By 2020, Teaching Trust will develop leaders who

have established a culture of excellence and

driven significant academic gains in 50 schools,

while sharing proof points and practices to

improve the profession across our country.

My greatest joy has come with the epiphany that, as educators, we can truly give our scholars from the most challenging situations and depleted communities the schools they deserve. There is real palpable hope for the students who need us most.

A Letter From Our CEO & Founders 1

Teaching Trust Programs 2

Our Path to Impact 3

Who We Serve 4

Our Impact 6

Financials & Funders 8

Our Team 9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMPACT STATEMENT

MICHAEL GAYLESAssistant Principal, T.W. Browne Middle School, Dallas ISD Teaching Trust Aspiring Ed Leader

WHAT WE BELIEVEGuided by the conviction that strong school

leadership is essential to whole-school

improvement, we have built our approach upon

the following key beliefs:

• TRANSFORMATION TAKES TRUST. People who

care about students have more in common

than is often acknowledged—whether they

are in traditional districts or charter schools,

are veteran educators or new to the profession.

Transformation requires all of us working

together for the benefit of schools.

• IT TAKES A TEAM. A strong school leader is the

most critical lever to improve schools. However,

a singular leader cannot do it alone. It takes

a robust team, trained to work accountably

together, to achieve significant outcomes.

• ACADEMICS AND CULTURE DRIVE PROGRESS.

To deliver long-term results for all students,

school leadership teams must set a high bar for

significant academic improvement and build a

sustainable culture. Focusing on one or the other

is simply not enough.

• VALUES AND SKILLS MATTER. School leaders need

training in hard skills for instruction, planning,

and managing performance in addition to soft

skills for relationship building and teamwork.

• PRACTICE TRUMPS THEORY. For training to

“stick,” leaders need opportunities to practice

and receive feedback as often as possible in their

schools. Making practice public is the first step

in building competence and allows leaders to

model vulnerability and persistence in order

to improve their practice.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Teaching Trust was founded five years ago with the

conviction that leadership is the most important educational

imperative of our time. We embarked on this journey with

the goal of radically rethinking how school leaders are

prepared and supported to achieve significant, lasting

success on their campuses. As we approach the halfway

point on our path to our 2020 Impact, we are inspired and

humbled by the emerging evidence of progress across our

expanding community of leaders.

To date, we have worked with over 500 leaders who are

shaping the future of our communities by improving the

educational experience of more than 60,000 students every

day. Their growing impact on student achievement is cause

for optimism over the next five years.

We acknowledge that more work is needed to refine our

approach to ensure we reach our desired impact. We

continue to monitor and apply best emerging research

and practice about leadership and school improvement—

including our own lessons learned—and remain relentlessly

committed to continuous improvement and growth.

We are resolute in our belief that high quality leaders

must be developed at all levels and concentrated within

and across schools—particularly where the need for

transformation is most profound. We are working

extensively to support the development of accountable,

collaborative teams throughout schools to ensure significant

and sustained improvement.

This year’s Impact Report provides an opportunity to share

emerging bright spots as well as critical questions and

challenges we are seeking to address. Sharing our bold

aspiration for impact serves as a request to you—that

you hold us accountable for achieving annual results and

improving our approach to this work.

We are deeply grateful for all of our partners, funders,

friends, advocates, and program participants. We are

fortunate to be bolstered by a community of supporters who

share our belief that significant improvement in educational

outcomes is essential and that no solution works without

outstanding school leaders.

A LETTER FROM OUR CEO & FOUNDERS

1

Ellen WoodCo-Founder & Director, Major Gifts

Patrick HaughCEO

Rosemary PerlmeterCo-Founder & Senior Program Officer

TEACHING TRUST PROGRAMS

2

HOW WE APPROACH OUR WORK

• Rigorouscandidateselection, assessing values and skills

• Robustlevelsofpractice-based instruction and field experiences

• Focusonfeedbackandpeer accountability

•Ongoingdevelopment,coaching, and support

FUTURE PRINCIPALSASPIRING ED LEADERSThis five-year program equips future school leaders to lead effective teams to drive

improvement in complex urban schools. Offered in partnership with Southern Methodist

University’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development,

Aspiring Ed Leaders combines rigorous coursework, an intensive in-school residency, and

five years of coaching and support. Participants earn Texas Principal Certification and a

M.Ed. in Educational Leadership.

