2 0 1 4 – 1 5 ANNUAL REPORT

THE COMMIT! PARTNERSHIP
2 0 1 4 – 1 5
ANNUAL
REPORT
Our Kids. Our Tomorrow.
1

The Commit!
Partnership
The Commit! Partnership was created in late 2011 to address
the substantial educational challenges facing Dallas County
and was made possible by the support of numerous regional
leaders encouraged by results seen in other cities using the
collective impact, educational partnership model.
With over 160 partners and encompassing over 750,000
students, the Commit! Partnership has subsequently become
the largest of StriveTogether’s national network of 60+
backbone organizations working to improve educational
outcomes for students across the country. In fact, Dallas
County recently earned special designation as one of only six
Cradle to Career “Accelerator” communities receiving special
supports to speed progress towards outcomes through 2018.
The Commit! Partnership, serving Dallas County, has become the largest
of StriveTogether’s national network of 60+ backbone organizations.
OUR MISSION
The Commit! Partnership helps drive student
achievement throughout Dallas County
from cradle to career by leveraging data,
community expertise and collaboration to:
MEASURE
WHAT
MATTERS
IDENTIFY
EFFECTIVE
PRACTICES
ALIGN
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
2

By now, many of you are increasingly familiar with the challenges facing our
Dallas County educational pipeline serving over 750,000 students. The number
of children eligible for but not enrolling in pre-K is growing. The percentage
of Dallas County students graduating college-ready has remained stagnant at 14%.
Achievement gaps for African American and Hispanic students vs. their White and Asian
American peers have remained sizable.
But the Commit! Partnership’s third annual report isn’t about bemoaning these
challenges. Rather, it’s about highlighting the catalytic efforts of countless partner
organizations and investors collaborating in new and unique ways to improve the odds
for all our region’s students.
A few highlights of this progress include:
• 23 local advocates helping integrate provisions into the Governor’s bill to grow
pre-K funding by up to $1,500 per student and increase data transparency into
pre-K settings to bolster future cases for additional state EC investment
• 19 South Oak Cliff elementary school teachers engaging in a new teacher “Reading
Academy”, the success of which has encouraged two districts to scale the program
to reach more than 5 times as many teachers in 2015-16
• 650 more high school seniors than in 2014 completing a FAFSA by the March
priority deadline, thanks to the focused campaign efforts of more than 100
partners striving to increase students’ financial access to college
• Unprecedented initiatives and partnerships emerging with higher education
institutions and school districts to significantly increase the supply of well-trained
teachers entering both early childhood and K-12 settings
• A first-of-its-kind data dashboard as an accessible resource for funders, nonprofits,
school districts, and other entities supporting public education to easily find, view,
and use the publicly available data that matters most to them.
We hope these and many other testimonials of progress inspire you to deepen your
resolve to strengthen our educational pipeline for all children and embrace new
opportunities to accelerate the pace of change. Thanks to each of you engaged in this
critical work for your commitment.
OVERVIEW OF THE
PARTNERSHIP
2
3
4
6
PROFILES OF THE WORK
8
10
12
14
16
18
About Us
Letter To Partners
Scope of Dallas County Effort
The Work at a Glance
School Readiness
Early Learning: Literacy
Early Learning: Math
Postsecondary Attainment
Human Capital Pipelines
Data & Community Capacity
PARTNERS AND
OPERATIONS
20
21
22
23
Communications
Investors
Financial Summary
Leadership & Partners
For Our Children,
Todd Williams
Chairman & Executive Director
Kyle Gardner
Deputy Executive Director
Additional Backbone Team Members Supporting The Partnership
Andy Canales
Sagar Desai
Jonathan Feinstein
Ron Hadley
Charlie Hatcher
Whitney Holman
Chelsea Jeffery
Sarah Jensen
Ashwina Kirpalani
Gretchen May
Libby McCabe
Jaime Meyers
Ann Monroe
Robert Mundinger
Gabriela Perez
Andres Ramos
Jeanne Whitman
Bobbitt
3

Dallas County’s Educational Outcomes
Are Critical to Our Future
What’s at Stake
• 14 public ISD’s and 36 public charter districts serving
over 490,000 PK-12 students
• 16 postsecondary institutions educating 240,000
students
• 40,000 students educated in private schools
10%
of all public school
students in Texas are
educated in Dallas
County
1%
of all public school students
in the U.S. are educated in
Dallas County
IF DALLAS COUNTY WERE A STATE...
We would rank 36th nationally in population with 2.5 million people. 1
We would rank 48th in per-pupil spending at $7,973, ahead of only Utah and Idaho. 2
Our average SAT score of 1362 would rank 49th and our average ACT score of 19.2 would rank
46th, ahead of only Hawaii, North Carolina, and Mississippi and tied with Louisiana. 3
We would rank 40th with 54% of adults 25 and older having some college education or higher 4 ,
despite the DFW metroplex having the largest year-on-year job growth of the 12 largest
metropolitan areas. 5
4
1. United States Census Bureau 2009-2013, Population & Education, American Community Survey
2. United States Census Bureau, Public School Finance Data
3. Texas Academic Performance Reports, College Board, and ACT, Inc.
4. American Community Survey 2009-2013
5. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed at http://www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/news-release/areaemployment_dallasfortworth.htm

Hundreds of Partners Collaborating
For Dallas County Students
Foundations &
Investors
Business &
Workforce
Community Leaders
PARTNERING
FOR 750,000+
STUDENTS
Institutions
Educational
Government
Civic &
Families
Parents &
LEADERS OF OUR REGIONAL EFFORT
LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL
SUPPORT & ADVISORY
COUNCILS
ROLE-ALIKE
WORKING GROUPS
COLLABORATIVE
ACTION NETWORKS
55 MEMBERS
84 MEMBERS
68 MEMBERS
750 MEMBERS
Guide Partnership priorities, serve
as spokespeople, and direct resources
to core action networks and
key efforts
Advise on strategy in specific
priority areas of the educational
continuum and rally resources to
drive the work forward
Analyze data, share effective
practices, and align on common
strategies in role-alike cohorts (e.g.,
district directors)
Act collaboratively with common
goals, clear action plans, and strategic
use of data to drive outcomes on
the ground
5

