Six years ago, E.D. Walker Middle School was still finding its footing. Today, the campus holds an 89 accountability rating with seven distinctions and exceeded the State of Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System targets for the first time. A cohort of seventh-grade English learners recently advanced two proficiency levels in a single year.
Toole says practices from the program, like empathy interviews, have now become part of the decision-making process at E.D. Walker. Photos courtesy of Ashley Toole.
This growth is a reflection of a gradual change in how school leadership operates, according to Principal Ashley Toole, who has led E.D. Walker since June 2020. Much of this work has been shaped by the campus’s participation in the Holdsworth Center’s Campus Leadership Program, a two-year initiative focused on developing principals and building systems meant to last beyond a single leadership cycle. The Austin-based nonprofit is dedicated to strengthening public schools by investing in those that lead them, like principals, superintendents and district officials.
“Our mission at the Holdsworth Center is really to help school leaders grow their leadership capacity so that they can drive meaningful change for students that’s lasting,” says Sharon Foley, director of campus programs at Holdsworth.
Dallas ISD selected E.D. Walker to be part of the program at the Holdsworth Center. In the first year, principals focus on strengthening leadership skills through executive coaching and in-person learning at the Holdsworth Center’s campus on Lake Austin. Foley says participants take a hard look at their leadership skills. This includes asking different stakeholders, like supervisors and teachers, for feedback on their leadership. The principals also complete self-assessments on different learning objectives and the data to land on a personal leadership goal.
Foley says the process often highlights common challenges for principals, particularly around communicating in high conflict situations and delegating responsibility.
“We have a lot of educators who understandably take this work very personally and have gotten to where they are by being incredibly high performers themselves at a lot of the work,” she says. “And I think for many of them, as they step into the principal role or as they grow, they learn that in order to be effective at their job, there are things that they probably are doing that others on their team need to be owning and doing.”
During the program’s second year, principals bring in two members of their leadership team to identify a “problem of practice,” an underserved student group they want to support better on campus. Toole selected seventh grade English, language arts and reading teacher Laura Hall and seventh grade science teacher Janet Rodriguez to join her.
“These teachers make invaluable contributions to their teams and classrooms,” Toole says. “They’ve demonstrated the power of informal influence through their capacity, integrity and humility.”
As part of that work, the E.D. Walker team conducted empathy interviews with students and parents, a practice that involves asking participants open-ended questions to better understand their experiences. Toole says the interviews challenged assumptions, particularly around how emergent bilingual students experienced classrooms and support systems.
“The empathy interviews, while seemingly simple, were something we hadn’t prioritized in decision-making,” Toole says. “Asking students to reflect on their classroom environment and experiences transformed our approach to supporting EB students. We discovered that engaging parents early was critical to success.”
For Toole, the experience has helped her adopt what she calls a “think big, act small” approach, testing ideas with a single class or teacher over a short period before deciding whether to expand them.
“Often, we look at data, come up with a research-based idea, and immediately decide, ‘Yes, we all need to do that!’ without first identifying unforeseen barriers or balancing effectiveness with practicality,” Toole says.
While test scores and ratings show improvement, Toole points to changes that are less visible. Teacher retention has increased from nearly 50% turnover in previous years to almost 80% retention. Student participation has grown across programs including band, orchestra, robotics, theater and athletics.
“I hope visitors can feel the culture on our campus,” Toole says. “We work hard to create an environment where kids and teachers feel valued and supported.”