EXECUTIVE ED FOR TEAMS SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMSThis one-year program builds strong leadership teams at the campus level with

the right technical skills, helping principals and their school leadership teams work

together to create and implement a robust plan for improvement. This program

helps ready the broader leadership team within each school to realize their vision of

an aspirational school culture and sustained academic gains.

TEACHER LEADERSED FELLOWSThis one-year program targeting teachers seeking to deepen their instructional

competence, bolsters their influence skills to improve performance in their current roles and

prepares them to take on roles leading teacher teams at the department or grade level.

Ourthreereinforcingprogramsdevelopeffectiveleaders at every level, within and across schools.

OUR PATH TO IMPACT

3

EXPANDING OUR REACH

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

400

300

200

100

0

STU

DEN

TS

LEA

DER

S/SC

HO

OLS

3,1001818 35

5485

103

60

130

192

304

12,000

28,000

40,000

60,000Students1

Leaders2

Schools3

1 Students estimated based on school size and leader level of responsibility.

2 Unique participants in good standing within a Teaching Trust program in the academic year.

3 Any school with at least one Teaching Trust leader in the academic year.

• Achievingourdesiredimpactrequiresdeeperand ongoing support for leaders and schools.

• Leadersarehungryforopportunitiestocontinue their learning and development.

• Dramatic,whole-schoolimprovementispossible only when leaders at all levels are developed and empowered.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

THISYEAR,58% OFOURPARTNERSCHOOLSHAVEATLEASTTWOTEACHINGTRUSTLEADERS.

INCREASING OUR DEPTH Pathway to Impact: Additionalcontentandon-campuscoaching for Teaching Trust alumni principals and key team members

Teaching Trust Alumni Network: Opportunitiesforleadersacrossallprograms,schools, and districts to connect, collaborate, and innovate to continuously improve

OUR RESPONSE: NEW INITIATIVES

4

WHO WE SERVE Teaching Trust leaders are concentrated in 5 districts, serving 103 schools, and leading more than 60,000 students.

Teaching Trust leaders include veteran and novice educators, career-changers, and those in both traditional and charter public school districts.

APRIL SANDOLPH School Director,Uplift Mighty Preparatory

An early participant in Teaching Trust’s Aspiring Ed Leaders program, April Sandolph is now Director (Principal) of Uplift Mighty Primary after serving as Instructional Dean for Uplift Mighty Middle during her Teaching Trust residency.

As an educator, April developed extraordinary instructional knowledge, engaging students in their own learning and analyzing data to track progress toward goals. April explains the key to her transformation, from great classroom teacher to effective principal, was learning to value and

invest in adult learning. April prioritized building trusting relationships with her staff and holding others accountable to create a culture of success at Uplift Mighty.

April links Uplift Mighty’s successes, including significant gains in math over the past two years, to the skills and values she learned from Teaching Trust.

“We are all here for the same shared mission and vision and we are working hard to achieve it.”

STRONG SCHOOL CULTURE REAPS BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS

MONICA MORRISAssistant Principal, Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas ISD

After spending eight years as a high school math teacher, Monica Morris joined the first Aspiring Ed Leaders cohort, leading to her position as Assistant Principal (AP) at Woodrow Wilson, which also participated in the Executive Ed for Teams program.

She was excited by the challenge of leading the math department as one of her many roles as an AP. Initially, nearly all of the math teachers were first-year teachers or new to the subject and required intense support.

She spent every day in classrooms observing teachers and giving actionable feedback that enabled teachers to improve significantly in their first year. Monica also focused on developing a strong team of teachers who studied the curriculum together, practiced lessons, and observed and gave feedback to each other.

The continuous cycle of practice and reflection led to strong improvement and three-year gains in math of 29%.

