning they might be teaching. Growth.

Changing student demographics Financial Transparency Raising academic achievement for economically disadvantaged students

Changing systems too often (technology/Canvas/etc.)

Changing trends and feelings of the world vs the community wants for their children Fiscal responsibility Transparency to the community

Communication (issue/concern) Technological scalability (challenges) Lack of supporting staff (issues/concern)

Communication between the district and the community, the ability to support all students even those with significant needs

Communication from district on important issues and not just minutiae, academic pressure/competitiveness stress on students, peer pressure

Communication to parents Explosive growth Lack of diversity

Communications, growth and subsequent building, insuring diversity in neighborhood schools

Conduct and behaviors. Drugs and Vaping consequences need stricter district-wide enforcement (not a case by case basis) We also need to more strictly enforce student to student sexual harassment.

Consistency in quality of education delivered from classroom to classroom. One teacher is outstanding and the teacher next door, not so much. Scheduling is like the lottery - there are winners and losers and its a game of chance that can impact the future of our children. Traditional methods of teaching and grading that focus more on deadlines and meeting course requirements than mastery of the skills and knowledge required for future success.

Consistent, open communication with parents (this goes for teachers and admin); a fast- growth district scenario facing tax revenue caps; teacher recruitment

Continuing a legacy of excellence Growth outpacing resources Growth outpacing capabilities, including facilities

Control, discipline, community. Response

Costs and spending are spiraling out of control. Debt levels are at unprecedented levels. Leaders mislead the public, pretending that they're not increasing taxes by using the ruse that the *rate* isn't changing. The entire district needs to be considered - all of us, not just parents and children.

Cultural diversity Undervaluing teaching professionals

Curriculum, community, quality teachers.

DSISD should not turn into AISD...please keep embracing traditional values, while also maintaining academic excellence

Dealing with growth ( new campuses, class sizes, etc) and maintaining quality schools with the rapid growth

Debt and Taxes. This madness MUST stop. After that, the leadership at the individual schools (principals, asst principals) is critical. It is important for these individuals to be seasoned, strong, fair, knowledgeable and available. The entire culture of the school is set by this leader.

Decision to have one high school versus two (I see both sides of this topic but to me the overwhelming solution is two high schools if we truly are doing what is best for individual students) How best to develop the land off Darden Hill (the elementary, middle, high school on one campus seems ideal) Dealing with parents who seem to have a sense of entitlement and take it out on teachers and school administration (not sure how to address it but I do see this as an issue. Too much time and resources are dedicated to addressing these parents)

Dramatic growth which makes time and space on the day-to-day more challenging (the builds have helped this, but it's continuing and needs to be planned for) Higher taxes will make the district unaffordable to many great families and people who have been here a long time Meeting the needs of the kids and staff in the district is a continual challenge, but the district appears to be doing a great job from my POV

Dripping Springs is a wonderful community that is growing rapidly. It is a challenge to grow rapidly, spend wisely, and look to future planning in a strategic manor. As a community we must stay united, keep our students first, and not heap large amounts of debt on our current community and future residents. In a time in America where many people seem to be divided we must look to have good conversations that find solutions for our current problems and future plans. We need to find consensus and hear from all types of people so all stakeholders are considered. We must be careful not to price out our teachers, pastors, fire fighters, blue collar workers, and law enforcement. We must keep our long term DS community members in mind. We must keep our school district one of the best in our great country. Keeping all of these factors in mind is not easy, but it is necessary.

Drug/substance abuse Bullying/entitlement issues (both students and parents engage in these behaviors) Lack of focus on trade skills (what used to be called "shop," "vo-tech," etc.)

Drugs, growth, leadership

Drugs, safety at the high school

Drugs, vaping, uncontrolled partying, lack of teachers actually teaching their full schedule, and waaaaaayyyy too long lunch periods for the high school...... causes teens to engage in mischief. We moved from RRISD and were shocked by the difference in much more liberal values, and neglect among the students. Our teenagers have stated that the kids here, just don't care about their grades or education. I would hope they would care. Education matters! It's a very strong key to success.

Expansion and population growth/change Higher property values and taxes creating financial difficulties for families Community losing faith in administration to manage budget/vision for district growth because of financial concerns and fear of change

Explosive Growth Controlling Unnecessary Spending

Fast Growth

Fast growth Response

Fast growth Student academic/needs diversity Money

Fast growth and lack of appropriate space. Lack of Mental Health program for students (I know this is changing). The range of opinions that parents/community members have about the direction in which the district should go.

Fast growth and not being prepared. Too much emphasis on High academic performance than on-level students. On-level get pushed through. Need more school to work opportunities, technical career prep, and career and technology classes.

Fast growth, irrational community members with ties to Empower Texans.

Fast pace of growth. Preparing students for a future we can only imagine.

Fiduciary responsibility. Managing growth but balancing fiscal responsibility

Fighting back new social norms and School board spending/tax spikes are out of control Parents voices seems secondary to an entire LEFT leaning school board of self perceived intellectual elites Traditional or conservative values discounted

First, the lack of community trust in administrators and board members and the need for greater transparency, increased accountability, and more responsible stewardship of our tax dollars by DSISD's School Board and School Administrators. Students and teachers, instead of special interests should be DSISD's top priority, and they are not because we have too much debt to service. Second, the school board and administrations refusal to take action on the creation of a citizen-led bond oversight committee (FBOC) is troubling on many levels. This is common practice in other area ISDs, such as Eanes (Westlake) and Hays Consolidated. The DSISD School Board seems quite comfortable with school employees, architects, and construction firms overseeing the expenditure of tens to hundreds of millions of our community's hard-earned tax dollars—when all of these individuals and companies' compensation is directly tied to expenditure of our community's tax dollars. It's in their best interest to m

Fiscal Responsibility/Interaction with the community Growth Teacher Pay

Fiscal responsibility! I have grave concerns about the budget! Growth planning. Retaining talent. Conflicts of interest seem to run rampant and lead to the public having a general distrust of the board.

Focus on Growth Focus on getting schools built to meet need

Focus on testing prep vs student learning. Support for special needs. Finding strong teachers.

Frequent changes in the leadership, having hard time keeping principals, superintendent and even some great teachers. Not having enough support for STEM programs.

Get personal phones and other devices out of the school. If a class requires a device, it is the school's responsibility to provide it. This is a public school. Privacy matters! GET OFF OF FACEBOOK!!!! Pay attention to terms of service, nobody under 13 years old is allowed to use YouTube. Forget the athletics, stop the rivalries, and focus on education.

Growing size of the community Ability to provide additional enrichments activities to all students Expose students to multiple types of electives

Growth Student character and retaining high quality staff Part of growth, but how to unify and gain confidence and support of the community and other stakeholders

Growth Academics Too much emphasis on athletics.

Growth Alignment LPAC/ELL/Bilingual Guidance

Growth Best in class teaching Not on that order

Growth Continued academic strength/success Response

Growth Continuity through infinite changes

Growth Facility planning

Growth Growth Growth

Growth Inclusion

Growth Lack of diversity

Growth New high school needed but administrators seem to be fighting it. We can have two football teams.

Growth Passing the next Bond

Growth Public relations for the bonds we need to pass Avoiding distractions from outside groups.

Growth Safety Balancing trustworthy, open communication with efficient movement

Growth Safety

Growth School administration Fiscal responsibility

Growth Special Education Staffing qualified faculty & staff

Growth Staff Turnover Community Perception

Growth Staff retention

Growth anti public education faction lack of funding from State

Growth Appropriate use of funds

Growth & spending

Growth (and proximity to large high schools like Westlake and Lake Travis and the perception that DS wants to be like those schools), limited diversity (ethnicity as well as economic), and perception of lack of transparency

Growth , new high school desperately needed

Growth - keeping up with space for new students and working with community on reasonable solution that have beneficial impact for community growth as well as traffic. Maintaining high quality staff who can afford to live in the area. With housing being too expensive for a teacher to live and work in the area there are concerns that quality teachers may look into other districts that are more affordable with less of a commute. -strong focus on teacher incentives and happiness to keep those great teachers commuting. Nutrition- the food offered at the school is atrocious and everyone knows that good nutrition has a great impact on students health both mental and physical. Academic success is also tied to good nutrition. -donuts, funnel cakes, and cinnamon rolls being served to littles at breakfast and lunch is not good for the students or teachers managing the classroom. It has many negative impacts that should be considered and addressed.

Growth and maintaining the tight community support

Growth and still maintaining the identity that is DSISD. Supporting mental health of our students, DSISD does a great job but this is an evolving area and challenging for all districts.

Growth and the lack of willingness to implement a language immersion program or dual language program at the Kindergarten level through the elementary years (at least) Response

Growth and traffic

Growth as the population increases (whether we want it or not), the possibility of a new HS, changing demographics from a political perspective & regressive attitudes.

Growth in enrollment. Increasing diversity of students. Facilities for growth.

Growth of area - we need another high school at the Darden Hill/Sawyer Ranch location. Communication can always be better.

Growth of district Conflicts of interest Lack of diversity

Growth of district and keeping same level

Growth of school population Responsibility to individuals paying taxes Debt

Growth preparation Monetary needs for classrooms and teacher pay

Growth rate, maintaining the high standard of education while growing so quickly

Growth,

Growth, Retention of teachers and special education

Growth, and Insufficient accommodations for current students, and consequences of poor decisions made after tax increase funding. The district should have purchased more land surrounding the schools to build on at each existing campus to accommodate student populations and ample parking and transportation. Instead it's about adding new elementary and middle schools to neighborhoods and increasing taxes for such spending. Eventually all these students at all elementary and middle school campuses are bottle necked into one high school. Fix problems at high school rather than adding more elementary and middle schools that encourages more growth that repeats the same problematic pattern/tax increase cycle. Instead focus on the problems with current students not incoming students. Designs at the last tax increase revenue built football stadium should have allowed more freely traffic flow to and from the high school, with ample parking and social congregations groups within the gates/conce

Growth, balanced innovation with accountability.

