DeSoto ISD has had a series of issues over the past several years. However, Superintendent Dr. D'Andre Weaver is now talking about his plan to move the district forward.
The Texas Education Agency said the district misappropriated funds, employees abused the district’s credit card program, and decisions made by past DeSoto ISD leadership all led to the district's poor financial health. Students' test scores were also among the lowest in the region.
The district brought in Weaver and things were getting better. Weaver then mysteriously resigned. His replacement lasted a week before the board brought Weaver back. Now he's trying to put all that behind him and the district.
"I think if the question is my commitment to DeSoto ISD. It always has been and will continue to be," said Weaver.
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Weaver wouldn't go into specifics but seemed to imply the issues were on the school board, and have been resolved.
"There's a moment of time when you have to go through some dark period," he said. "For us, as a team of eight, that gave us a chance to see where our priorities are what we should focus on. You look at our board meetings now, a majority of the time we spend focused on student learning," said Weaver.
Weaver just unveiled a ambitious plan to right the ship academically in DeSoto.
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"I'm not ashamed to say where we are, but on our last STAAR assessment, our third-grade students, 25% of our students were on grade level. That means 75% of our students were not. That's a horrible reality for me to live with every day," said Weaver.
DeSoto ISD is largely made up of students of color. Weaver is looking at how to better reach those students, setting benchmarks for teachers, and working with community leaders to improve the school's performance.
Weaver said he desperately needs parents to take the STAAR test this May as a litmus test to see where students are and what work needs to be done.