TEACHER TEAMS FOCUS ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

ALGEBRA I STAAR STUDENT PROFICIENCY

2012 2013 2014 2015

57%

72%

86%79% +29%

MATH STAAR STUDENT PROFICIENCY | SILBERSTEIN ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-5MATH STAAR STUDENT PROFICIENCY | GRADES 3–8

2013 2014 2015

47%

69%

57% +22%

“My staff knows I care about them as people and as teachers, so it encourages them to share those same values with our scholars. That’s how you transform schools—by giving adults the ability to lead.”

“As leaders, we have to continuously increase expectations. Every time we set goals for students, they blow past them, proving that we need to be more ambitious. It is so rewarding to see students proud of their own success.”

5

Teaching Trust leaders are concentrated in 5 districts, serving 103 schools, and leading more than 60,000 students.

of students identified as African American

18%of students identified

as economically disadvantaged

87%of students identified

as Hispanic

74%of students identified

as Bilingual

39%of schools have >20% students who transfer

during the year

36%The profile of schools we serve is comparable to a high needs district.

ALICIA IWASKOInstructional Coach, Blanton Elementary School, Dallas ISD

ZACK HALLPrincipal, Stephen C. Foster Elementary School, Dallas ISD

Alicia Iwasko gets emotional when describing the impact that two Teaching Trust programs have had on her growth as an educator and a leader. As a teacher and Instructional Coach at Silberstein Elementary, Alicia participated in both the Ed Fellows and Executive Ed for Teams programs, gaining knowledge and skills to help drive student achievement at her school.

As part of her Ed Fellows program, Alicia executed a Campus Action Project (CAP) to increase students’ computational fluency, considered essential for success in math.

For her CAP, Alicia developed Skill-Based Centers for second through fifth grade math students, employing individualized goal setting and regular follow up. A public “data wall” helped drive all students toward the shared goal of increased proficiency and contributed to significant gains.

Recently assigned to Blanton Elementary, Alicia looks forward to implementing her CAP to accelerate student learning. She is happy that math teachers at Silberstein are continuing to implement her Skill-Based Centers to improve computational fluency.

TEACHER INFLUENCES PEERS AND LEADS POSITIVE CHANGE

MATH STAAR STUDENT PROFICIENCY | SILBERSTEIN ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-5

2013 2014 2015

64%

75%

84%

+20%

Zack Hall joined Dallas ISD through Teach For America before entering Teaching Trust’s Aspiring Ed Leaders program. In 2014, Zack was appointed Principal at Stephen C. Foster Elementary, a campus with a stable and committed teaching staff who were nonetheless wary of Zack’s youth and bold ideas for improvement.

Zack’s transition to leadership benefited from the presence of David Villegas and Doug Burak (pictured), who were also participating in the Aspiring Ed Leaders program.

Zack leveraged the shared skills and values of these experienced educators to help support and implement his plans. He strategically built leadership teams across grade levels to balance strengths throughout the school.

David explained, “The school already enjoyed a strong culture. Ever since Mr. Hall arrived, you can really feel that sense of trust among all members of the faculty. He has reignited that fire and passion for teaching in every one of our teachers.”

LEADERSHIP CONCENTRATION ACCELERATES IMPROVEMENT

READING STAAR STUDENT PROFICIENCY | GRADES 3–5

2014 2015

59%69% +10%

“Being a leader is hard, but you have to be patient and believe in your plan. Now at my new school, I’m excited to use the leadership skills I gained through Teaching Trust to help close the achievement gap for my students.”

“My primary focus is supporting great teaching. I want to bring the highest quality talent to our campus to move the needle for our kids. I’m investing in a team that wants to stay and develop a stable environment for the students we serve.”

6

OUR IMPACT

ONE-YEAR PROFICIENCY GAINS ON PAR WITH PARTNER DISTRICTS AND STATETeaching Trust Schools1 Partner Districts2 State

6%

4%

2%

0%

-2%

-4%

GA

IN I

N %

PR

OFI

CIEN

T

MIDDLEn=4

-1.2%

-3.3%

-1.3%

HIGHn=4

5.7%

0.7%0.4%

ELEMENTARYn=17

0.5% 0.7% 0.8%

READING MATH

6%

4%

2%

0%

-2%

-4%

GA

IN I

N %

PR

OFI

CIEN

T

ELEMENTARYn=17

2.2%2.9% 3.2%

MIDDLEn=4

0.4%

-0.7% -0.5%

HIGHn=4

0.4%1.1%

-1.0%

Significant improvement in school results doesn’t happen overnight. We believe, and research indicates, that it takes at least three years.