Growth, crowding

Growth, dealing with the various needs of the community. Vocational opportunities need to be supported as well as the academic push to university.

Growth, develop magnet programs, second high school should have already started bond program

Growth, lack of diversity

Growth, mental health,

Growth, safety of students, teacher pay needs to be increased to attract and keep the best teachers.

Growth, school construction funding(bonds)

Growth, too much access to technology for children (allowing cellphones in class and during the day), and retaining staff/teachers due to high cost of living

Growth, transgender concerns, Response

Growth- how do we keep our high quality, student focused, PBL classroom style in a rapidly growing district. Misinformation- there are unfortunately small numbers of vocal opponents of progressive curriculum and bonds that weigh in by spreading misinformation about our district and goals. Frequent, loud communication is key.

Growth--logistical (money, facilities, infrastructure, staffing, attendance zones, etc.) and environmental (changing community with evolving needs and values, spreading our culture without diluting it.) Momentum: We've made major strides in how learning looks for our students (and staff). Maintaining and accelerating progress is important.

Growth.

Growth. Middle school and high school need to be built sooner than planned. Waiting too long for than. Sycamore springs schools are closed to full and still many homes to these school being built.

Growth. Continuing to maintain strong curriculum and rigor across multiple campuses.

Growth. Need of High School on east side of town.

Handling population growth; handling the SMALL but VOCAL part of the population that fears science-based, comprehensive sex ed; being transparent enough that people will support the next bond package

High turnover for teachers Too rapid growth Too big of focus on ESL program at DSE

I think we are growing so fast that it would be disheartening to get behind the eight-ball on it. We need to make sure that we continue to build the new schools to keep up with the growth that obviously isn't stopping. We also need to keep up with the spirit of teaching the kids good life lessons to being successful in life. It's much more than the simplistic grade ... it's setting them up for success as adults and positive contributing members to society.

If the district is interested in keeping quality teachers, they need to invest in affordable housing for teachers. I am a teacher living out of district because I cannot afford to live in Dripping. Teacher voices need to be heard. We need the resources required to teacher our kids. One of the most frustrating things this year was the new ELA adoption. We were told we were getting several resources in the beginning, but it turns out, decisions were made to not purchase all of them. Teachers were not given this information until after the start of school.

Immigration- Taxpayers don't want to pay for illegal immigrants to go to school. Principals need to make sure each class in their school are saying and standing for the Pledge of Allegiance and give the students a moment of silence to pray every morning.

Inbalance supporting children and staff in Special Education Dept. Many children being left behind and/or segregated from their peers. The physical spaces in our district are not accessible for children and adults using wheels to get around or with low muscle tone. Mulch of any kind is not accessible. Any new or renovated building should be designed with full inclusion in mind. The designers and Facilities team needs to ensure that anyone in a wheelchair (child or adult) can get around and access all areas of the campuses. Sit in a wheelchair and try to get around and see what it's like. There are still many areas that need to be fixed. Any new buildings should not have these limitations but they do like SSMS/SSES when it opened.

Inclusion practices Diversity

Increasing number of sped, 504, dyslexia kids and not enough staff. It's atrocious that an elementary school our size has only one dyslexia and one intervention teacher. The district places too much emphasis on accelerated instruction but when a child struggles, they are not getting the help they need.

Incredibly high taxes Communication with the community, especially in regard to future plans to address growth - not the actual plans necessarily but the way this info is communicated Keeping good teachers - being willing and able to pay them to keep them in our District

Issues are keeping up w the significant growth with room to handle everyone. Also I think there is a problem with catering / helping kids that are not considered gifted. Then no homework concept doesn't work for many of our kids. I would think that the overall test grades would represent that. Response

Issues-Need Oversight Committee representing all areas of DS (similar to Eanes district) to ensure district makes solid decisions with community input. Not secretive or behind doors (isle headwaters land and Superintendent process). Concerns- manage district growth to make sure all read represented. Change elections from at-large to regions represented. Challenges- academic Devine due to project based style. DS known for strong traditional academics which is why we moved here. Frivolous spending by board & district. Need transparency in Superintendent process.

Issues: Need a Community Oversight Committee representing ALL REGIONS of Dripping Springs, similar to Westlake, to ensure district makes solid decisions and not under the radar as currently being done by existing school board, ie. Headwaters land decision made without community input. Challenges: Managed growth of the district. Need to ensure ALL regions of the district are represented in decisions being made. Concerns: Academic decline due project base model rather than staying with the traditional/classic model Dripping Springs is known for (high academic standards) and why families move here. Unaccounted for spending by school district Inability to have insight into the new superintendent process School board should have representation from ALL regions within Dripping Springs not at large elections

Keeping progressive ideas out of the schools- Teaching civics and American history as it should be taught-

Keeping strengths while the district continues to grow

Keeping up with the growth while maintaining the characteristics that make us strong.

Lack of discipline/weak (if any) consequences Confusing District Mission left by former superintendent Primary Elementary Foundational skills were replaced by technology/innovation

Lack of fiscal responsibility. Lack of disciplinary enforcement in the school/classrooms resulting in poor educational experience for the non-disruptive students.

Lack of space in the schools for expanding population in dripping springs, inability to retain the same teachers, spending money on things that are unnecessary

Lack of special ed support, lack of academic flexibility, upcoming quick growth and how it will be handled

Lack of transparency on Board of Trustees between educators and other stakeholders. Lack of transparency of Superintendent Office between educators and other stakeholders Large amount of debt Using special meetings to vote on land acquisitions Group think of Board of Trustees Superintendent with too much power and Board President complicit

Lack of transparency with the community. Half truths. Spending rate. Turnover with great teachers because they can't afford to live here.

Limiting the districts voracious appetite for tax and spend mentality. Obscene propert taxes will dissuade future potential residents and hurt in the long run. Both my parents were teachers but there's a balance between responsible use of taxes and just writing checks without a care.

Location of elementary #5, middle school #3 and whether or not to have another high school. The biggest being that the county hasn't done anything to improve Darden Hill rd. Recycling at school - especially in the cafeteria

Losing conservative values- for example the proposed 7th grade Sex Ed curriculum FLASH Curriculum last year. We moved to Dripping to get away from the liberal Austin mindset, not to follow it.

Maintaining a first rate school district without overburdening the tax base. Recognizing the tremendous growth occurring in this region and being proactive rather than reactive in regards to facility expansion, again without overburdening the tax base.

Maintaining academic level of achievement in a growing district Expanding extracurricular options to keep kids engaged as school size increases and it makes kids harder to participate in sports Mental health of the students. Stop class ranking releases. Take away kids phones in every class. Keep kids engaged. Reduce bullying and drugs

Managing costs Safety of students (regarding bullying, drugs, smoking, etc) Response

Managing growth, staying focused on education a d both straying into social justice, fiscal responsibility

Managing growth. Keeping up current level of facilities. Attracting qualified teachers

Managing the rapid growth while still attaining high levels of academic achievement Addressing the needs of all students regardless of abilities Keeping the district united as more schools are opening/expanding

Massive growth, outside groups attacking the board and certain students/student groups.

Mental Health / Social Issues Drug Prevention Inadequate review of curriculum needs tied to community input and social values

Mental health (look at high school, middle school and elementary suicide attempts and out cry's)! Training for teachers on SEL Behavior supports

Mental health of students, being able to successfully maintain and house programs that have sprung up recently

More classroom space because of growing district, drug awareness and prevention, adaptation of learning styles for our children utilizing technology and collaboration of students.

Mountains of debt. Responsiveness to special interests while ignoring taxpayers. Emphasis on building palaces and not investing enough in our teachers. Engaging in charades like this survey.

My parents have been talking a lot about the budget and a new school that will be built and when I saw this on Facebook I felt I had to say something. Why are you building a new elementary school for walnut? I think you should hold a new vote on this. I want the new superintendent to get a new vote on this because there are a lot of other things that our schools need and that's just a waste of money.

My son, who is SEVEN just told me we had to go to CHURCH at SCHOOL or we would go to hell and he said he was scared we his parents would go to hell and that school has church on Sunday's now and we had to go. I asked him where he heard this and he said from A TEACHER. He said it was not his teacher and he does not know her name. I know that there is a church that meets at our school now but this is insane and insane isn't even the right word. I will be showing my son every picture of every teacher and try to find out who told my son we need to attend he SCHOOL CHURCH so his PARENTS DONT GO TO HELL. My husband doesn't even want to send our kid to school anymore. So yeah if you hire a superintendent make sure he tells these evangicals to stop POISONING my kids head.

Needs to properly address equality for all students. Separation of religion and school (church and state). Address modern problems facing our students.

NoBullying, que los niños no falten a clases, que los niños tengan los mejores grados en la escuela

Not all electives are counted in the GPA Changing culture and adjusting to growth lack of support or funds for more specialized PD

Not enough recess time. Too long of bus rides due to people moving in. Ours is 20 minutes earlier this year.

Not enough resources

Not fitting at the HS. I know the kids need more room and this is a big concern with the current growth but am very concerned about the programs they will lose (enough kids to have GT core classes, clubs that have sponsors and enough membership, etc) and the tearing apart of the community (with 2 HSs people on the east side will go to elementary, middle and HS in Austin, shop in Austin, work in Austin and never be a part of DS) if DS becomes a 2 HS town so i think plans need to be made to avoid that. (We should purchase/trade the DSYSA land and the library land and put more HS facilities there rather than building a 2nd HS) Not fitting at the middle schools - SSMS was sold to us as planned to go up to 1200 but then that was revoked and it is now over capacity already. DSMS was also a 1200 student school until it was decided to be made smaller to accommodate walnut moving. High property taxes - this is just putting stress on the people who live here so that some have to move whic Response

Not handling growth timely and with poor decisions. Putting an elementary school at DSMS is not going to solve problems, only create more. We need the room for MS to grow there. Do not put an elementary there. Why lock in the MS and build another somewhere else? Leaders worrying about numbers and appearance rather than the needs of kids and districts. (1 Example: SSMS principal not disciplining so he does not show high numbers) Having some bad teachers who are so bad no one signs up for the class and the principal just says we don't have enough interest so we will not offer this anymore. What school in this day and age does not offer computer courses? Not one that wants to say preferred. This district is more worried about appearances than truly what the kids need.