Measuring and Tackling Our
Most Pressing Challenges
With guidance from its Leadership Council and partners, the
Commit! Partnership measures community-level progress
through 11 achievement indicators reflecting key milestones
in a learner’s educational journey.
Considering both the needs highlighted by data across our
educational pipeline and opportunities our partners have
identified, Commit! has placed focus on five priority areas
that together hone in on those milestones:
• School Readiness
• Early Grades Learning
• Postsecondary Attainment
• Human Capital Pipelines
• Data & Capacity Building
To address these five priority areas, the Commit! Partnership
works in three different but mutually reinforcing ways:
• Systemic Initiatives
• Regional Collective Impact
• Place-Based Strategies
These mechanisms of action mutually reinforce each other.
Systemic initiatives improve the overall conditions in which
collective impact efforts, driven by Collaborative Action
Networks, operate. Regional collective impact campaigns
align actors across places and sectors to drive awareness
and application. Place-based strategies deepen efforts in
neighborhoods while surfacing learning to scale regionally.
OUR KEY INDICATORS
Kindergarten
Readiness
Fourth
Grade Math
Eighth Grade
Science
High School
Graduation
Postsecondary
Persistence
CRADLE
CAREER
Pre-K
Enrollment
Third Grade
Reading
Algebra I
College
Readiness
Postsecondary
Enrollment
Postsecondary
Completion
6

Regional
Collective Impact
Equipping and empowering
regional actors to act
towards common goals
Systemic
Initiatives
Enhancing the surrounding
conditions for educational
collective impact
Place-Based
Strategies
Deepening the work in
communities and lifting up
effective practices
School
Readiness
23 local advocates helping expand
access to Early Childhood data in
House Bill 4 to strengthen future
legislative cases
107 partners promoting common
spring Pre-K registration week to
support five newly aligned districts
115 (+45%) more Pre-K registrants
in a target feeder pattern in spring
2015 than in spring 2014 due to
significant community outreach
Early Grades
Learning
5 times as many teachers across
two districts to engage in piloted
Reading Academies in 2015-16
30,000 elementary students in three
districts reached in pilot reading
and math networks
491 more K-3 students reading at
grade level across South Oak Cliff
and Molina elementary schools than
in 2012-2013
Postsecondary
Attainment
90+ counselors, advisors, and afterschool
providers recieved financial
aid training from uAspire to better
serve 6,675 students
650 additional FAFSA completions
by the state priority deadline thanks
to awareness and assistance efforts
of 100+ partners
1,000 students received targeted
messaging and summer advising to
increase postsecondary enrollment
across four districts and 16 high
schools
Human Capital
Pipelines
30 regional partners advocated for
both DCCCD and state approval
for a new regional early childhood
teacher prep program
12 districts, colleges, investors, and
national partners aligning on largescale
teacher supply and demand
initiative
$70,000 raised via DonorsChoose
towards classroom resources for
teachers on partner campuses
Data & Capacity
Building
5.1 million Texas students
represented in newly launched
public campus and district data
dashboard
160,000 learners represented by
14 educational nonprofits who participated
in a Data Learning Cohort
series with United Way
77,000 students are represented
by eight neighborhood backbones
convening periodically to align on
high-impact strategies
7

School
Readiness
“Moving the pre-K registration to April was
not just a success with our parents, but has
placed us in position to have the smoothest
and most efficient start of school ever at
the pre-K level.”
– Whit Johnstone, Division Director of
Planning, Evaluation, and Research, Irving
ISD
Current Funders: 1
• Bezos Family Foundation
• The Dallas Foundation
• Esping Family Foundation
• The Meadows Foundation
• Rainwater Charitable Foundation
• Mike and Mary Terry Family Foundation
• United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
• Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas
• M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation
WHY SCHOOL READINESS MATTERS
7 to 1
return on investment in quality early education
from future reduced costs and increased
productivity 2
34,700
eligible 3-and 4-year-olds in Dallas County (56%)
are not enrolled in public pre-K or Head Start 3
45%
of Dallas County Kindergarteners did not
enter school ready in fall 2014, limiting their
subsequent achievement 4
COMMUNITY ACTION
107 9,105
20
community partners supported five districts
with 99,000 bilingual fliers and outreach
strategies, including media and grassroots
promotions to increase pre-K registration
students in four districts were assessed using a
common multi-domain Kindergarten readiness
tool, informing both instruction and regional
advocacy
organizations participating in an action
network and evaluation to leverage a new
digital app, Vroom, to equip & empower parents
to be their child’s first teacher
8
1. “Current funders” have given to the work for the 2014-15 period at a level of $25,000 or greater
2. James Heckman, 2008, “Schools, Skills, and Synapsis”
3. Calculation based on Texas Education Agency-Texas Academic Performance Reports, 2014; Head Start of Greater Dallas
4. Based on assessments administered at the beginning of the year in kindergarten at 9 districts and 1 charter network collectively representing 70% of all public PK-12 students in Dallas County