One-year results in Teaching Trust schools are on par with partner districts and the state.

Two-year results in Teaching Trust schools exceed district and state data.

Additional alumni support through Pathway to Impact and The Network will further accelerate improvement.

DAT

A T

AK

EAW

AYS

98%ofAspiringEdLeadershavebeensuccessfullyplaced in leadership roles after the first two years of the program.

A HIGHER PROPORTION OF TEACHING TRUST SCHOOLS ACHIEVE TOP QUARTILE GAINS2013–2015

7

Gains calculations based on the change in percentage of students proficient at Level II: Satisfactory on the Texas STAAR/EOC exam in reading or math between two given academic years. All aggregates weighted by number of students. Source: TEA, Fall 2015.

1 Teaching Trust schools have a principal that has completed either the Teaching Trust Aspiring Ed Leaders or Executive Ed for Teams programs by the end of the academic year.

2 Aggregate of the respective districts with Teaching Trust schools for the academic year. Sourced from Dallas ISD and Uplift Education for elementary, middle, and high school one-year and two-year gains, with addition of Irving ISD at high school level for one-year gains.

3 Quartile analysis examined gains from 2013 to 2015 in reading or math from all schools in Texas that had test data in both years and at least 25 students tested per subject. Cut-off for top quartile of state gains identified as 3.3% in reading and 9.1% in math.

READINGMIDDLE

n=3HIGH

n=1ELEMENTARY

n=96%

3%

0%

-3%

-6%

-9%

-12%

GA

IN I

N %

PR

OFI

CIEN

T

-1.0%

-4.6%-3.4%

-6.5%

-10.1%

-3.3%

3.7%

-2.9%

0.2%

MATHELEMENTARY

n=9MIDDLE

n=3HIGH

n=115%

12%

9%

6%

3%

0%

-3%

GA

IN I

N %

PR

OFI

CIEN

T5.9%

5.1%

8.8%

0.4%

-0.9%

0.3%

8.4%

2.4%

14.2%

TWO-YEAR PROFICIENCY GAINS EXCEED PARTNER DISTRICTS AND STATETeaching Trust Schools1 Partner Districts2 State

Teaching Trust Schools1 Partner Districts2 State

MATH % of schools in top quartile of state3

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

n=13 38%

30%

25%

READING % of schools in top quartile of state3

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

n=13 46%

17%

25%

98%ofAspiringEdLeadershavebeensuccessfullyplaced in leadership roles after the first two years of the program.