Number of students, too much technology, growth

Oppressive debt. Special interests on the school board. Board members who are brainwashed by TASB and who don't listen to the taxpayers they're supposed to represent.

Overcrowding in schools because we lower numbers. Bad decisions and shady ethics of school board. Extreme debt!

Overcrowding, lack of respect for staff by students & parents, fear of parents which leads to district ineffectiveness evidenced by lack of communication, consistency & advocacy for all students

Overtaxation, lack of trust among the community, dishonesty from the district.

Population growth and teacher retention. Also - better facilities and training for special needs programming. That population is growing at record pace.

Prior district leadership did not listen to stakeholders (staff, parents, students) about decisions related to their school and developments around their school (DSMS/WSE bond) and even became visibly irate at people who voiced a different opinion than the vision he had planned. Which equates to a lack of trust towards the district from staff, parents and students Managing the growth of the district while maintaining the "small town" close knit community we moved here for to raise our kids. Lack of transparency of how our bond money and tax dollars are spent.

Prioritization of spending district money Having conflicts of interests in decisions made by the board and administration

Promoting the school bonds that will be needed for building new schools or adding on. Navigating a culture clash of the old paradigm of the community vs new paradigm who has more progressive viewpoints. Building social emotional learning into our curriculum to address mental health needs.

Property tax rates Concerns with new principal and if the ARD process and special education services will continue to be as good as previously

Providing a nurturing environment and completive education opportunities Security Growth

Providing better support and resources for children with learning difficulties & their parents, handling growth

Proving adequate resources for ongoing growth Much more skilled communication with community Actually dealing with vaping

Rapid Growth Lack of realistic vision

Rapid district growth and inadequately sized facilities to accommodate this growth.

Rapid growth Breadth of the school district boundaries Opposing viewpoints between founding families and new out of state families

Rapid growth Cost control / waste Taxes

Rapid growth Loss of identity Drugs

Rapid growth, and the trend towards more conservative instruction surrounding a variety of social issues (sex ed in particular). Response

Rapid growth, maintaining quality of education during rapid growth, supporting the high expectations of recent arrivals to DS while also maintaining what has been developed over the last 15 years.

Religious infiltration in schools Teacher turnover

Ridiculous school district taxes Lack of promoting all post-graduation options (a 4 year university is not the best fit for every child)

Safety!

Satisfying the public's need for communication and transparency Increased population

Saving 30 million and stopping the move of walnut. School leadership at the secondary levels is insufficient. Stopping wasteful spending.

Security, transparency, overly academically competitive

Sex Education Drug Use Teacher Salaries Transportation Counseling Services

Significant growth and ensuring all students are growing

Size Drugs

Sky rocketing property taxes Need to responsibly manage growth

Special Need program and training/support/understanding from leadership in district.

Special Needs (IEP students), Bullying and behavioral concerns.

Special services for students/appropriate staffing. Educating teachers and staff on providing accommodations for students. Central office preparing our district for the growth our district will experience in the next 20 years.

Spending habits are out of control. The board of trustees wants to move a perfectly good building when it is not necessarily the most cost effective choice right now. Teacher salaries are not competitive and teachers can not afford to live in the district. The benefits package is pathetic. We will start losing teachers if we cannot keep up with the schools in the area.

Spending too much money on insignificant "problems" or creating a problem when there isn't one. Allowing the schools have such leniency with no homework, retaking testing, giving too much authority to the children.

Structuring of future schools, i.e. Freshman center, multiple high schools, multiple campuses on one piece of property. Open communication with the community on budgeting process, decisions, respecting the community while also providing for adequate facilities and staff to maximize student performance and well being. Emotional well being of our students, addressing behavioral concerns of students and working to lift all children up in a meaningful way. School safety is also a major priority, there are not enough resources allocated throughout the district. District does not always truly listen to the concerns of the public, rather give lip service to listening to the community.

Supply & Demand Technology

Surging numbers/growth Raising academic profile

Tax Payer Dollars/Bond Concerns both past and present/ a true attempt to be honest, upfront, and in connection with the community. Student engagement- opportunities for our students to excel in their area of expertise and to continue to push our district to learning that does not look the same as it did for us!

Teacher retention A bond which BARELY passed that includes some very unpopular and unwise ideas (overbuilding) Understaffing key positions Response

Teacher salaries Curriculum

Teacher support, common sense leadership, community trust

Technology(using it but not allowing the distractions and social hierarchy that is harmful Liberal agendas and policies Rapid Growth

The HS rules have not been enforced over last few years allowing too much freedom for the students. (ie. cell phone usage during class, on/off campus allowances, vaping hall/bathroom, dress code) Teacher accountability held when students create projects and fairness when grading.

The bloated bond package that was passed that includes the closing of a perfectly functional school at Walnut while rebuilding said school for millions of dollars and using a third of the existing school for a function it was never intended for. Our district is massively in debt and will require a future bond to address growth and over crowding. The district has embraced overspending that DOES NOT benefit the students. Please, no more elementary/middle school combo campuses that are being pushed through at the expense of better and more fiscally responsible alternatives.

The board members are not working with a transparent agenda. there are still too many secret processes being implemented. The growth is here but the vision is not always correct

The debt is insane and it's causing long time residents to leave. The special interests aren't hidden and need to be exposed more. The board seems to be tied to so many in the town who support them because of emotional connection and make fun of any parent who shows tax increases in online groups.

The district has hired unexperienced teachers, teachers who only follow rules and certifications. However, most of the Gen Teachers don't understand that each child has different needs and ways to learn education instruction. Lack of inclusion support, diversity and provide on time real therapies like Occupational Therapies (one to one), fine motor therapies, executive functioning for Middle and HS kids who need to be ready for college and adulthood, real social skills services for any kid who struggled, etc. Sports, need to involve every kid and looks is only for the same athletes kids. Improve music classes since elementary school. Kids need to learn, read and appreciate music, and learn to play instruments. Languages program, kids need to be exposed in different cultures and languages in a fun way.

The district has some teachers/admin stuck in the "this is the way we've always done it" and it keeps us from growing. There doesn't seem to be a cohesive expectation for curriculum. Not enough Professional Development is offered for some departments

The district needs to vigorously pursue making social emotional learning (SEL) a integral part of teaching the whole child and building our community. Planning for and managing growth will be a challenge for the foreseeable future.

The fast growth, and because of this all of our electives/specials teachers are consistently overwhelmed. The classes are crowded in these areas, with 30+ students and have been for years. The other major issue is the lack of affordable living for janitorial staff and others on a minimal income. This affects the classrooms in a direct way, with rooms not being cleaned on a regular, which creates a breading ground for sickness to spread. Once that happens our attendance takes a hit, which in turn can affect our school's finances and teacher pay (such as when TAE used the attendance to formulate BILL 3 for raises). The last thing that needs to be addressed is if being a district of innovation is worth it, now that we've been in a few years. Specifically I have seen a drop in accountability for truancies.

The growing community.

The growth, and a need to eventually have two high schools. Developing more consistency in some fundamental expectations from elementary to elementary

The learning and innovation type of curriculum, it is not practical!

The mentality to spend all authorized rather than save. This goes from classroom budgets to the bond. This is made worse in light of rapid growth. Response

The pillars of strength that have, historically, made this school district an exemplary district of education have been part of its challenges. Those moving in from other states, and even from other places within the state have been attracted to this district for its well-rounded, and excellent education from elementary through high school. But this heavy influx of people have begun to change the foundations of what made this district exemplary. Compulsory education of increasing nontraditional values/morals through the Sex Ed programs, and through other curricula, support the breakdown of the traditional family structure and normalize the over-sexualization of children. There should be no discrimination, or bullying tolerated, period, in the school systems, but that means, 'no discrimination', even against those who believe in traditional Christian teaching/values. Our school district is exemplary because we do not 'follow' what mainstream school districts push on children.

The rapid population growth. It's taxing the schools we have and driving us into a lot of debt trying to build fast enough. The family ties some people on the school board have and how they've been using their power for personal gain.

The school has done a terrible job responding to parent concerns about a potential shooter. Everyday now students and parents have to go to school knowing that the school is taking a complacent role and not proactively informing parents about these safety issues as well as not taking time to talk to all students seriously about gun violence and bullying. It doesn't matter that this issue took place off school grounds - this teenager made a threat using a gun and attends our school. This is our business and you need to do a better job of keeping our children safe. There are so many issues here between the school not being transparent, families distrusting the school, the board being secretive and not allowing oversight, conflict of interest with the kroll families development and a 40MILLION school as well as a new issue of pastors coming and preaching on school property during school Hours, teachers leaving the schools and overall dissatisfied, and terrible communication. This needs t

The special education needs and services are lacking for a district that is growing at this rate. Specifically Dyslexia services and OT services. There also needs to be more training for all teachers on how to teach students with learning challenges. The district could greatly benefit from an anti bullying program that is more robust. There needs to be more education on student differences and at the elementary level more focus on the whole child rather than the big academic push every year. There is such an emphasis on academics and meeting certain levels and standards that the kids are missing out on the actual enjoyment of going to school.

The two most important issues that need to be addressed are district growth and Special Education services.

There is an increasing problem with recruitment and churches. At a recent school event LifeAustin was trying to recruit teachers to join their church. It was a very uncomfortable experience. I was surprised it was all sanctioned by the school. I am part of an organization of other teachers that are increasingly concerned about this and want to see a training done as soon as possible that is district wide. I also support a board oversight committee and would like to see funds appropriately spent. Not that they are not already, but a lot of spending is occurring and I am still paying for items for my classroom. I would hope our new superintendent would support this too.

