Aubrey Hooper
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Aubrey Hooper is the Place 5 representative on the DeSoto Independent School District school board in Texas. First elected in 2011, Hooper won a new term in the by-district general election on May 6, 2017.
Biography
Hooper earned a B.A. in political science from Morehouse College in 2005. He also earned an M.A. in Urban Affairs from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010. Hooper's work experience includes serving as a teacher in the Day Reporting Center at the Dallas County Juvenile Department. He was sworn in as the president of the Dallas NAACP in January 2017. He previously served as the second vice president of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches.[1][2]
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the DeSoto Independent School District board of trustees were up for general election on May 6, 2017. Place 3 incumbent Karen Daniel defeated former board member Van Stripling and challengers Demetric Brown and Jeremy Woods. Tiffany Clark defeated Place 4 incumbent Jerry Hall, DeAndrea Fleming, and Krystal Denise Sams in the race for the Place 4 seat. In the race for the Place 5 seat, incumbent Aubrey Hooper defeated challengers A'Londa Barber, Laneshia Jordan, and Darrell Porter.[3][4]
Results
| DeSoto Independent School District, Place 5 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Aubrey Hooper Incumbent |
41.50% | 849 |
| Darrell Porter | 23.51% | 481 |
| A'Londa Barber | 22.78% | 466 |
| Laneshia Jordan | 12.22% | 250 |
| Total Votes | 2,046 | |
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017 | ||
Funding
Hooper reported no contributions or expenditures to the Dallas County Elections Office as of May 1, 2017.[5]
2011
| DeSoto Independent School District, Place 5 General Election, 3-year term, May 14, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Aubrey Hooper |
59.3% | 602 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tawanna Lofton | 25.4% | 258 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ruben Angeles | 15.4% | 156 | |
| Total Votes | 1,016 | |||
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "2011 Joint Election-May 14, 2011," May 19, 2011 | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Candidate website
Hooper highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | Community
Bringing the community back to the table is essential to moving our District to World-Class. This starts with parents. Because our Board of Trustees is elected by and from our community, it is important that its members represent our collective wisdom and attend the needs our community creates. Research shows that education is linked to many things that affect a community, from crime and poverty rates to the housing and business markets in a city. It is important that we continue to strive toward making our educational system in the City of DeSoto one of the best in the nation, helping to make our students competitive in today’s global society. In order to achieve World-Class status, we must focus on enhancing our academic program, being fiscally responsible, and creating life-changing educational experiences that provides our students with world-class exposure. Moving to World-Class together by:
Accountability Accountability is the foundation of any system. Accountability is critical to the success of our school district for two reasons. First, making sure that we are in compliance with all state and federal accountability requirements is key to us moving to World-Class. Second, making sure that our school system is responsive in meeting the needs of our students, parents and teachers in ensuring that students are receiving high quality instruction and academic support. This will prepare them to become productive and contributing members of the DeSoto community and society at large. Giving voice to everyone on the Road to World-Class:
World-Class 'Eagle Pride' Culture The number one ingredient when creating a high performing school is 'school culture'. A school environment that not only sets high academic expectations but endeavors to develop the 'whole' child by reinforcing the values and principles necessary to compete in today’s global society. We must be committed to doing whatever it takes to motivate our students and staff to give the extra effort necessary to move our school district to WORLD-CLASS. In addition, we must create a culture of achievement where students are not just inspired to learn by teachers, parents and staff, but also by each other. EAGLE PRIDE has to become a consistent message that is communicated from every member of our community.[6] |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[7] | ||
The Dallas Morning News survey
Hooper participated in the following survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News. The questions provided by The Dallas Morning News appear bolded, and Hooper's responses follow below.
Why are you running for this office, and why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
| “ | Having been involved in public service since my teenage years, I have long worked for positive change in Dallas County. Through my work with local community organizations, I have worked on a wide range of issues from education to criminal justice and everything in between. Through consultation with my family and friends, I feel that it is important that I finish the job that I have started with my service to the DeSoto Independent School District. Over the past six years, I have been blessed with the honor of serving as a trustee for the DeSoto Independent School District. During this time, I have helped lead the district through balancing the current budget, lowering taxes, significantly increasing teacher salaries, opening the magnet programs at the middle school and elementary campuses, and numerous other major initiatives. However, we understand that even with these successes, there is much work to complete in order to make DeSoto ISD the world-class district that DeSoto citizens expect. I am committed to finishing the job by creating a culture of high expectations and making sure that our offerings and curriculum support those high expectations. This will ultimately ensure that our students are thinking critically, expecting success, and preparing themselves to compete globally.