BUILDING ON COMMON PRE-K AWARENESS
CAMPAIGN TO DEEPEN PARENT ENGAGEMENT
Building on the momentum of a 2014
awareness campaign that helped more
than double early pre-K registration
in Dallas ISD, five districts collectively
representing 60% of all Dallas County
pre-K students aligned on a common
spring registration period in 2015. With
107 community partners supporting
the effort with tactics ranging from
direct canvassing to parent-to-parent
networking to aligned social, TV,
and print media, this year’s results
continued to demonstrate the power of
collective impact.
Learning from the successes of this
effort, this fall more than 20 community
partners will work together to better
equip and empower 2,000 parents as
their child’s first teacher. Leveraging
a new digital mobile resource called
Vroom, school districts, civic entities,
hospitals and community organizations
will align their trusted messaging
to increase parent awareness of the
importance of early childhood and
brain development.
EARLY CHILDHOOD COLLABORATION
STRENGTHENS ADVOCACY
As a result of the Partnership’s
initiatives and convening infrastructure,
a growing coalition of 30 Dallas County
organizations joined together to win
meaningful policy change in the 2015
state legislative session. In particular,
citizens and partners collectively
advocated for high quality pre-K,
strengthening the ultimate pre-K
legislation that was passed and laying
the groundwork to advocate for more
funding in the future by requiring the
collection and public reporting of data
at the district and campus level that
will show the correlation between
quality pre-K and subsequent academic
achievement.
IMPACT
Number of Spring Pre-K Registrants across Dallas, Grand Prairie,
and Irving ISDs 1
Percentage of Students NOT Ready for
Kindergarten in Each Domain
Spring 2014
9,189
Letter
Identification
Counting 62%
73%
Spring 2015
+1,342 (+15%)
10,531
Name
Writing
Number
Recognition
44%
62%
10,531 students registered early for pre-K across three
partner districts, representing growth of 1,342 students over
spring 2014 results
Multi-domain, sub-data from a sample of 564 students across
three local districts aided 2015 state legislative advocacy
efforts and helped target instructional strategies
1. While five districts participated in common 2015 pre-K registration period, collectively registering 11,176 students, 3 districts had available 2014 vs. 2015 Spring registration data for comparison in the chart
9

Early Learning:
Literacy
“My favorite moment of the year was when
I was working with a small group on guided
reading using principles that I had learned
in the Reading Academy. One of my first
graders said, ‘I’m learning!’ It was the most
fulfilling moment of my day and year.”
– Roger Hommes, First grade teacher at
Holland Elementary in South Oak Cliff
Current Funders: 1
• The Boone Family Foundation
• Citibank Foundation
• The Dallas Foundation
• Mike and Mary Terry Family Foundation
• United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
• Todd & Abby Williams Family Foundation
• George & Fay Young Foundation
WHY EARLY LITERACY MATTERS
4X
Struggling readers in 3rd grade are four times
less likely to graduate high school than readers
at grade level 2
22,800
Dallas County 3rd graders, or 64% of all, are not
reading at a college-ready pace 3
1M
By 2030, an estimated one million Dallas County
adults will be functionally illiterate 4
COMMUNITY ACTION
25,400 5,000+
500
students are served across 41 Dallas ISD
elementary schools in five feeder patterns,
including flagship efforts in South Oak Cliff and
Molina
hours of time and $100,000+ of in-kind resources
contributed by partners to network schools,
including teacher professional development and
books
hours of professional development received
by 19 Grades K-3 teachers through the SOC
Reading Academy, a partnership between
Commit! and Dallas ISD
10
1. “Current funders” have given to the work for the 2014-15 period at a level of $25,000 or greater
2. Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012, “Double Jeopardy: How 3rd Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation”
3. Texas Education Agency - STAAR Aggregate Data. Accessed at http://tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/staar/aggregate/
4. Literacy Instruction for Texas. Accessed at http://lift-texas.org/who-we-are/bend-the-trend/

BRINGING PROMISING READING PRACTICES TO SCALE
Both the South Oak Cliff (SOC)
and Molina networks (consisting
of principals, teachers, district
administration, nonprofit partners) have
identified and scaled best practices in
improving K-3 reading proficiency.
Effective use of data and professional
development is a promising focus
area for the SOC network. The 2014-
15 SOC Reading Academy supported
19 Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers
with professional development in
data analysis, reading, and writing
instruction. The SOC Reading Academy
improved student reading proficiency
and made a long-lasting impact: 100% of
participating teachers indicated the SOC
Reading Academy has helped improve
their instruction for years to come.
DeSoto ISD will replicate this model in
the 2015-16 school year, while Dallas ISD
will launch similar Reading Academies in
five additional feeder patterns impacting
over 20,000 elementary students.
Commit!’s impactful K-3 literacy data
reports have led to network action in
areas covering assessment, summer
learning loss, and best practices. The
Commit! Partnership is collaborating
closely with Dallas ISD’s Early Childhood
Department to scale similar data reports
across all Dallas ISD feeder patterns
to support identifying and spreading
effective processes for improving K-2
reading proficiency.
ALIGNING COMMUNITY SUPPORTS
Commit! has convened SOC/Molina
school leaders and representatives from
over 40 organizations to use data to
identify community solutions on pre-K
access, kindergarten readiness, early
literacy, and parent engagement.
Eight organizations served nearly
1,000 students across SOC/Molina
during the 2015-16 school year, and five
organizations supported 300 students
in summer reading activities in SOC.
Additionally, multiple partners and
schools helped register 161 additional
children for pre-K in the spring of 2015
compared to the previous year.
Driven by the growing energy and
capacity of groups like Empowering Oak
Cliff and the Hispanic Families Network,
parent and community leadership is
rising to complement in-school efforts.
Other organizations actively partnering
with the SOC and Molina community
include AVANCE, the Boone Family
Foundation, Catch Up and Read, the
Jiv Daya Foundation, Leadership ISD,
Reading Partners, Teen Trendsetters,
Teach For America, and TutorMate.
IMPACT
Grades K-3 Student End-of-Year Reading Performance in South Oak
Cliff and Molina Elementary Schools, as Measured by ISIP English 1
Percentage of Grades K-3 Students Reading on Grade Level at the
End of the 2014-15 School Year, as Measured by ISIP 1 English
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
577
825
1,068
1,700
1,815
2,257
Other South Oak
Cliff K-3 Teachers
South Oak Cliff
Reading Academy
Participants
39%
47%
Students at Tier 1
(On Grade Level)
Students below Tier 1
(Not on Grade Level)
491 more K-3 students (+85%) reading on grade level in
South Oak Cliff and Molina in 2014-15, a 12% gain in overall
proficiency rate since the 2012-13 school year
Average reading proficiency of students in the 19 South Oak
Cliff Reading Academy teachers’ classrooms exceeded their
grade-level counterparts by 8%
1. Student reading proficiency measured by the Istation Indicators of Progress (ISIP) Assessment. Students with a Spanish assessment removed from analysis
11