There is no clearly adopted curriculum. While there is technically an adopted curriculum, there isn't much adherence to it and it sometimes seems that many different supplemental materials have been strung together and called a curriculum. There is a lack of communication with parents regarding student grades, report cards, progress reports, etc. TKS must be asked for instead of being given to parents at the start of the year. Parents are sort to expected to accept their student is doing "fine" unless contacted by a teacher. This is unacceptable. Teachers should be constantly communicating with parents via graded work, informal assessment, etc. There is too much emphasis on technology. It is a digital age, and while technological literacy is extremely important, the district puts way too much emphasis on the use of technology in the class. This is sometimes at the expense of more effective teaching strategies.

Too long of a school day without enough time for play/body breaks/non academic pursuits Poor nutrition services (serving junk food) Poor transportation

Too much taxation and MORE support of our athletes is needed.

Transition of new leadership with superintendent and assistant superintendent.

Transparency High Taxes Opportunities for students other than sports Response

Transparency is a big concern. I do not feel that the last person to hold this position cared as much for the students or their parents interest as he did for his job and the district. He was horrible at handling bulling in the district. He was really good at cover it up but terrible at confronting it. Spending the districts money wisely is also very important. Most government agencies don't do this very well. It would be nice if DSISD was different.

Transparency, lack of concern for opposition to "sacred cows", need for the Board of Trustees to cast the vision for the District rather than allowing the Superintendent to cast a new vision every time we get a new Superintendent.

Transparency, spending money where it doesn't make sense and our board members.

Tremendous and rapid growth of community, need to implement more DIVERSITY and INCLUSION into curriculum

Turnover Students needs are not met academically if you are above or below average. Other considerations should be given for those that don't do well on tests yet consistently exhibit abilities to move at a faster and higher pace during the school year and it is recognize by their teacher.

Unaffordable/spending is out of control! As the district grows, spending is unavoidable, but wise spending is not being done.

We need a second high school and middle school. You keep building elementary schools but not taking care of the other two schools even with the expansion.

We need someone who will bring the basics back to our schools. We are becoming a district that pushes social politics above foundational education.

Weak campus leadership. Top heavy admin structure. Not enough money spent on students in the classroom

While academics needs to be the first priority athletics needs to be valued as well. Many students have a love of athletics that the school district fails to foster. Through athletics I hope the district can foster a much more mature atmosphere for both students and athletes. After moving here from lake Travis I was embarrassed by the attitude I saw. Dripping fans actually booing for the oponents band on the field. I asked to discuss this with the previous super and was told it is not important. I would love to have my children grow up in a town where I am proud to say I am from.

Withstand the urge to rely too heavily on STAAR/state tests as a measure of student success. Ability to ignore certain community bullies.

Zoning. The split between dripping and sycamore shouldn't be 290. Being in Ledgestone, it's absolutely crazy that my son has to arrive home at 5-5:15pm when sycamore kids are getting home almost an hour earlier. challenges of a fast growth district - student population lacking in diversity of culture and experience in an increasingly diverse world - different opinions of parents growth negative community groups - challenge to deal with secondary discipline - need strong secondary leaders who are not afraid to take action growth and to sustain the status of excellence while accommodating the growth growth-maintaining small town feel and culture schools-enough to accommodate growth but keep small growth; lack of codified systems and processes that become necessary as an organization grows; turnover at central office keeping up with the quick growth too many elective choices that dilute the pool for all and perpetuate mediocrity deciding on how the impending facility growth looks lack of small group or reteach in secondary classes Response managing growth without sacrificing quality of education and personal attention to each student becoming more diverse and kids and parents being more accepting of those who don't look like them managing the evolution from a "rural" school district to a big city and dealing with social media issues and drugs/ vaping in the schools out of control spending inadequate teacher pay pace of change (technology and needs of employers) and being able to adjust and adapt fast enough Having leadership that can weather the fickle and prickly winds of a PC culture and rage flavor of the day rapid growth project based learning issues avoiding activism in education rapid growth with limited resources rapid growth, hiring great teachers to meet the growth demands retaining quality teachers Class Sizes relationships between families and the district school sizes/staffing (due to our fast growing community) road safety small group or re-teach at the secondary level **during class special ed supporting those that don't go to college but tech or trade school, military, etc. traditional approach - disconnect with preparing students for their future rapid growth of district - maintaining the best qualities of the District while adapting and developing systems that will maintain or enhance our effectiveness gaining enough support and trust within the community to pass the next bond 3. What professional characteristics should the board look for in the next superintendent? Response

A track record of leadership with team building, strong communication, and problem-solving skills are essential for this position.

Honesty, experience, and a "forward" mindset.

> a systemic leader > student centered > personable/approachable > direct communicator > sets clear expectations > coaching ability

* Passion for student-centered learning * Passion for transforming schools into high-agency, more dynamic, next-generation models

* Proven track record for high academic standards and development * Proven processes and/ program(s) to address bullying, drugs, vaping * Transparency of use of non-allocated dollars * Keep politics out of the school and classroom to ensure student ability for free speech and to encourage constructive conversations without repercussions.

*top priority: safety of all students and staff *learning agility (ability to adapt quickly to new situations and learn new skills as needed) *leadership (willingness to make hard decisions after thoughtfully considering input, and ability to bring others to support those decisions) *fiscal responsibility (not miserliness--instead, a commitment to spend money where it would benefit the district most, and not for fads and shiny gimmicks (looking at you, random leader-in-me paraphernalia)) *commitment to maintaining DSISD's strong academics and music programs *commitment to facts and empirical evidence about what works, what doesn't, what should be taught, and how to teach it *commitment to the Establishment Clause (Schools and churches have different roles in society. Public schools are, by law, secular.)

- Need to be as professional, committed, and a visionary like Dr. Gearing has been. - Need to be like Teflon and let the negativity and short-sightedness of some community/board members not let it bother them. - Need to be able to determine and communicate what is necessary for the students and teachers to thrive. - Need to be able to stand up to the bullies who don't have kids in school when they object loudly and uneducatedly about things in the district that need to change. - They need to have an open-door policy and set time aside each week to visit with parents and each school, so kids and staff feel valued.

- Professional, private-sector experience as a business management executive and/or equivalent training, such as an MBA from an accredited and highly-ranked institution. Public sector administration/management degrees ARE NOT an acceptable substitute. - Conduct psychological and personality profiles toverify that the candidate is not a psycho/sociopath, narcissist, or otherwise has a toxic personality/traits in order to prevent the many issues that DSISD's staff dealt w/ in predecessor Gearing - Independence from TASB, other special interests, career ambition, etc, that could result in anything other than the best interests of DSISD's taxpayers, students, and parents being unquestionably the top priority. - A proven history of balancing budgets and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse while also cutting taxes and increasing funding for students and teachers in the classroom. - An ability, understanding, and willingness to stand up to and demand better from DSISD's corrupt

- great communicator - someone who seeks discussion amongst other districts like ours - attends conferences for feedback and guidance - is accountable and stays the course to existing strategic plan or its next iteration

-Ability to stand up to DSISD Board when needed, especially stopping unnecessary changes in core values of the district (social progressiveness) -Someone who is from Texas and understands Texas core values of independence, self-reliance, pride in country and self, innovation and work-ethic. -Someone who is NOT about growing the administrative side of education, but about empowering (and protecting) the local teacher to do their job as they see best, with the students they have in class. -

-Children must come first - each decision should be made according to how it will impact our children -Creative -Excellent developer and seeker of talent in the staff

-Expertise/experience in rapid growth. -A strong belief in equality and inclusion -An understanding that separation of church and state is a constitutional requirement which applies to public schools

-FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. -LISTENS TO STAFF AND PARENTS BEFORE BIGWIGS & DEVELOPERS. -SLOWS DOWN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW POLICIES AT THE EXPENSE OF STUDENTS, STAFF AND BUDGET. Response

-First and foremost, the heart of an educator. Doing what is right for the children, even if that means teachers and parents need to be convinced of it. Our students are capable of achievement so let's do it. Find the best practices (bet they're right here in our district many times) support it, spread it allover DSISD like it's whipped butter on fresh-from-the-oven bread. I know TAPR is a post-mortem but I do think we can achieve better. Rooster Springs, for example, an elementary school with a nearly undifferentiated socio-economic student body has a crappy "C" School progress rating for 2019 and "C" academic growth, zero academic distinctions. Why? Some of that is teaching staff that fails their job, some of that is lack of support from parents who fail their job. The new superintendent needs to find a way to improve Rooster Springs as much as Walnut Springs with their Title 1 population. Both schools' students are capable of achieving higher levels. -This means having a c

-Someone who will continue the personalized learning plan path - and work to continuously improve it -Someone who embraces the leadership focus and can lead with integrity, strength, conviction - and who has demonstrated these traits in past experience -Technology savvy and embraces different uses -Ability to recruit & retain high-quality teachers/administrators -Performance driven and will hold people accountable -Competitive - wants to be the best and brings out the best in others -Strong verbal/written communication skills. Frequent and transparent communicator

-Willingness to get to know what has been started here -Ability to cast a strong vision -Professionalism with faculty and parents - Experience in the classroom

-global view of education and preparing students for a multicultural world -equity and access for all students

-strong, but gentle -willing to take in what the culture here is before making sweeping changes

1) Collaborative leadership style ( rather than past autocratic one) 2) Open communication and transparency 3) Financial aptitude and fiscal responsibility

1) Communicates well with teachers and staff, especially in communicating their vision 2) Strong visionary for protecting and growing public education quality here 3) Able to communicate well with community members- individuals and businesses

1) Fiscal responsibility 2) Fiscal transparency 3) Values equitable division of resources 4) Prioritizes academics over athletics

1) Leadership/vision/strategic thinker/ problem solver 2) Dedication to keeping the children safe while on campus and away on school buses 3) No political biases