8

FINANCIALS & FUNDERS$1,000,000 and AboveRaise Your Hand Texas*

Communities Foundation of Texas*

$500,000–999,999Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

The M.R. & Evelyn Hudson Foundation*The Meadows Foundation*

The Texas Instruments Foundation*

$100,000–499,999The Boone Family Foundation*

College Football Playoff Foundation*Rainwater Charitable Foundation

The Rees-Jones Foundation*Sid W. Richardson Foundation*

Laurie and Tom Saylak*The Harold Simmons Foundation*

Ellen Wood* The George & Fay Young Foundation

$50,000–$99,999Ford Motor Company

H-E-BAnn and Lee Hobson*

The Hoglund Foundation*Catherine and Will Rose

The Mike and Mary Terry Foundation*Stacey and Reid Walker*

$10,000–$49,999JP Morgan Chase

The Dallas Foundation*Energy Future Holdings*

OtherBecky Christensen*

Nancy Dennis*Shannon and Sam Gilliland

Rachel Khirallah*Jerry Magar

Denise and Dustin Marshall* Jennifer and Jon Mosle*

Rosemary PerlmeterDavid Wallenstein*

Julie and Mike Weinberg*

AUDITED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTSFiscal Year Ended

June 30, 2015 June 30, 2014

Statement of Activities

Revenues, Grants, and Contributions 5,490,458 2,526,595

Program Fees 229,830 3,390

$5,720,288 $2,529,985

Expenses

Program 2,287,723 1,595,587

Administrative 358,722 376,676

Fundraising 51,096 31,001

$2,697,541 $2,003,284

Change in Net Assets $3,022,747 $526,701

Statement of Financial Position Snapshot

Cash 1,265,276 1,067,394

Pledges Receivable—Short Term 1,186,916 300,000

Pledges Receivable—Long Term 1,920,831 0

Other Assets 53,729 83,618

Less: Current Liabilities (22,522) (69,529)

Total Net Assets $4,404,230 $1,381,483

Teaching Trust received a five-year grant from Raise Your Hand Texas dated July 2014. $1 million of cash was received in June 2014 for FY 15 and $1 million in June 2015 for FY 16. The remaining $3 million to be received over FY 17–19 was also recognized in the FY 15 financials and is reflected in short and long term Pledges Receivable.

CUMULATIVE INVESTMENT SINCE INCEPTIONTEACHING TRUST FUNDERS

*Represents gifts received July 1, 2014–December 31, 2015.

We are extremely grateful to Southern Methodist University’s Annette Caldwell School of Education & Human Development for providing seed funding to launch the Aspiring Ed Leaders Program and for the general annual financial contribution to offset part of the tuition cost for the Aspiring Ed Leaders.

Forbes challenged experts to single out five big ideas that could make U.S. students top in the world. Of the five ideas—teacher efficacy, school leadership, universal pre-K, blended learning, and college-ready standards—school leadership produced the highest return on investment at over 5000x. Forbes, America’s Education Moon Shot, December 15, 2014

Jessica Dirks | Senior Director, Planning, Talent & Operations

Lauren Frank | Director, Teacher Leadership

Melissa Fullmore | Program Officer, Aspiring Ed Leaders

Andy Fung | Program Manager, Executive Ed for Teams

Chris Garcia | Leadership Development Director

Lillian Hartmann | Leadership Development Director

Patrick Haugh | Chief Executive Officer

Teresa Khirallah | Program Officer, Executive Ed for Teams

Lindyn Kish | Leadership Development Director

Laura Lund | Manager, Evaluation

Abby McCone | Leadership Development Director

Britan Mills | Senior Manager, Recruitment

Melissa Monaco | Leadership Development Director

Rosemary Perlmeter | Co-Founder & Senior Program Officer

Matt Pierson | Program Officer, The Network and Ed Fellows

Haley Pittman | Program Coordinator, The Network

Ali Saiyed | Leadership Development Director

Stephanie Stewart | Academic Officer

Amanda Thornton | Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Anne Marie Tucker | Senior Director, Evaluation

Courtney Tungate | Manager, Planning, Talent & Operations

Anna Williams | Program Coordinator, Ed Fellows

Ellen Wood | Co-Founder & Director, Major Gifts

9

of Teaching Trust team members have served as classroom teachers. They

spent on average 5.1 years in the classroom.

83%

of Teaching Trust Program team members have served

as principals or district leaders. They served for a combined 67 years as

principal or higher.

71%

of Teaching Trust team members’ professional experience has been in

education. They served for a combined 271 years.

79%

OUR TEAMTHETEACHINGTRUSTTEAMISMADEUPOFSEASONEDEXPERTSWHOHAVESERVED

INVARIOUSLEVELSOFEDUCATIONLEADERSHIP.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Carrie Kirby, Chair Executive Vice President Human Resources Energy Future Holdings

Terry Flowers, Secretary Headmaster & Executive Director St. Philips School and Community Center

Ellen Wood, Treasurer Co-Founder & Director, Major Gifts Teaching Trust

Thaly Germain Executive Director Lynch Leadership Academy Boston College

Miguel Quiñones O. Paul Corley Distinguished Chair Department of Management & Organizations Cox School of Business Southern Methodist University

Bruce Ware Director DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc.

Thank you to our amazing partners.