Early Learning:
Math
“After our PLC, fourth grade math teachers
are planning together more and more.
They’re sending emails about sharing
lesson plans and materials and reaching
out to one another for help.”
–James McBride, DeSoto ISD District Math
Supervisor
Current Funders: 1
• Fluor Foundation
• George & Fay Young Foundation
WHY EARLY MATH MATTERS
40%
of Dallas County students enrolled in a Texas
public university did not pass their remedial
math course, slowing down achievement of
their degree 2
23,200
Dallas County 4th graders, nearly 68% across
the county, are not achieving at a college-ready
pace in math 3
49%
of struggling reading students across two
districts were more likely to read on grade level
in 3rd grade if they performed in the top 1/3 in
second grade math 4
COMMUNITY ACTION
9,400 $14,000 800+
students reached through partnerships with
15 DeSoto and Grand Prairie ISD elementary
schools
in-kind donation from the Perot Museum
enabled 1,345 DeSoto 4th & 5th graders to
engage in the Math2theXtreme exhibit and
benefit from technology and teacher workshops
hours of school leader engagement in data
learning communities and visits to outlier
achieving schools across DFW to identify
effective systems, procedures and resources
for early math learning
12
1. “Current funders” have given to the work for the 2014-15 period at a level of $25,000 or greater
2. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board - High School Graduates Enrolled in Developmental Education and Completion of a First College-Level Course
3. Texas Education Agency - STAAR Aggregate Data. Accessed at http://tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/staar/aggregate/
4. DeSoto and Grand Prairie ISD district-administered common assessment data, 2012-14

DESOTO ISD EMBRACES TEACHER LEARNING
COMMUNITY TO INCREASE COLLABORATION
Motivated in part by school visits to
seven campuses with positive outlier
performance in math relative to their
levels of poverty, DeSoto campus
leaders identified teacher collaboration
and planning as core contributing
factors for student success. As DeSoto
ISD campuses have only one math
teacher per grade level, collaboration
can be challenging, but changes are in
place to promote shared learning.
In the upcoming school year, DeSoto
ISD will implement a cross-campus
math learning community for all math
teachers in grades 2-5, with teachers
planning with peers from other
campuses to deepen understanding of
math content and reinforce effective
instructional practices.
CAMPUS ASSESSMENT DATA TOOL DRIVES
EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCIES
Referencing research-based practices, input from community experts and
observations from outlier campuses, Commit! created a campus assessment data
tool for teachers and school leaders in Grand Prairie and DeSoto ISDs to target
specific areas of support for classrooms and students. In addition to saving each
principal approximately 40 hours of additional data analysis and work annually,
the data tool is scalable to other subjects and districts to aid targeted instruction,
performance management, and continuous improvement.
According to teachers and instructional coaches, the biggest benefit of the campus
assessment data tool is the targeted student tutoring lists that group students by
overall assessment mastery and individual learning standards. The tutoring lists
allow teachers to easily personalize interventions and review sessions to meet
student needs.
IMPACT
Percentage of Early Math Network School
Principals Responding Positively
Percentage of Third Graders Passing STAAR
Reading Exam in DeSoto and Grand Prairie ISD
“I place more importance
on early grades math as
a result of the learning
communities”
70%
Students in bottom 2/3
Reading, Bottom 2/3 Math
Scores in Second Grade 1
36%
“I prioritize K-2 learning for
professional development
and teacher hiring more
than before”
80%
Students in bottom 2/3
Reading, Top 1/3 Math
Scores in Second Grade 1
+50%
86%
Learning communities have helped drive shifts in mindset
about early grades math among school leaders
Among weaker second grade readers, stronger math students
are more than twice as likely to pass third grade reading
1. Student 2nd grade math and reading proficiency determined by using average district-administered common assessment scores
13

Postsecondary
Attainment
“The Partnership has played a significant
role in improving access to higher
education in Dallas County through
partnerships with districts, colleges,
and universities to increase completion
of financial aid applications and reduce
summer melt of high school seniors
applying to colleges. Higher education and
the community at large has benefited from
the collaboration, research expertise, and
data that Commit! contributes.”
- Anna Mays, Executive Vice President of
Academic & Student Success, Cedar Valley
College
Current Funders: 1
• AT&T Foundation
• Capital One Foundation
• JPMorgan Chase Foundation
• College Football Playoff Foundation
• Lumina Foundation
WHY POSTSECONDARY ATTAINMENT MATTERS
65%
of all jobs will require training beyond high
school by 2020 2
34%
of Dallas County adults have a 2-or 4-year
degree 3 , roughly half of what our county needs
for a 2020 job market
70%
of Dallas County high school seniors do not
earn a 2- or 4-year degree within six years of
completing high school 4
COMMUNITY ACTION
100+ 1,037
694
partners collaborated to raise awareness of
financial aid requirements and directly assist
families in completing forms
high school seniors received text message
reminders and summer advising from four
districts and 11 colleges with the goal of
successfully transitioning to college and
avoiding “summer melt”
students at Mountain View College received
financial coaching from the YWCA
14
1. “Current funders” have given to the work for the 2014-15 period at a level of $25,000 or greater
2. Educate Texas 20 by 2020 Student Success Plan
3. 2011-13 American Community Survey 3-year estimates; Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce
4. Analysis based on National Student Clearinghouse 2014 data from local districts Cedar Hill, Coppell, Dallas, DeSoto, Grand Prairie, Highland Park, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Uplift Education