1) Superintendent that has the ethical fortitude to understand that investigating claims against himself is wrong. 2) Emphasis on achievement 3) Grounded understanding of the actual business world, not the disconnected and dated view shared by administrators with no experience outside a academia 4) Approachable, able to act like a normal community member 5) Has professional experience outside academia 6) willingness to deemphasize technology and stop pandering to children 7) Willingness to admit that position is an appointed political position, as such we the public should have access to their voting record 8) willingness to hold the board of trustees accountable for his own accountability 9) Integrity - we record everything the superintendent says, he needs to remember that 10) Run the district like a cash positive, budget balanced business 11) Ability to stand up against education fads 12) Respect for the community to not implement large scale strategic plans and then bai

1) experience in a similar district 2) willingness to let the administrators do their job without micro management 3) willingness to tell the BoT to stay on their side of the governance line

1-dedicated to forming a long term solution quickly as students are rapidly moving into a district that has little room for them 2- experience in staffing high quality teachers/coaches 3- hold conservative/community values that reflect a balance between supporting individual needs and maximizing academic performance/ enriching experiences (sports/music/fine arts)

1. Humble/Servant Leader (puts kids first, then staff, families, and self) 2. Approachable, 3. High Integrity, 4. Credibility - knowledge of current best practice, 5. Outstanding communicator, 6. Vested - lives in the community, 7. Personable/Likeable

1. All means ALL attitude. I want support for all programs. Not just the big flashy programs. We owe it to the special populations and struggling learners to support their needs. 2. Leadership that will look at developing strong policies across the district. We have staff that is creating policies at each campus vs district. This worries me that there is a lack of consistencies across the district. Response

1. Collaborative leader 2. Knowledgeable about best practices in education 3. Empowers those he works with to lead

1. Creative 2. Intellectual 3. Gutsy 4. Rational

1. Excellent communication skills 2. Proven commitment and knowledge of pedagogy with a variety of education populations 3. Foresight to help with growth management 4. Prefer experience with similar district demographics 5. Good listener who takes different perspectives into account when making decisions. 6. Excellent management skills 7. Strong budgeting skills 8. Sense of humor because the work in this role can seem unsurmountable. The person in this role will need to be able to find the positive and keep on moving.

1. Experience in a high growth community with a diverse set of opinions. 2. An active listener who goes out of his/her way to seek diverse perspectives to make sure they are representing the needs of all. 3. Honest and trustworthy. 4. Calm and thoughtful.

1. Experience in a rapid growth community 2. Experience in a highly successful academic district 3. Experience with a district finances - should be more than a passing knowledge. Needs to be able to do more than rely on Asst Super for Business Operations. 4. Needs to integrate within the community - be visible and enthusiastic; don't "hide" from the community. Be a member of the Dripping Springs community. 5. Be able to handle strong and differing opinions and navigate to a best decision whether that is a compromise or not. Respect the people who care enough to invest in the process. 6. Listen to your staff - all of them - classroom, support, campus and district administration. 7. Someone that recognizes that decisions have to be made with all of the following constituents in mind - students, parents, staff, community members without children (taxpayers), and businesses. 8. Someone with a successful track record working with local and state government/entities (City, County,

1. Experience in building and growing a top-rated school district 2. Experience with a district with high education standards

1. Experienced in more than secondary. Elementary is another ball game, often misunderstood and undersupported here. 2. Value cohesion- someone who will move all of the district to the same page--- less autonomy more expectations so that we can better serve ALL students. All means All and the significant variance between what services are offered and how they are offered between campuses is a disservice to students and our community. 3. Values curriculum. It is the driver of a district and is completely missing. 4. Strong at placing the right people in the right places and willing to rearrange where necessary for the betterment of children's education and educator support.

1. Honesty and transparency with a track record of successful leadership. 2. The candidates should also have excellent ongoing relationships with community members and subordinates. 3. The candidates should be able to show they have the ability to raise up other leaders. They should be able to provide a list of mentors and mentees who also have excellent reputations and professional achievements.

1. Honesty/integrity 2. Puts families/students first 3. Someone who is open and approachable

1. Integrity 2. The ability to properly handle the expected growth of the district in the coming years. 3. Excellent communication skills

1. Progressive 2. Approachable 3. Thoughtful 4. Calm demeanor

1. Respectful- someone who will actually value and listen to parent and teacher concerns and input. 2. Humble- someone willing to work with others to solve issues, someone ready to be a true leader who accepts that many heads working together are better than one.

1. Strong leader without being a micromanager or too controlling 2. Non-political in nature 3. Genuine care and concern for each school and the individuals attending

1. Values educators are experts when it comes to the student's needs. The superintendent should facilitate and lead not be a micromanager and demand.

1. Vast experience, preferably in a more conservative geography/district so that the individual is more likely to either share or at least understand a more conservative community mindset/approach to curriculum. 2. Service/volunteer involvement in their community Response

1. approachable, knows everyone's names 2. reasonable - i.e., not so set in their ways that they are unwavering 3. commitment to always putting kids first while understanding the new trends in education and still moving us forward consistently.

1. support for educators 2. ability to communicate with all facets of community 3. experience in passing and implementing big district issues, including the upcoming bond

1.. Absolute integrity. 2. Courage to see what is right and do it. 3. Absolute courtesy to the entire community (no disgusting powerpoints, etc, or silencing of stakeholders such as teachers and parents.)

A conservative professional with traditional educational values who has demonstrated successes in previous positions. A person who will value the small town cohesiveness of the DSISD and cultivate an education system that will continue to provide high quality standards. Someone who will not lower the level of what is expected of our students. A candidate with a creative mind open to community input and the desire to build schools in our area that will be properly staffed and properly equipped to educate our young people.

A diverse person Someone with world views Someone who believes in inclusivity

A dynamic personality who isn't looking to make a mark but to create something with long term success. Someone with classroom experience and a proven record of fiscal responsibility in a growing district. A people person who can talk to kids as I believe your graduating Seniors should be the ones giving you feedback to grow on.

A fiscal conservative, social conservative, political conservative. Approachable. Visionary. A proven track record of success.

A leader is not a boss. We need someone who will be respected by their peers and subordinates.

A leader that is focused on building a culture of "family" and high expectations, innovative and forward thinking, and visible on campuses and events.

A leader who will not be swayed by the politics in this town

A leader willing to listen, think outside the box to solve problems and doing what is best for the entire district which includes students, staff, teachers as well as the community. Willing to learn from the community as well as guide the community. Interject new and innovative ideas for students and staff but also focusing on the needs occurring within society. We are looking for a leader and someone who will address the societal concerns within the schools. We need a leader to address the epidemic of bullying within our schools and address the issues as they are presented to him/ her as well as someone who can look long term for the community.

A leader, not someone looking for the spotlight. Someone who understands monetary responsibility and knows what is truly needed instead of what seems easy and looks good. Someone willing to dig in and do the work. Not a figurehead who does not make sure what is needed is actually done.

A person that will engage with the staff and students.

A person who is all about our students and a lifelong member of the community, not someone that wants to put his/her stamp on the community and then move on. We need someone that is genuine, cares about all of our students ( not just the higher achieving ones), and can better manage positions that directly support students and teachers.

A person who is willing to look at alternatives to the traditional school methods. A superintendent that cares less about school image and more about the students academic and personal responsibility.

A person who takes input from the people of the district (teachers, staff, parents, students and community members) over the current board members to guide and heal the divide the previous superintendent left with the district. A person with teaching/administrative experience at more than just High School level. A person willing to listen and accept others viewpoints rather than pushing their own agenda (Vision) for what he/she wants for our district. Someone who is calm even when challenged, while still being approachable by teachers, staff, students, community members.

A strong character, and passion for our students and community. Response

A strong vision for the future supportive of teachers and staff understanding of community needs but willing to put quality education and best practices to the fore.

A superintendent should be inclusive, Mr. Gearing's handling of the situation with the transgender child was exceptional. I hope his successor is as dedicated, strong, and willing to protect the rights and privacy of all students.

A tough, but compassionate leader. Our community is difficult to answer to and we need someone that will stand for their staff, what is best for learning, all while partnering with the community.

Ability to empathize with opposing viewpoints without belittling or ignoring them. Ability to be a leader without lording the fact that they're the Superintendent and that their children must come first.

Ability to stand up for what is right And not be persuaded by personal interests such as building a new 40 million dollar school when the school is already fine and doesn't need to be moved and other schools need to be built first so that the kroll family can have a more valuable development and standing up To the secretive politics and turning things around. Also zero tolerance for any violence or bullying and better parents communication. This is getting out of control and we need leadership NOW more than EVER.

Ability to stand up to parents who are trying to bring religion to schools. Work with the budget to increase teacher pay to retain talent and reduce turnover.

Academic growth Getting dripping school rankings up

Actual concern for the wellbeing of all students, not just their own family.

An individual open to working with professional educators, parents and the community. Someone who values transparency. An individual focused on supporting the education of our youth to include social emotional learning and academics without feeling the burden of power and politics

An inspiring visionary that will continue to challenge the way education is done. A personable and down to earth person that will embed themselves and be visual in all aspects of DSISD (to some degree, obviously not possible to be at every event).

Aware of cutting edge educational resources, a healthy respect for community input, humility, a willingness to take into account what is already working in the district. A proven track record of advancing a district in a positive manner.

Balance educational competence with business/ budget savvy

Being able to make rational decision Forward thinking in education innovation

Budget conscious (this was a strength of Dr. Gearing where most of the budget went to the schools--case in point the administration building) Experience with an expanding district (there are a lot of options given our expanding district and we want someone who preferably has done this before)

Charisma, optimism, and patience will be needed in spades.

Christian based principles,

Clear care and understanding of importance of well rounded education Will keep student first Ability to make smart choices about the budget and wisely use resources

Collaborative mindset that values community input. Values mental health as well as academics.

Common sense and transparent leadership, integrity and honesty, supportive servant leadership.