Voters should consider me the most qualified candidate because I am an experienced educator and veteran juvenile justice professional who has a proven track record of affecting change in the Best Southwest community. I have spent my entire career working with students in Dallas County, and I have tirelessly invested in our youth through my involvement with DeSoto ISD, the NAACP, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and my local church.[6] |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
If elected, what two issues would you give the most attention and resources?
| “ | I will focus on three areas actually, Academic Programs, Finances, and World Class Exposure.
If re-elected, I will continue to work to improve our academic programs by making sure that they are staffed with highly effective teachers and administrators. In addition, I will work to make sure that each student receives life-changing educational experiences and world-class exposure. We still have work to do and I believe that I am the most equipped to finish the job. In the area of finances, I will continue to be fiscally responsible with the tax-payer's resources while not compromising the high quality education and experiences that we want for every DeSoto ISD student.[6] |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
For incumbent trustees: What have you learned from your board service that you believe makes you more effective?
| “ | School Board Trustees have to be forward-thinking and must be mindful of matters with potential budgetary implications. In addition, Trustees must be committed to doing the work it takes to make well-informed decisions that further the district’s goals and performance objectives, even when those decisions are tough. I think that my track record is consistent with being forward-thinking, fiscally responsible, and well-informed. Over the past six years, we have moved the needle in many areas preparing our students to become problem solvers and critical thinkers in an increasingly competitive global society.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
As you look around the country, what innovative ideas would you recommend for improving classroom performance?
| “ | As we continue to find ways to improve classroom performance, it is important that we look at this for not just innovation perspective but also an all-inclusive one. Classroom performance improves when we consider all perspectives and invite all parties to participate in the learning experience, the student, teacher, parent, and community. From the student perspective, some ideas are project-based learning, collaborative learning, integrated studies, and comprehensive assessments. Using project-based learning, students have the opportunity to go beyond the textbook to study complex topics based on real-world issues, such as the water quality in their communities or the history of their town, analyzing information from multiple sources, including the Internet and interviews with experts. Project-based classwork is more demanding than traditional book-based instruction, where students may just memorize facts from a single source. Collaborative learning gives students an opportunity to learn cooperatively giving them important skills preparing them for the work world. Integrated studies gives students the opportunity to reach across traditional academic disciplines and explore their relationships with other disciplines and each other. Thus, creating opportunities where subjects like history, literature, and art can be interwoven and studied simultaneously. Many of these innovations are currently being used at our ISTEAM and other middle school academies; however, the bottom-line is that we have to continue to make sure that every student has a highly effective educator providing high quality instruction to them every day. We have to prepare students to compete globally.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
Given the current funding structure, how does your district meet the academic needs of its low-income students? Are you willing to ask voters to approve a tax increase to create or expand these programs?
| “ | Understanding the political climate and the continuous attacks on public education and its funding, DeSoto ISD is committed to exploring creative yet sustainable funding sources such as grants and public-private partnerships to insure that our students receive the best education possible. We have been successful at accomplishing this through being awarded national and state grants that have allowed us to focus on college readiness and early childhood education. In addition, we successful passed a TRE (tax ratification election or rollback) at no additional tax burden to the citizens. I am firmly committed to providing every student with life-changing educational experiences and world-class exposure. We will explore every avenue possible to provide these experiences without creating significant hardship to the citizens of DeSoto.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
Many districts are exploring creative ways to save money or shift costs to parents and students. What creative measures would you favor or oppose and why?
| “ | Educating a child is a shared partnership and it is important that all parties contribute in order to make this partnership a success. In addition, I am dedicated to making sure that DeSoto ISD is able to provide every student with a world-class education. In accomplishing this goal, I will push the administration to explore every funding resource available to provide them with this high quality education without creating significant hardship to the citizens of DeSoto. We have been successful in finding ways to fund our academic innovations with passing that cost to the parents or students. Nevertheless, if any cost must be shifted to DeSoto ISD families it should be absolutely minimal. We will continue to work hard to keep those cost from being shifted our parents and students.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
The state has adopted an A through F accountability system for district and campuses. Do you favor or oppose this system and why?