FINANCIAL AID CAMPAIGN GROWS REACH AND IMPACT
Many students fail to enroll in and
complete college because they believe
it is unaffordable. Yet, Dallas County
students forgo $38 million 1 by not
completing the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
In response, Molina High School hosted
the first community financial aid
workshop in 2012. With community
partners, the Partnership has scaled this
workshop across five sites to serve over
960 families to date.
In 2015, the Partnership facilitated a
college affordability campaign through
media support, student ambassadors,
and communities of learning to increase
FAFSA completion, with completion
rates increasing by 2.5 percentage
points at campuses that engaged in at
least two Partnership activities. The
Partnership will continue collaborating
to reach our county goal: 50% of seniors
completing a FAFSA by July 2018.
PERSISTENCE AND COMPLETION SUPPORTS EXPAND
Over the last few years, United Way has
partnered with the YWCA to provide
financial literacy support to students at
Mountain View College. Such supports
have included financial coaching,
financial literacy workshops, and
benefits screening. In parallel, the Dallas
County Community College District
(DCCCD)has partnered with Consumer
Credit Counseling Services to provide
online financial literacy classes to all
enrolled students.
Based on the significant increase in firstyear
student retention, the Partnership
will support DCCCD to expand similar
supports across all colleges. This
initiative is a part of regional efforts to
support college completion, including
building a partnership with North Lake
College and Complete College America
to provide students more structured
pathways to completion.
MESSAGING AND ADVISING SUPPORTS ENROLLMENT
The summer after graduation is highrisk,
even for on-track seniors, as
graduates often do not have access
to their counselor and are not yet
connected to a college campus.
In 2015, four school districts and 11
colleges are sending seniors text
message reminders from February to
September, complemented by summer
advising support. Students who have
declared an intent to enroll at a college
are transferred to that college for
specific advice. Of the 1,000+ students
who opted in, 80% have responded to at
least one message.
IMPACT
FAFSA Completion Rate (Ratio of FAFSA Completions to
High School Seniors in Dallas County)
Percentage of Students Persisting to Second Term at College
2014
25%
42%
Non-FFC Student
(n=970)
65%
2015
27%
43%
FFC Student (n=74)
81%
March FAFSA
completion rate
Early Jul FAFSA
completion rate
650 more seniors completed FAFSA by Texas’ March 2015
priority deadline, ensuring that more low-income students
receive more aid to support postsecondary enrollment
New Fall 2014 students who received Family Financial Center
(FFC) support at Mountain View College were 16% more likely
to persist to a 2nd term
1. Analysis based on FAFSA data from US Department of Education, 2014, and max Pell Grant amount of $5,730
15

v
Human Capital
Pipelines
“Getting teacher preparation right is
one of our top priorities as a community:
what could be more important than
ensuring that the teachers who shape our
next generation are as highly qualified,
highly prepared, and highly supported as
possible?”
–Bob Mong, President, UNT Dallas
Current Funders: 1
• The Boone Family Foundation
• The College Football Playoff Foundation
• The M.R. & Evelyn Hudson Foundation
• The Eugene McDermott Foundation
• Todd & Abby Williams Family Foundation
• Ellen Wood
WHY THE PIPELINE MATTERS
3
Early childhood, elementary and secondary
school teaching are three of the top 10 fastest
growing professions in DFW 2
COMMUNITY ACTION
4,600
more new teachers are hired each year in DFW
public schools than regional schools of higher
education produce, reflecting a substantial gap
too often filled by providers of uncertain quality 3
16%
The number of ACT-tested high school
graduates interested in education has declined
16% since 2010, with only 20% of educationinterested
graduates judged college ready by
their ACT scores 4
30 2
600
regional partners advocated for state approval
to create a new regional teacher prep program
focused on excellence in early childhood
education and close an anticipated 4,100
educator gap by 2020
national exemplars in teacher preparation,
including Urban Teachers, are discussing
partnerships with Dallas County education
institutions
teachers attended the first regional Teacher
Summit to help uplift the profession in January
2015
16
1. “Current funders” have given to the work for the 2014-15 period at a level of $25,000 or greater
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for Dallas Workforce Development Area, 2013
3. State Board Educator Certification. Accessed at https://secure.sbec.state.tx.us/Reports/prodrpts/rpt_edu_tchr_prod_counts.asp?width=1440&height=900
4. “The Condition of Future Educators 2014,” ACT survey of students expressing interest in education as a profession. Accessed at http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2014/states/futureeducators.html

STRENGTHENING TEACHER PREPARATION
PROGRAMS
Regional teacher production by higher
education has declined four of the
last five years, while demand for new
teachers has increased 12% during
the same time frame. Responding to
these trends and regional student
achievement outcomes, the Commit!
Partnership is working with local
postsecondary institutions to
strengthen teacher preparation
programs by conducting formative
data analysis, convening partners and
coordinating national exemplar visits.
Based on community needs expressed
by the Commit! Partnership, the Dallas
County Community College District
(DCCCD) has approved the creation of
an Early Childhood Institute designed
for educators of children ages 0 to 5.
Still in development, the Institute will
be informed by national best practices
with clinical training made possible in
part by the contemplated creation of
early childhood “labs” located on each
of DCCCD’s seven regional campuses.
Meanwhile, the University of North
Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas), the only
4-year public university within the
city of Dallas, is working aggressively
to reposition its school of education
in conjunction with the search for a
new dean. To be designed in close
partnership with area school districts,
this undergraduate New Teacher
Institute will prepare K-12 teachers
through a highly clinical model
featuring data sharing and feedback
loops for continuous improvement.
UPLIFTING THE PROFESSION AS A CAREER
PATHWAY
“The Summit was very expressive in
communicating its appreciation for
teachers. Each presenter spoke of
positive teacher interactions that they
had experienced, which helped to
carve out great successes in their lives.
Participating in the Summit has given me
additional drive to continue educating
children and making a difference.”
–January 2015 Summit Teacher
Attendee
In January 2015, with the support of
the College Football Playoff Foundation
(the CFP Foundation) and the MR
and Evelyn Hudson Foundation, the
Commit! Partnership hosted the firstever
Extra Yard for Teachers Summit.
Geared to celebrate teachers and show
appreciation for their daily impact
on students, the TED-inspired event
attracted over 600 teachers from
25 area school districts. Among the
many presenters and special guests
were former U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice and DonorsChoose
CEO Charles Best, who announced
the CFP Foundation’s fulfillment via
his DonorsChoose.org website of
190 local classroom projects totaling
approximately $200,000.
Building on this momentum, a second
annual Teacher Summit in January
2016 will support a broader partnership
campaign to lift up education as an
aspirational career and recruit future
educators from our local high school
and college student talent pool.
17