Communication skills and ability to meet with and speak to the community regularly Humility and courage of convictions Flexibility and adaptability to change Collaborative personality and long term commitment to the district Response

Compassion Advocate for those who struggle

Conservatism Leadership skills Previous record

Conservative agenda and leadership, fiscally responsible and extensive experience

Conservative values and ideas. No political agenda- Do not want to have to worry about progressive and liberal ideas being the focus of educating our kids. Kids should be kids-help teach them personal responsibility, working hard, kindness, working as a team.

Conservative, open minded, willing to listen.

Cost conscience Inclusive (ISD staff, parents, and community)

Creative Personable Progressive

Creative, forward thinking, strong. Clone Dr Gearing

Creative, self-awareness to understand personal deficits. i.e. if visionaries only hire visionaries, there will he no one to focus on process, details and safety. Those things, which visionaries may not value, are very very very important.

Definitely someone that has been in education for a length of time. Someone with compassion, accessibility, and transparency. I would love to see someone that emphasizes special education services because our district is severely lacking in this area.

Demonstrate understanding of the points of view of teachers and groups of students that may not bring district academic recognition but are deserving of decisions in their best interest.

Diverse Innovative Excellent financial manager

Do they have the taxpayers best interest in mind? Will they keep each school running orderly and get the resources these principals need?

Empathetic, Empowers others, visionary

Ethics Character Honesty Transparency

Evidence of building and sustaining trust with all district personnel. Communication (as mentioned above) Evidence of a plan to being visible on campuses during regular school hours One who seeks to understand the challenges of being a campus principal. One who knows administrators well and can push them to grow as individuals - not leave all the ideas of how to grow to the individual person. One that enjoys their thinking to be pushed by staff, administrators, parents and community and sees this "pushing" as a way to grow. Understand that each school in the district is unique, a different community, different social needs. For ex: what may work for one campus culture, may not work for another. One who allows autonomy or decision making that takes place in a collaborative way. One that can articulate their goals to the leadership team in a more direct/clear way so that when the change is slow or not going the way it is intended, they understand that getting visibly agitated wit

Excellent Communication skills whether it be with staff or community members An appreciation for diversity Someone who will not advocate for or allow teachers to carry guns in schools Someone who understands the law concerning separation of church and state and ensures that staff follow such guidelines

Excellent communicator/mediator; some who who is committed to keeping up with and building on the enrichment and extracurricular opportunities in the district

Excellent listener & communicator with students/families, co-workers, and community. Hiring competent support staff. Being visible. Overseeing the gestalt of the district.

Experience Compassion Response

Experience Motivation Desire to keep DSISD at the top

Experience and vision.

Experience in a district that has grown at a rapid rate, open minded, fiscally responsible

Experience in a district that is rapidly growing

Experience in a fast growth district.

Experience in a high achieving district Knowledge of how to best work with the community to meet the needs of all students Willingness to learn about the things that make our district unique and special and honor those differences

Experience in guiding a growing district Heart for kids and learning Educational background- would love to see someone who has spent some time in the classroom Understanding of how to support our teachers without putting extra/unnecessary duties/responsibilities on their shoulders Excellent communicator

Experience in leading a district that is growing at the pace as that of DSISD. The ability and willingness to be open and transparent with, and receptive to input from, the stakeholders in the DSISD community.

Experience in rapidly growing districts

Experience in similar districts, experience with challenging budgets, a creative forward-looking vision and track record of achieving goals.

Experience with communicating with a hard group of people, a vision of academic excellence, and the ability to ignore the noise from the vocal minority

Experience with fast-growth districts Knowledge of facility planning Conflict resolution skills

Experience/Wisdom Passion for ALL students, not just accelerated/gifted Strong foundation for discipline/safety (no nonsense policy) Continue Innovation, but get back to basics at lower elementary Good understanding of Dripping Springs community as a whole (Thankfully, we do not all live in Belterra)

Financially responsible. Will seek the input of his constituents. Be transparent with the community. I look for a person of faith with great moral character.

Fiscal responsibility Using from community input for future planning - find out what the people want

Fiscal responsibility, engage & seek more input from teaching staff, more transparency within community

Fiscal responsibility. Someone who invests in teachers and not empire building. Someone who is the opposite of Marble Falls Superintendent Chris Allen, who is one of the most dishonest and unethical people I have run into in 30 years of academic and professional life.

Fiscally Responsible (able to decipher needs vs. wants) Values a Community Approach to Education (parents, teachers, community members, etc)

Fiscally conservative Business experience in running a company not strictly schools Someone who speak to people not Through others.

Fiscally conservative Values the educators and families Open to insight from DS staff

Forward thinking in all aspects- growth and facilities development, changing student demographics (for example, issues such as LGBTQ concerns), and student safety in light of today's mass shooting culture. Response

Forward thinking to anticipate growth Listening to stakeholders Building trust

Foward looking, ability to put students needs/interests first, partner with teachers

Friendly Eager to get plugged into the community Able to bring innovation to the school district while balancing traditional, small town mindset of the parental base Has experience bringing together both administrative teams and teachers. Has proven record of building bridges and bringing a district together toward a common goal. Strong educational foundation Strong track record with positive recommendations from previous school districts Fair amount of experience at previous school districts in the superintendent role.

GET THE EVANGELICALS OUT OF MY KIDS SCHOOL I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS

Good communication skills, someone that is excellent at problem solving, budgeting, managing, creative thinking, and bringing the community, City and Schools together. Someone with an innovative track record in education.. Someone that can champion the teachers and students.

Good communicator and progressive leadership in regards to evidence based academic practice and testing

Good listener Communicates well Transparency Empathic towards teachers Knows the dynamics of DSISD's students

Great communicator with a vision for giving EVERY child a creative, individual-focused education.

Growth minded, community oriented, action oriented with both vision and plans, approachable,

HIGH integrity and morals Successful leadership in a fast growing area.

High degree of integrity and transparency.

Honest Trustworthy Visible Values staff members

Honest, motivated to do the very best for the students individually and collectively, a good leader for faculty who motivates and holds them accountable.

Honest, well-rounded, interest in extracurriculars, ability to stand up to worries about hurting sports by dividing the high school.

Honesty Integrity Good track record at previous schools Someone with vision and an open mind.

Honesty Transparency Cares for the district and not just care about a resume

Honesty with the community which currently there is none and someone who is willing to do what is in the best interests of the students and not themselves. Someone who plays by the rules!

Honesty, Integrity, Transparency and open dialog with the community. For too long, this community has felt that all of the community meetings and committees are for appearances only and that all decisions are made in advance and the whole thing is a sham. One good recent example was the large majority of the teachers at DSMS and WSE who opposed Path 2 were ignored and hidden from the public in order to push a personal agenda. We don't need a politician that is using our district as a stepping stone to promote his own personal career (Path 2 and most recently Mental Health). We need someone that will truly listen and make decisions with the best interest of students, teachers and tax payers in mind. We need someone that wants to serve our community, not promote their own agenda. Another great example of this is the technology policy of BYOD to school. This was forced on the community without any input and if you ask the majority of the community they don't support it.....but our

Honesty, integrity, and no association with TASB.

Honesty, someone deeply committed to what's best for kids—all kids Response

Honesty. Just being straight with parents and teachers is always going to be the better option. We are all adults here and being treated like adults allows us to work through any issue that might arise. But if we feel like we are being lied to or mislead then trust will be broken. And we all know how hard it is to gain trust back.

Humble, community servant, a person others want to work for.

Humble. Decisive. Student centered.

Humility Character

Humility Transparency Collaboration

Humility, strength of character,

I think one of the things that made Dr.Gearing so excellent was that he had skin in the game. Meaning his children actually attended these schools and gave him direct insight into what was working and not. He was also very personable and open to hearing parent and staff concerns and trying to come to satisfactory solutions together. I believe the new superintendent should be able to have all these qualities and be interested in sticking around a long time.

I would like to see someone with a thick skin and inner strength to navigate our district through an rapidly increasing population. I would like someone with a philosophy of parent involvement. It is the school's job to educate our children. It is a parent's job to raise them.

I would like to see someone with no pedigree. Someone with fundamental values of teaching to those who are present. Not some standards or equivalent measures. Just like not all students can be varsity athletes, not all students are destined to have phds.

I would prefer to see someone who believes that actions are more valuable than words. It is important to have someone who is inclusive and values all children within our district. I hope that they will be a good/direct communicator and problem solver.

Inclusion, open mind, experience with a district that has experienced significant growth in a short amount of time, demonstrated fiscal responsibility with and equal or larger sized budget as DSISD, adaptability.

Innovation Integrity Firm boundaries with parents, school board, stakeholders

Innovative Experience Drive Minority

Innovative, listen to the voices of students, parents, and faculty, empower admin to empower their staff, continue to keep technology growth as a focus

Integrity

Integrity Good people skills able to retain excellent staff

Integrity, Ethics, trustworthiness, Customer service focused

Integrity, forward/out of the box thinking, genuine concern and care for students FIRST not politics

Is a parent Has been a teacher Has experience in multiple educational settings Understands the health risks associated with technology overuse Believes the importance of READING across the curriculum and in every grade level Understands that teachers have families and that families come first Pursues what is best for the students and faculty, not what makes him/her look good Is willing to listen to teacher and parent suggestions and concerns and change his/her mind based on this input Security and safety minded

Joe Burns Joe Burns Joe Burns

Keep all students in mind, even those whose parents don't have time (or money) to join PTA, or come to meetings. Response

Knowledgeable Supportive Takes action to keep the work moving forward

Leadership Bridge builder

Leadership Willing to accept change and implement change Fiscal responsibility

Leadership strength, adaptability

Lifelong Learner- someone who goes to conferences, reads, has a mentor or a group that s/he can learn from. Strong sense of self- the people in this district are not easy and s/he must be able to hold her/ his ground while staying composed. Educator's educator- while our district grows, there will be lots of challenges, including the amount we can pay our teachers. The Superintendent needs to know how to make staying in the district worth it for teachers beyond the pay scale.