| “ | Accountability is always important. Our students’ success should always be measurable to make sure that we are adequately serving them. However, I think that any accountability system should clearly state the criteria used in determining ratings. There are several flaws in this newly introduced accountability system. In addition, I am opposed to the negative stereotyping that is associated with an accountability system such as the one that has been introduced. The better question is how can school districts take the data from TEA and use it tangibly to increase student performance. This data should be used by school districts to determine where they are falling short and the district should be charged with creating interventions and legitimate action plans that clearly address student academic deficiencies. A school that is failing should not be penalized, because often students are the ones that are negatively affected in terms of decreases in funding and resources. The school needs additional support and potentially staffing changes, however, students should never feel the pain of having to go to the D or F school just because of where they live. If there is clear evidence that students have not been given high quality instruction and academic support, teacher pay or job status should be negatively impacted. In addition, school leaders should be disciplined if their schools are failing. I think an Acceptable, Recognized, Commendable, Distinguished, and Exemplary accountability would be better than the currently introduced. We have to remember about the storylines that we are creating for our children. Our children are much more than a letter-grade.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
How would you assess the district’s efforts to improve graduation rates and increase the number of students prepared for college? What further improvements would you advocate?
| “ | I think that the district has made tremendous strides in improving the graduation rates and in preparing students for college. However, we have to make sure that the preparation process starts much earlier in our students educational lives. I would like for administration to consider the following in furthering our gains in these two areas.
1. Implement an “on track to graduate” program, focusing on data-driven leading indicators of student needs and interventions at key milestones to ensure students transition to high school and progress steadily toward graduation. |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
What schools in your district have been particularly effective in getting every child up to grade level in reading and math?
| “ | DeSoto ISD is known for providing high quality instruction to all of our students. However, some of our campuses are trailblazers in this effort. Among those campuses performing at commendable levels are Cockrell Hill Elementary and Ruby Young Elementary. All of the middle schools met standard, however, one of them showed continuous advancements in addressing students’ need in the critical subject areas of reading and math. The additional academic support and resource programs at these campuses should be duplicated district-wide. I am not comfortable with our accountability ratings or test scores, however, I know that the teachers are dedicated in making sure that students are successful not just in passing a standardized test but in preparing for post-secondary educational experiences.
One area that I think the district can make considerable investment in would be our middle schools if we plan to be effective in preparing every student to compete both in high school and in post-secondary educational experiences. Middle school is a critical time in the education process. Steps for improving middle school education and addressing students’ needs during this critical stage are to decrease class sizes; provide additional resources and academic support to those students falling behind in core subject areas—especially Math, Science, and English; create tutoring and mentoring programs pairing middle school students with high school students and community volunteers; increase real-life applications in all subjects; expand counseling services as students transition from elementary to middle school; and finally, establish mandatory learning of a second language in middle school starting at 6th grade.[6] |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
How would you assess your district’s current school choice efforts, and what changes are needed?
| “ | DeSoto ISD has exhibited its commitment to give parents and students academic choices. During my tenure as a trustee, DeSoto ISD created a menu of magnet and innovative offerings that features over two dozen programs from elementary through high school that allows our students to choose a course of study with innovative approaches to learning. Our magnet programs have a curriculum that emphasizes a particular educational focus such as: engineering, science, leadership, technology or the arts. Providing our students with these types of offerings that we previous void has opens doors of opportunity and sparks the imagination of students, preparing them to become responsible citizens in a global society.
• Cockrell Hill Linguistics Magnet Academy • Frank D. Moates Blended Learning Magnet Academy • Northside Business and Law Magnet Academy • Ruby Young Medical & Environmental Sciences Magnet Academy • The Meadows STEAM Magnet Academy • Woodridge Fine Arts Magnet Academy • DeSoto East Middle School iSteam3D Academy • McCowan Middle School iSteam3D Academy • DeSoto West Middle School iSteam3D Academy • DeSoto East Middle School Medical Magnet Academy • McCowan Middle School Fine Arts Magnet Academy • West Middle School International Male Leadership Magnet Academy • West Middle School International Baccalaureate Program • DeSoto High School Collegiate Magnet Program (Associate Degree) • DeSoto ISD Early College High School (Associate Degree) • DeSoto High School International Baccalaureate Diploma Program In preparing students to compete and take full advantage of these innovative offerings, we have to continue to make sure that every student has a highly effective educator providing them high quality instruction every day.[6] |
” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?