Data Capacity
“Thanks again to your amazing team for
creating such a useful, rational, tool to
access the data everyone is looking for in a
meaningful and time effective manner.”
–Nicole Small, Lyda Hill Foundation
DATA AS A
FLASHLIGHT
INCREASING DATA ACCESS WITH A PUBLIC
DASHBOARD
Data can be a powerful tool to improve
educational outcomes collectively
— if we can access the right metrics
and then use them effectively to
continuously improve our work
together.
To increase transparency and access
to public education data, Commit!
developed a free, web-based resource
for community members to more
quickly and easily find and use the
data that matters to them. Presently
the dashboard houses all data from
the state of Texas over the past 10
years, allowing access to customizable
campus and district charts, databases,
and information critical to making
strategic data-driven decisions to
improve educational impact. Input from
the community will inform expansion
and integration of the dashboard
into greater practice, with the Hirsch
Family Foundation supporting further
development.
BUILDING PARTNER CAPACITY WITH A DATA
LEARNING COHORT
Available At:
data.commit2dallas.org
In a 2014 partnership-wide survey,
over 50% of partners expressed a
desire to increase their data capacity.
In response, Commit! teamed up with
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas to
launch the inaugural Data Learning
Cohort to assist education nonprofits in
using data for continuous improvement.
The workshop series was a success,
and plans are developing to improve
and scale offerings in 2016. Key success
measures include:
• 14 partner education nonprofits
collectively serving over 160,000
learners participated
• 8 workshops featuring original
content and outside speakers
• 100% of attendees surveyed found
the content relevant to their work
and intend to use the learning
to improve programming on a
continual basis
18

Community
Capacity
“If I send an A student home to an F
community, all of a sudden he has a C life.”
– Michael Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn
College
NOTHING MOVES WITHOUT A TOUCH
To significantly and sustainably improve outcomes for students and families throughout Dallas County, the Partnership must
help build the capacity to organize and lead change in all of our communities — from the boardroom to the neighborhood block.
With the support of the Commit! Partnership, backbone organizations across Dallas County have formed a learning community
that meets throughout the year to exchange promising practices, access shared supports, and align behind shared outcomes.
Together, these communitybased
efforts represent
76,770 students, 52 years of
experience, 348 partners and
39 staff members.
The “Public-Private Partnership”
(P3) Network
connects elementary schools in Dallas
ISD’s Thomas Jefferson, W.T. White
and Hillcrest feeder patterns with
area private schools and churches to
drive student achievement in literacy.
The School Zone
led by SMU’s Budd Center, equips
schools and nonprofits to work
together to provide children the educational,
social, and emotional tools
needed to leave the cycle of poverty.
The Commit! Partnership
is building capacity with a network of
schools, nonprofits, and families in
Dallas ISD’s South Oak Cliff and Molina
feeder patterns to support children’s
path from cradle to career.
Bachman Lake Together
supported by the Zero to Five Funders Collaborative,
is committed to early childhood education
and Kindergarten readiness for all Bachman Lake
children through collaborative partnerships, family
empowerment, and parent-led community action.
The Vickery Meadow Youth
Development Foundation
supports a cradle-to-career pipeline of best
practice programs for the 7,500 children of
the Vickery Meadow neighborhood.
Jubilee Park
takes a comprehensive approach to
revitalization in Southeast Dallas by
focusing on public health, public safety,
economic development, affordable
housing, and education.
WINS (Working in
Neighborhoods Strategically)
is a resident and stakeholder-led,
public-private initiative to revitalize
the South Dallas/Fair Park area in five
focus areas: economic development,
education, health, housing, safety
and security.
Collaborative A.C.T.I.O.N.
(All Coming Together In Our
Neighborhood)
is an initiative to bring more community-based
services focused on youth
development and education to the
Pleasant Grove area.
19

COMMUNICATIONS AS A CATALYST
Over two million people live in Dallas County. In order to reach as many of them as possible and inspire them towards action, the
Partnership has implemented a diverse communications strategy that builds awareness, shares information, and helps partners
move towards a shared educational vision at scale.
215,000
unique visitors
to commit2dallas.org
85%
increase in daily site
traffic since 2012
45,000+
emails opened
and read
12%
above industry
average click rate
4,800
Twitter followers, most of any
StriveTogether network
1,000+
average users reached
per Facebook post
170,000
impressions in online &
print articles in 2015
45
mentions in TV, radio and
community calendar segments
“Commit! offered more sobering
evidence that poverty is the toxin
eating away at our education
system. And while your response
may be “no big surprise there,”
my response is that we must move
faster and more effectively to fight
back.”
Sharon Grigsby, The Dallas
Morning News
2014 COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT SCORECARD
The Partnership issued its third annual Community Achievement Scorecard, a living
report meant to empower and inspire action. We sought to equip partners with the
data and tools to reach an even wider audience, hosting our first ever Scorecard
Release Event in February 2015.
• 250 community leaders attended release event
• 9 speaker and performance videos made available online
• 35 partners utilized online toolkit to engage their stakeholders
• 5 media mentions in radio and print/online newspapers
Available at commit2dallas.org/scorecard
20