Lifelong learner, servant hearted, history of leadership in a growing area

Listener, Growth mindset, adaptable, forward thinker

Listening, personal connections with faculty/staff, creative leadership

Looks at all students equally regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender, religion or socioeconomic status. Set an example on how we should treat others through their words and actions. Continue to make Dripping a place of acceptance and inclusiveness and no tolerance for bullying.

Make sure they will keep boys out of the girls bathrooms. No circumstance where this is acceptable.

Masters and tenure

Moral Creative Involved

Moral and ethical integrity, willingness to investigate/promote curriculum for non-college bound students, fiscally responsible, able to engage in open, honest discourse with students, faculty, and community, open to alternative ways of developing new classroom space.

Must be a a strong proponent in wanting to reform our special education. Needs to really believe in inclusion of all students. Make sure you look at their history of special education experience and how they included all students. Please do not hire someone who has tried to segregate students. Inclusion of all students is a win-win for our district!

New Superintendent should be a great steward of resources, have a passion and heart to develop and encourage TRUTHFUL education, and recruit and retain AWESOME educators

Not Bruce Gearing or TASB choice (I know that will not happen, though) Transparency (opposite of Gearing) Advocate for fiscal responsibility (again, opposite of Gearing)

Not looking to or needing to prove him or herself Respect for teachers: understanding their work and effort and actively asking them their opinions and making changes based on them Understands the community and wants to work with it rather than change it

Not superior; actually listen to opinions/suggestions; economically minded.

Obviously a strong background in education is important, but this needs to be balanced by an understanding of what those of us in the private sector need.

One who is a strong, objective leader who has the fortitude to challenge the Board, the Principles, Teachers, and Parents. i want someone who is honest, transparent and can make the hard decisions. We need a true leader. This is NOT a popularity contest and it certainly isn't about who can help forward the board's personal agendas. Response

One who is forward thinking and has a passion for inclusion.

One who puts actual education a priority! We want our children to learn things that will be able to help them with SATs and getting into college

Open listener and good communicator.

Open to options, strength for SEL rather than standardized testing and teaching to the test.

Open to other's ideas Open to innovative leadership Innovative thinking

Open-minded, compassionate, strong

Open-minded, team-oriented, firm but understanding, passionate about their position and their environment

Openness to hearing ideas from parents and teachers

Our last superintendent was an incredible visionary based leader. I valued his approach, however the follow-through often got lost in translation. Because of this I would love to see someone that not only has a forward mentality, but also skilled in the organizational aspect of following up on those ideas. I don't want someone from our district to be hired who will revert us backwards in our aim to be a district of future gains. When Gearing came the electives had formerly been shoved back and forgotten. He did a good job of giving us a place with a voice. I don't want to see someone come in a destroy the creative pursuits of the district. BTW, I have been on MANY hiring committees in the district and would love to be considered for a teacher representative (and electives rep) for this process of hiring the new Super.

Outgoing, approachable, a good listener and problem solver. Experience with rapidly growing school districts would be a plus

Outstanding communication skills, humble, driven, servant leader, innovative, out of the box thinker, visionary, committed to this community, integrity, honest.

Personable, Easily approachable, interactive

Personable, thoughtful, passionate, diplomatic with a thick skin. Someone who can distill the facts available, the recommendations made, and make the best (not always the most popular) decision for our students, staff, and community.

Personable. Record of leading a district with at least the same performance records as DSISD.

Personal - approachable, practical, engaged in district, have a heart for students, involved in community Professional- Proven track record for high academic standards and development Willingness to meet with community and really listen to them and not just board and their agenda. Proven processes and/ program(s) to address bullying, drugs Transparency of use of non- allocated dollars Keep politics out of the school and classroom to ensure student ability for free speech and to encourage constructive conversations without repercussions.

Planner, Finance knowledge, strong education background with priority in education rather than sports.

Prior experience and progressive models

Prior experience in socially and economically diverse districts, history of making dramatic changes in staff engagement in condensed timeframes, success at recruiting and retaining A-level leadership teams

Professional Proven track record for high academic standards and development Proven processes and/ program(s) to address bullying, drugs Transparency of use of non-allocated dollars Willingness to meet with community for input Keep politics out of the school and classroom to ensure student ability for free speech and to encourage constructive conversations without repercussions. Personal Practical, sensible Engaged in the district and community Keep politics out school Response

Professional, easy to approach, not driven by religion, supportive of teachers and fiscally conservative. makes responsible money management choices

Progressive on educational theory.

Proof of results in previous positions of authority Good listener Belief in doing what is good for children regardless of community input

Proven leadership skills with teachers from a high ranking school district

Proven successful LEADER & PEACEMAKER, who is also fiscally responsible realist. Someone who comes from a district experiencing explosive growth would be ideal so we can face some of the hurdles with solid guesses and best practices to steer Drip into it's promising future confidently. Someone that is more moderate or (GASP) conservative would balance things out enormously, and ultimately provide the whole community representation.

Public Relations skills Buy in from faculty Outstanding credentials.

Relational Interested in what's best for students Loyal

Responsable organisado siempre buscar el buen estar de los niños y la escuela

Sense of urgency, understand construction and expansion

Somebody that knows how to incorporate technology into the curriculum, while instilling leadership and values to our future professionals (students).

Someone from Texas who gets it Someone who understands the need for a new high school

Someone from outside the education world. Someone who is honest. Someone who is not trying to pad a resume or Boyle an empire.

Someone interested in evolving the district with voices from the ones who run schools, the teachers and staff. Listening to the ones who are at the schools daily and the parents who listen to their children daily. Someone who will look for advisement not just from the board but from their community.

Someone that is for all students and supportive of all educators.

Someone that is voting for Bernie. Or just Anyone that will make the crazy tea party parents mad. A bumper sticker on their car that says green new deal would be perfect. Just have them say they will make our high school great again. And they need to give high fives.

Someone that will be a great team player and keep faculty empowered and involved. Someone that has a track record of running school districts with a measured results, and can bring DSISD as part of some of the top schools in the country. We have some high achievers in the DSISD schools and given the proper support and challenges they can reach the stars. Hope the next superintendent will be highly qualified and take this district to new heights.

Someone that will stay long and focuses on the students and the growth that we are experiencing and make the best decision for our students academics.

Someone that's not as concerned with being so cutting edge w learning and teaching techniques. I think it's hurting the kids that school doesn't come easy for long term because they're not really learning. They need homework and repetition.

Someone who ALSO supports our athletes, especially our football players.

Someone who can talk to people without being offended if they don't agree with them. They need to listen to the staff and community. Response

Someone who greatly values its teachers and staff and doesn't just cast them aside if they are reluctant to changes. Someone who finds just as much success and values students going into vocational jobs after high school and not just the top 10% going to elite schools. Someone who realizes the other 90% of students need to feel successful. Someone who has actually spent a number of years as a classroom teacher and understands their struggles.

Someone who honors the past and builds on it, Someone who can gain the support and confidence of the staff. Who can be trusted by both community and staff, and someone who can bring spending down as well as costs of construction of facilities. Someone who can find acceptable middle ground in the political and cultural decisions, and can stand up to forces trying to change the district into something other than what is is, what it has been, and what it can be.

Someone who intends to prioritize (tax dollars) professional development of staff over extracurricular/facilities. Someone who places high importance on art and cultural education specifically LANGUAGE IMMERSION programs

Someone who is able to adapt to new teaching styles Someone who understands the importance of the support staff as much as the teachers Someone who can bring fresh new ideas to teaching Someone who has significant experience with school management and has a strong business sense Must be outgoing and supports our Admin get together's / team building Community driven

Someone who is aware of the need for giving the kids a good education while not abusing the taxpayers pursuing non mission critical capital expenditures that ARENT NECESSARY!

Someone who is collaborative, knows his/her strengths, and knows how to receive support/is open to ideas from others who may have strengths they do not possess. Someone who understands how to keep up with the growth of a district while maintaining the integrity of the education students are currently receiving. Someone innovative/cutting edge who understands the ways in which the world is changing and how to help our children prepare for their futures accordingly. Someone who is passionate about students and education. Someone who can take community feedback but still make the best decision for everyone who will be affected, not just one side or the other. Someone how understands child development and the importance of allowing our kids to be kids/have fun/make learning fun, etc...

Someone who is committed to maintaining the individualized and innovative qualities of DSISD. Stellar communication is a must, yet this person should also be capable of setting clear boundaries with staff and parents alike to ensure all viewpoints are represented respectfully. Keep the trajectory of the district moving forward with a focus on proactive preparation.

Someone who is forward thinking, who values the arts as much as sports, who doesn't believe that test scores are the most important way to assess learning or the district's progress

Someone who is interested in diversity and can manage growth . A superintendent that has experienced this type of rapid growth before and is knowledgeable about how to design the correct architecture and infrastructure needed .

Someone who is moderate and can understand all types of students needs.

Someone who is not spend happy, someone is not "innovative", someone who DOES have the BEST interest of the students in mind. Someone who does not have their own agenda to fulfill. Some who has worked in a district which has grown and been involved and surrounded themselves with smarter. more experienced people to do the proper thing.

Someone who is smart money wise and logical, actively listening to all sides and not for their own purposes and agendas, but focuses and being involved in the community not on the side lines, and in tune with all kids, not just their own kids in the district, what is best for them, not so much for law makers and administrators. Someone who is well respected and admired by the community.

Someone who is well-versed in public speaking, can accurately relay information to the public, has a bigger picture outlook

Someone who knows and understands the demands of teachers - the different hats we wear. Someone who realizes education is not a business.

Someone who places the needs of the students and educators above their personal wants. Salary should not be their motivation or driving force for seeking this position. Response

Someone who really listens to the people, the real people who work and live in the district. Someone who isn't afraid to make change, and create a better learning environment as a whole. The person must be tough, and able to stand by their experience and values. Money in this area is a huge factor influencing many... this can be a serious detriment if not used correctly. Find someone who holds their values close to their heart, and isn't just a people pleaser.

