Dive Brief:

• David Vroonland is the first superintendent hired from the outside in the Mesquite, TX, school district since the 1950s, and he says his focus on innovation and teacher empowerment led to him landing the job.
• Vroonland began in the position in July 2015 and now serves 41,000 students, additionally concentrating on identifying conflicts and building capacity.
• "If you truly want students to be successful," Vroonland told District Administration, "you have to work hard to remove the bureaucracy and red tape, and have teachers really be autonomous to meet the students’ needs."

Dive Insight:

Part of Vroonland's strategy includes an innovative new program called the Master Teachers Certification, in which district teachers take 8 hours of masters-level credit in classes related to district-defined values. After that, participating teachers are evaluated, and then go on to earn what Vroonland calls a "level 1 certificate." If teachers want to continue with that avenue of professional development, they can subsequently earn a level 2 certificate by finishing a Master's program, or a level 3 by earning a doctorate degree. 

Literacy and play also have a major role in Vroonland's strategy. With a goal of having all third graders reading at level, he has funneled resources toward building a community effort to support reading. The district paid $500,000 to hire an outside company to facilitate an increase in student reading at home, in private daycare, and at pre-school.