COMMIT! PARTNERSHIP INVESTORS SINCE INCEPTION 1
LIFETIME GIVING OF MORE THAN $500,000
Mike & Mary Terry Family Foundation
Bill and Lydia Addy
Abby Williams
The Boone Family Foundation
Ellen Wood
W.W. Caruth Jr. Foundation
Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas
M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Todd and Abby Williams Family Foundation
LIFETIME GIVING UP TO $25,000
LIFETIME GIVING OF $100,000 TO $500,000
Ken and Carolyn Frisch Barth
AT&T Foundation
The Boston Consulting Group
Bank of America Foundation
Communities Foundation NT Giving Day (Multiple Donors)
College Football Playoff Foundation
Harlan and Katherine Raymond Crow
The Dallas Foundation
Dallas Regional Chamber
Hillcrest Foundation
Michael and Jill Dardick
The Hirsch Family Foundation
Donorbridge Fund
Hoblitzelle Foundation
Durham Family Foundation
The Hoglund Foundation
Regen Fearon
The M.R. & Evelyn Hudson Foundation
Fluor Foundation
Lumina Foundation
FSG Inc.
The Eugene McDermott Foundation
GE Capital Corp
The Meadows Foundation
William Hickey
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Bradford Hirsch
Harold Simmons Foundation
Insperity
Texas Instruments Foundation
Fannie & Stephen Kahn Charitable Foundation
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
W.P. & Bulah Luse Foundation (BOA U.S. Trust)
George & Fay Young Foundation
KnowledgeWorks
Don and Joan McNamara
LIFETIME GIVING OF $25,000 TO $100,000
Jennifer and Jon Mosle
Bezos Family Foundation
David M. Munson
Peter Beck
ORIX Foundation
Byrne Family Foundation
Scott and Paula Orr Fund
Capital One Foundation
Robert and Anne Raymond
Citibank Foundation
Eric M. and Katherine Perot Reeves
Trammell S. Crow
RSF Management, LP
Robert and Nancy Dedman Foundation
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
Esping Family Foundation
Target Foundation
ExxonMobil (America’s Charities)
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Jack and Terri Sue Wensinger
Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation
Westmount Foundation
The Melchizedek Fund
Phillip and Donell Wiggins
The Real Estate Council
+ 16 additional funders up to $500
1. Includes cash gifts, documented pledges, and significant in-kind multi-year contributions as well as funding to initiatives elevated by Partnership
21

2014 AUDITED FINANCIAL SUMMARY 1
REVENUES AND EXPENSES
Support and Revenues $2,169,113
Grant Revenue $1,644,394
Contributions $325,440
In-kind Goods & Services $180,150
Other Income $19,129
Expenses $2,365,577
Program Services $2,008,183
Fundraising $155,077
General and Administrative $202,317
BALANCE SHEET
Total Assets $1,752,045
Current Assets $1,513,817
Grants & Contributions Restricted - Net $55,000
Property, Plant & Equipment - Net $183,228
Liabilities & Net Assets $1,752,045
Current Liabilities $215,051
Net Assets $1,536,994
- Unrestricted $663,607
- Temporarily Restricted $873,387
CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
Changes in Net Assets ($196,464)
Net Assets at Beginning of Year $1,733,458
Net Assets at End of Year $1,536,994
22
1. Audited by Lori K. Orta, P.C.