Someone who truly understands what is going on with their students- they are willing to do the training, research, education in order to be better informed. Be an advocate and on the side of special needs students, not just lip service.

Someone who understands over privileged white families

Someone who understands that it's much more than just the fantastic grades our district scores. They need to create a happy environment for all around them that does seep down to everyone within the ecosystem. They will need drive to continue to stay abreast of the growth.

Someone who understands the small town feel of Dripping while also experienced in rapid growth. Maintaining our high level of academic performance.

Someone who values communication, is responsive to new challenges, and has experience managing/working in districts with rapidly growing enrollment.

Someone who values play-based learning. Someone who values the whole child. Someone who does not emphasize test scores.

Someone who values the administrative and teaching staff and listens to their thoughts and opinions. Open lines of communication with everyone and better communication skills.

Someone who will look at all of the pieces of the puzzle and not just those that benefit a specific population. A proven leader that has a history of listening to the administration and staffs of the schools in their district. Someone who will listen to others and be willing to learn from them or collaborate. Someone who wants to advance the district as times change but also understands that innovation is not just different than how it has been done before.

Someone who will represent and fight for ALL students, including supporting our struggling learners, non-majority students (LGBT, English learners, and those with disabilities who tend to be marginalized), and someone who will be able to handle the rapid growth of our area.

Someone who's first priority is the children and will create a good environment for the children to learn thru slowing down growth, promoting teachers, listening to feedback from parents, listening to the teachers (such as not putting the elementary and middle school on the same campus), etc.

Someone with a non-Texas centric view of the world who is aware of diversity and global challenges (I'm a native Texan btw). Someone who is not focused on homework and test scores but on individual growth and development and community inclusivity. Someone who can relate to people of various backgrounds and ethnicities so all District families are motivated to be more invested in their schools and the DS community. Someone who is creative and thinks outside the box to address issues of growth, diversity, and developing a non-pressured learning environment where a child's mental health is the first priority.

Someone with a sense of responsibility to the public and a willingness to do what's right despite potential "political" pressure.

Someone with experience in a growing district.

Someone with strong leadership skills, invested in our community, backs Teachers in enforcing school policy and rules on all campuses, understands the adversity our children are facing in this world due largely through media and believes in creating a program that is well rounded and balanced in order to help form versatility in each student by the time they graduate.

Someone with the ability to set the board straight without fear, integrity, no ties to real estate and the board.

Strong Leadership Strong Vision Love for students and teachers Response

Strong engagement with community Strong leader in education policy, practice and research Ability to build a strong team of education leaders that set the tone for common vision and common language

Student/teacher centric. Problem solver. Action oriented, not a bureaucrat.

Support for classical, proven education philosophy. Logical & common sense oriented.

Support of special education and inclusion. Looking after the most vulnerable.

Supportive of staff, able to execute, cares about ALL STUDENTS.

Teacher focused! Take care of our teachers. We're a highly rated district - our teaches should be ahead of state averages, not behind An understanding that yes new facilities are needed, but they do not need to be taj mahals in order to provide quality education. Experience with strategic growth planning is a must!

Teacher support and transparency

The business of running the school district is just that, a business. As a result, someone who knows how to run a business Ability to communicate both to the Board but to parents, the community and faculty Someone who can continue to build on the legacy of excellence left by many

The next superintendent must be experienced. It will be helpful if they are experienced in a smaller town in a Texas community that has experienced rapid growth. Our next district leader needs to approach this job with our students as their top priority. This person needs to set aside their own agenda and focus on what is best for our students to thrive in life, character, and academics. This person needs to seek consensus from stakeholders. This superintendent should seek to listen to parents and grow our district in a fiscally responsible way that is consistent with our community values. This superintendent needs to include the gifting of our school board since they will likely be in our community much longer than the superintendent will. This superintendent needs to have a long term approach to this job so that our district maintains consistency and continuity. This stability is crucial for our youth.

The next superintendent of DSISD should be considerate of teacher needs. All qualified candidates will have a love of children, but they should look at the needs of the educators if they want to keep quality in district. Housing is an important part of that.

The next superintendent should be fiscally conservative, willing to look at innovative concepts but unwilling to jump on the "band wagon" just because something is new. Considering teacher emails to parents have become rife with grammatical and spelling errors, and the fact that our 2019 high school valedictorian could not even use proper subject-verb agreement, I hope our new superintendent will put an emphasis on effective communication which includes rigorous education in the language arts. I have watched our District deteriorate in its educational rigors in recent years as it has pushed technology. I hope the new superintendent will prioritize education that provides students a useful knowledge base conducive to critical thinking.

The next superintendent should have a strong sense of fiscal responsibility to the tax payers and a willingness to do what's right for our students and community despite political pressures or the need to build schools with all the bells and whistles.

The next superintendent should strive to not be judgmental, but in that the leadership should be able to encompass all views, with as much equanimity as possible. The central importance of teaching children a classical liberal arts education to prepare them for college, or other systems of education beyond high school will ultimately satisfy parents. It should not be the school's job to teach morality to the children with the exception of zero tolerance of bullying in all of its forms which would cover racial, gender- based, socioeconomic, and any other forms of bullying. The superintendent must not be of weak character who succumbs to flattery, nor money, nor, criticism, but carries themselves with integrity in all there dealings.

The superintendent need to be aware about Dripping Springs values, bilingual or knowledge with more than 2 languages, emphatically with any kind of social groups. He/she needs to support, encourage and motívate Special Need Education and help the HS kids to find scholarships to continue studying a career. Support parents with special needs education and attend great summer camps in private schools like Fusion Academy.

The willingness to make the district even more financially responsible. Special education should also be a focus of the new leader. Response

Thick skin to face constant criticism by certain members of community. Ability to do what is right for all students regardless of what some community members think.

This is a challenging time for us but one that is full of opportunities with the right leader. I would like to see a superintendent who: 1. has a clear (and clearly communicated) vision that is compatible with the DSISD vision. 2. is a thoughtful and courageous decision maker who is committed to doing what is best for students and our larger learning community and to doing so with integrity and transparency. 3. values both collaboration and empowerment. 4. develops relationships and builds community among the myriad DSISD stakeholders. 5. has proven experience with and deep knowledge of educational organization leadership, both in instruction and operations.

Thoughtful, honest, thorough

Track record of leading a quickly growing school district and maintaining excellence Able to engage parents more. I agreed with the last bond but all the people complaining about Walnut will just continue to be unhappy. We need someone to help bring our community together more and build trust in the school district.

Transparency Background with understanding fiscal responsibility and due diligence Ability to better lead the community they are hired for and less on their own agenda

Transparency, special education background, money management, highly educated, research based practices, anti-technology and screen time

Transparent, experience in fast growth districts.

Truly inclusive of all people from all walks of life. Don't just talk the talk. Needs to show their heart in inclusion in their own personal interests too and past experience. Willing to truly figure out together with staff and parents how to help improve situations.

Unbiased opinion on decisions that need to be made, someone who thinks outside the box and explores lots of options before making decisions, someone who will be mindful of the budget, a good listener, someone who is approachable, someone with experience in a similar environment.

Values learning a second language Values some data driven instruction and prevention Is true to what they say and transparent Communicates about decisions and goals frequently

Very self-confident but a great listener and communicator - particularly to handle chronic naysayers in the community. Understanding of how educational goals and methods need to change (to allow for testing ahead in required classes, appropriate device use, enhancing student communication skills for professional elaboration).

Visionary Fiscal accountability Places student opportunities first Rewards our best educators to keep them in district

Wants to continue to push for separation of church and state inside of our schools. Schools should not be a place for religious bullying. The superintendent should also be FOR inclusion of lbgt students as there are about 10-12 within the district according to my teenager and that's not even including the ones like him that are not open about it and have not told anyone. Please do not allow a suicide on your hands due to this. My son is in counseling and is fine now but there are probably many others that need to feel that school is a safe place, free from religious bullying or free from a church sponsoring anything for teachers.

We need someone with experience in a high population growth, high income community.

Well educated and experienced (even better if they've been a teacher before), cares about the kids' education as well as their health/safety/ welfare, understands the need for discipline, Christian background/ strong morals.

Well rounded, experience, perspective, can get passed small town politics

Well, this is a difficult one, but we obviously would like a candidate (superintendent) who is going to be innovated & buy into the excellent program that we are fostering out here in Drip... but we don't want them to be easily enticed by another district to where we only get 4 or 5 years out of them. Response

Well-rounded- must be as interested in academics and fine arts as athletics (it not more!) Forward-looking- understanding that we need to educate our students to think and to learn, not train them for a specific job that may not exist by the time they graduate. "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." —William Butler Yeats.

Willing to implement true change Desire to understand the needs of the school Compassionate toward the staff, students, and parents Desire to address mental health issues

Willingness to help ALLstudents Fiscal responsibility Ability to get opposing sides to come to an agreement

Willingness to listen. Experience working in a rapidly growing district.

Willingness to try new things in education, good knowledge of the college admissions process and an understanding of what's required for elite college admission vs what's required for admission to an excellent college. ability to listen, then make the best decision for all, not the few - integrity - willingness to keep learning firm stance on social demographics integrity, does what is best for students great leadership skills and people skills all-level education experience knows how important it is to make relationships not a micro manager open and honest; kind; experienced superintendent (not a first time superintendent); progressive; focused on all students, including special education students open minded, good listener, no micro-manager open to innovative ideas, open door policy for parents, problem solver from the top down. open-minded and non-judgmental -willing to listen to all viewpoints and make good decisions innovative out of the box thinking, excellent communicator, take consideration of the communities' desires for the district! recognizes and understands the existing culture has experience with a community our size that has grown at the rate we are growing forward thinking but not at expense of community see above sees the big picture but doesn't lose sight of the small pieces supports teachers willing to move away from traditional someone willing to get to know our community someone with experience in a rapidly growing district thick skinned - willing to tackle tough issues from community challenges to discipline listener level headed values electives and languages as much as core has a vision and communicates clearly transparent with staff and informs of the decisions being made and why