How DeSoto ISD Is Leading Dallas County in College Readiness
By the Economic Mobility Center | Dallas County Promise
This story is part of an ongoing series examining how aligned leadership, data-driven strategy, and community partnership are expanding college and career readiness across Dallas County. DeSoto ISD’s work under Superintendent Dr. Usamah Rodgers demonstrates what happens when districts make four big bets — simultaneously — and sustain them over time.When Students Own the Vision
Near the end of the 2024–2025 school year, DeSoto High School senior class president Kayden Roberts walked into Superintendent Dr. Usamah Rodgers’ office with a written proposal. On behalf of the senior class, he requested that students who met the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college readiness standards earn the right to wear free dress instead of the school uniform. Dr. Rodgers loved the idea — and raised the bar. She expanded the criteria beyond TSI to full College, Career, and Military Ready (CCMR) status, added additional metrics for seniors, and approved it.“The fact was, it originated with the students. And he wrote me on behalf of the senior class a proposal. That speaks to the institutionalization of practice. If students are saying, ‘How can we leverage this TSI and CCMR standard to make something happen for us?” – Dr. Usamah Rodgers, Superintendent, DeSoto ISDThat moment captures what DeSoto ISD has built: a culture in which college readiness is no longer a compliance exercise managed by a handful of staff, but a shared expectation woven into the fabric of daily school life — and pursued by students themselves.
From Compliance to Commitment: The Leadership Difference
When Dr. Rodgers arrived at DeSoto ISD, the district had already begun building college readiness momentum. But the approach was primarily compliance-driven — responding to board requirements and state mandates, rather than being animated by a genuine belief in what every student was capable of achieving.“My goal was to educate the staff holistically — from counselors, teachers, and administrators — to fully understand the economic mobility impact of college, career, and military readiness, and why it was important for our students beyond compliance to the board goal.” – Dr. Usamah Rodgers, Superintendent, DeSoto ISDHer vehicle was data, distributed ownership, and a relentless focus on economic mobility: making sure students truly had the knowledge, skills, and credentials to pursue opportunities that would create family-sustaining wages. The result was not a single intervention, but a coordinated four-part strategy that transformed how DeSoto approaches postsecondary readiness. Executive Director of CCMR & Counseling Dr. Anita Perry brought more than 20 years of college and career readiness experience to the work. She restructured monthly data reviews so that campus principals — not the district office — present and own their campus data.
“CCMR is everybody’s work. It’s not just the superintendent talking about it, or here at the district office. It’s the campus leadership, the principal, our teachers, our current partners — Gear Up, EMC, Education is Freedom. All of us are meeting monthly, reviewing our data, and working toward the same goal.”-Dr. Anita Perry, Executive Director of CCMR & Counseling, DeSoto ISD
The Economic Mobility Partnership Model
DeSoto ISD’s success is grounded in a four-part partnership model, coordinated by the Economic Mobility Center. Each element is designed to be replicable across Dallas County school districts — but only when strong, committed district leadership is in place.Pre-Condition: Strong District Leadership
Dr. Usamah Rodgers anchored the work in a clear theory of change: economic mobility through college and career readiness, owned by everyone. Dr. Anita Perry operationalized that vision through monthly cross-campus data reviews, ensuring no campus could remain passive about their students’ outcomes.1. Dallas County Promise Coalition — Student & Family Campaign
The Promise Coalition ensures students and families understand that a 3.0 GPA opens automatic admissions pathways to multiple colleges. Outreach campaigns build awareness of TSI requirements, scholarship opportunities, and postsecondary pathways — so that when students sit down with an advisor, they arrive ready to act on what’s possible. Promoting Dallas County Promise made the opportunity concrete and accessible for every DeSoto family.2. Education Is Freedom — Career & College Advising
Education Is Freedom (EIF) embedded career and college advisors directly in DeSoto High School, helping students navigate postsecondary options, understand TSI requirements, and access scholarship opportunities including QuestBridge and the Gates Millennium Scholars program. GEAR Up advisors embedded with 9th and 10th graders create an early intervention pipeline — getting students TSI-met before their junior year so they can accumulate meaningful dual credit hours that count toward a credential.3. Economic Mobility Center — Leadership & Data Supports
Working with EMC’s CC Solutions dashboard, Dr. Rodgers created a superintendent-level view of the district’s CCMR trajectory — including projected outcomes-based funding under HB3 — and used it to drive weekly accountability across her leadership team. The tool moved from being used by one person in isolation to becoming the centerpiece of monthly district-wide data reviews, translating real-time data into strategy at every level of the system.4. Dallas College — College & Workforce Programs
Dallas College expanded dual credit access, piloted dual credit summer hubs, and explored flipped classroom models in which students take college coursework online with high school teacher support. The goal is ambitious but clear: every DeSoto student graduates with at least 15 college credit hours — a proven predictor of credential completion and a powerful proof point that they belong in college. Combined with HB3/HB8 strategy, this 15-credit-hour vision both transforms student outcomes and generates additional funding to sustain and expand the workThe Numbers Tell the Story
The results across just two years have been striking. According to Dallas County Promise data tracking DeSoto High School’s HB3 performance from 2023 to 2025:| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSI College Readiness | 17% | 26% | 42% | More than doubled in two years. |
| Industry Certifications | 18% | 30% | 56% | A three-fold increase. |
| College Enrollment | 52% | 60% | 63% | Consistent upward trajectory. |
| HB3 Outcomes Funding | $0 | $170K | $461K | From zero to nearly half a million in two years. |
| Overall CCMR Rate | 63% | 88% | 85%* | *Now Targeting 91%. The board goal is in reach. |
“It’s really changing the culture and the mindset about what is possible.” – Dr. Usamah Rodgers, Superintendent, DeSoto ISD
A Model Built to Outlast Any Leader
Dr. Usamah Rodgers retired from DeSoto ISD earlier this year, closing a chapter defined by discipline, data, and an uncommon clarity of purpose. What she leaves behind is not just a set of impressive numbers but a system — one designed to outlast any single leader. Campus principals own their data. Advisors are embedded in the school. The community knows what the Promise means. And the data keeps moving.“Teamwork makes the dream work. From the classroom teachers to the counselors to the advisors to the campus administrators to the central staff that was there supporting and driving the work — it truly was teamwork.” – Dr. Usamah Rodgers, Superintendent (Retired), DeSoto ISDDr. Perry sees the destination clearly. In five years, she wants “TSI met” to be the standard, not the exception — with 80 to 90 percent of seniors college ready in reading and math. “Our goal is to hit a billion — let’s keep it going,” she said of the district’s HB3 bonus outcomes funding trajectory.
The foundation has been built. The culture has shifted. The data is moving. And it is the options and success of each individual DeSoto student — ready and supported post-graduation — that makes this progress truly rewarding.
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