COMMIT! PARTNERSHIP BOARD AND LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
(SUMMER 2015)
Patricia Arvanitis
Executive Director, Leadership ISD
Heather Ashwell-Hair
Secretary, Texas PTA
Peter Beck
CEO, The Beck Group
Yasmin Bhatia
CEO, Uplift Education
Dr. Lew Blackburn
Dallas ISD Trustee
Cheryl Boswell
V.P. and Executive Director, Health
and Wellness Alliance for Children
Mary Brumbach
CFRE Associate Vice Chancellor,
DCCCD
Dr. David Chard
Dean, Simmons School of Education,
SMU
Brent Christopher
President & CEO,
Communities Foundation of Texas
Trisha Cunningham
Chief Citizenship Officer, Texas
Instruments
Bruce Esterline
Vice President of Grants, The
Meadows Foundation
Angela Farley*
Vice President of Eduation, Dallas
Regional Chamber
Regen Fearon
Chair, Zero to Five Funders
Collaborative
Florencia Velasco Fortner
President and CEO, The Concilio
Ken Gilbert
Director, Head Start of Greater Dallas
Marnie Glaser
The School Zone
Charles Glover*
Senior Program Officer, The Meadows
Foundation
Scott Griggs
Head of School, Greenhill School
Alex Hales
Executive Director, Teach for America
DFW
Christina Hanger
Chief Executive Officer, Dallas
Afterschool
David Harris
Superintendent, DeSoto ISD
Patrick Haugh
CEO, Teaching Trust
Dr. Michael Hinojosa
Superintendent, Dallas ISD
Margaret Hirsch
President, The Hirsch Family
Foundation
Stacey Hodge
Dallas Director, Stand for Children
Susan Hoff
Chief Strategy and Operating Officer,
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Richard W. Holt
President, Bank of America in Dallas
Dr. Susan Simpson Hull
Superintendent, Grand Prairie ISD
Lee F. Jackson
Chancellor, University of North Texas
System
Mary Jalonick
President and CEO, The Dallas
Foundation
Larry James
President & CEO, CitySquare
Dr. Whitcomb Johnstone
Division Director of Planning,
Evaluating & Research, Irving ISD
Michelle Kinder
Executive Director, Momentous
Institute
Laurie Larrea
President, Workforce Solutions
Greater Dallas
Libby McCabe*
Volunteer, Commit! Partnership
Tanya McDonald
Board, Leadership ISD
Dr. Michael D. McFarland
Superintendent, Lancaster ISD
Linda McMahon
Executive Director, The Real Estate
Council
Bob Mong
President, UNT-Dallas
Mike Morath
Dallas ISD Trustee
Anne Motsenbocker
President & Regional CEO, JPMorgan
Chase
PARTNERS CONTRIBUTING TO THE WORK
Alice Murray
Executive Director, Dallas Citizens
Council
Regina Nippert
Executive Director, The Budd Center:
Involving Communities in Education
Scott Orr
VP of Public Affairs, Fidelity
Investments
Dr. Jose Parra
Superintendent, Irving ISD
Dale Petroskey
President, Dallas Regional Chamber
J. Puckett
Senior Partner & Managing Director,
Boston Consulting Group
Mike Rawlings
Mayor, City of Dallas
Eric Reeves*
Founding & Managing Director,
High STEPS, LLC
Orlando Riddick
Superintendent, Cedar Hill ISD
Florence Shapiro*
Retired State Senator, Former Chair
of Education Committee, Texas State
Senate
Nicole Small
President, The Lyda Hill Foundation
Jeremy Smith*
Executive Director, Rainwater
Charitable Foundation
Michael Sorrell
President, Paul Quinn College
Aleta Stampley*
Principal of Corporate Marketing and
Executive Communicatons, Sabre
George Tang*
COO, Educate Texas
Anne Thomas
Executive Director, AVANCE Dallas
Paula Turicchi
SVP of Women and Infants Specialty
Health, Parkland Health & Hospital
System
Kay Waggoner
Superintendent, Richardson ISD
Todd Williams* (CHAIR)
Executive Director, Commit! /
Founder, Williams Family Foundation
Ellen Wood*
Co-Founder, Teaching Trust
Cynthia Yung
Executive Director, Boone Family
Foundation
*Board Member
EARLY CHILDHOOD
ChildCareGroup
Dallas Early Education Alliance
Educational First Steps
Head Start of Greater Dallas
Mi Escuelita Preschool
Zero to Five Funders Collaborative
Various Districts Offering Pre-K
(see K–12 Districts)
K-12 SYSTEMS/SCHOOLS
Alcuin School
Bishop Dunne Catholic School
Cedar Hill ISD
Coppell ISD
Dallas ISD
DeSoto ISD
Duncanville ISD
Episcopal School of Dallas
Good Shepherd Episcopal School
Grand Prairie ISD
Great Hearts Academies
Greenhill School
Harmony Schools
Highland Park ISD
The Hockaday School
International Leadership of Texas
Irving ISD
J. Erik Jonsson School
Jesuit College Preparatory
KIPP DFW
The Lamplighter School
Lancaster ISD
Mesquite ISD
Parish Episcopal School
Richardson ISD
Shelton School
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Texas CAN Academies
Uplift Education
Village Tech Schools
The Winston School
HIGHER ED
Austin College
Dallas County Community Colleges
Parker University
Paul Quinn College
Southern Methodist University
STARS Program-UT Southwestern
Texas Woman’s University
University of Dallas
University of N. Texas Dallas
University of N. Texas Denton
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Dallas
FOUNDATIONS
Boone Family Foundation
Communities Foundation of Texas
The Dallas Foundation
The Hoglund Foundation
Carl B. and Florence E. King
Foundation
Eugene McDermott Foundation
Meadows Foundation
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Harold Simmons Foundation
Texas Instruments Foundation
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Vickery Meadow Youth Devel.
Foundation
Todd and Abby Williams Family
Foundation
Woodrow Wilson HS Community
Foundation
George & Fay Young Foundation
Young Women’s Preparatory Network
PARENT AND TEACHER
GROUPS
AVANCE Dallas
Region 10 Education Service Center
Stand for Children
Teach for America DFW
Teaching Trust
Texas PTA
BUSINESS/WORKFORCE/CIVIC
Bain & Co.
Bank of America
Beck Group
Boston Consulting Group
Capital One
Comerica
Citibank
Dallas Citizens Council
Dallas Regional Chamber
Ernst & Young
Fidelity Investments
Fossil Group
GE Capital
Granite Properties
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber
Istation
JPMorgan Chase
LIT OnLine
North Dallas Chamber
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings
The Real Estate Council
Signazon.com
Texas Instruments
Univision
Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas
NONPROFIT AND FAITH BASED
Academic Success Program
Admission Aid
After-School All-Stars North Texas
Behind Every Door
Big Thought
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas
Bryan’s House
Caring Loving All Youth (CLAY)
Catch Up and Read
Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc.
Children at Risk
CitySquare
Communities In Schools
The Concilio
Dallas AfterSchool Network
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical
Garden
Dallas Children’s Theater
Dallas Public Library
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Urban Debate Alliance
Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
Dove Christian Fellowship
International
Educate Texas
Education is Freedom
Education Opens Doors
Education Pioneers
Empower American Children
Empowering Oak Cliff
First3Years
Friends of MLK
Friends of Wednesday’s Child
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
Holistic Education Institute
Jubilee Park & Community Center
Junior Achievement
Junior League of Dallas
Junior Players
Just Say YES
Leadership ISD
Lemonade Day
Literacy Instruction For Texas
Mercy Street
Momentous Institute
National Association for Partnerships
in Equity
National Math & Science Initiative
NHP Foundation
North Central Texas InterLink
North Texas Alliance to Reduce Teen
Pregnancy
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
The Princeton Review Dallas
Project Transformation
Promising Youth Alliance
Rainbow Days
Readers2Leaders
Reading Partners
REAL School Gardens
Reasoning Mind
Scholarshot
Serve West Dallas
SkillQuest
SMU’s CCE – The School Zone
TeCo Theatrical Productions
TexProtects
Trinity River Audubon Center
Trinity River Mission
TutorMate
Unite
Victims Outreach
West Dallas Community Centers
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas
23

THE COMMIT! PARTNERSHIP
2 0 1 4 – 1 5
ANNUAL
REPORT
www.Commit2Dallas.org
/Commit2Dallas
@Commit2Dallas
/CommitDallas
/Commit2Dallas
www.commit2dallas.org
24
2501 Oak Lawn Ave.
Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75219