| “ | The superintendent has shown success in increasing our financial resources, creating innovation programs and offerings for our students, and creating opportunities for the community to participate in our schools. Of course there is much work to be done in making sure that every student gets a high quality education that prepares them to be successful in completing college and compete in today's global society. However, the superintendent is moving the needle. Things to work on include: making sure that we have highly effective teachers in each classroom, improving internal and external communications, and creating a world-class academic culture.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
Where do you stand on the importance of early-childhood education? Would you support increasing class-size ratios at other grade levels in order to introduce or expand pre-K?
| “ | My track record shows that I am an avid supporter of early-childhood education. I will continue to work to enhance our Pre-K program. The first five years of a child’s life are critical to her learning, so we must ensure that students enter school prepared to excel. Class-size ratios should always be at a manageable number to insure that highly effective instruction is going on at all times, therefore, it is important to make sure that the school board is working closely with the administration to manage effective use of FTEs to make sure that students' education is never compromised.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
What resources are lacking in schools in your district? How could the district deliver services in the most cost-effective manner?
| “ | In today’s uncertain economic times in terms of public education funding, we are faced with the reality that some cuts might have to be made. We must make sure that as we attempt to be fiscally responsible, we never cut corners that will compromise our students’ education or their futures. There are some very difficult decisions ahead of us, and those decisions must be made with our students as our top priority. Due to the gloomy budget prospect, resources on individual campuses must always be placed in priority order. Additional technology and resource materials might assist in improving student performance in core subject areas. Second, we need to enhance our communication efforts campus-wide and district-wide. Our district's communication apparatus has done a satisfactory job with limited resources, but its role must expand if we are to properly deliver our message and brand our schools. Working with the community and our partners more closely might help to improve both the communications and technology needs.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
In what ways can your district’s communications with parents be improved? Likewise, how can parental involvement in your district improve?
| “ | Bringing the community back to the table is essential to moving our District to World-Class. This starts with parents. Because our Board of Trustees is elected by and from our community, it is important that its members represent our collective wisdom and attend the needs our community creates. Research shows that education is linked to many things that affect a community, from crime and poverty rates to the housing and business markets in a city. It is important that we continue to strive toward making our educational system in the City of DeSoto one of the best in the nation, helping to make our students competitive in today’s global society. We must make sure parents are properly informed and that we are communicating to all of the demographics we serve. Increasing our parental and community outreach is essential to our success as a district; this must be done through a combination of traditional methods and more non-conventional approaches that cater to a broader audience. The district has to work to make members of the community ambassadors of the school district telling the stories of our successes. See my Communication Plan above for specific examples.[6] | ” |
| —Aubrey Hooper (2017)[8] | ||
What was at stake?
2017
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 DeSoto Independent board of trustees election attracted more candidates than the district's 2016 election did. In 2016, three candidates ran for two seats for an average of 1.5 candidates per seat. In 2017, 12 candidates ran for three seats for an average of four candidates per seat.
While half the seats on the ballot in 2016 were unopposed, none of the seats up for election in 2017 were unopposed. All three incumbents ran to retain their seats in 2017, and they each faced three challengers. Two won re-election, while the third was defeated. In 2016, both incumbents whose seats were up for election ran for additional terms. One was defeated, and the other won re-election unopposed.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| DeSoto Independent School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 4.00 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 66.67% | 33.33% | |
| 2016 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | 50.00% | |
| Texas | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.69 | 48.62% | 77.98% | 83.53% | 34.40% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
See also
External links
- DeSoto Independent School District
- Office website
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- LinkedIn profile
Footnotes
- ↑ Aubrey Hooper Campaign, "Meet Aubrey," accessed March 20, 2014
- ↑ Focus Daily News, "DeSoto ISD Trustee Pulls Double Duty As Dallas NAACP President," January 4, 2017
- ↑ DeSoto Independent School District, "Board Member Election," accessed February 19, 2017
- ↑ Dallas County Elections, "Unofficial Cumulative Results," accessed May 6, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Dallas County Elections, "Campaign Reporting," accessed May 1, 2017
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Re-elect Aubrey Hooper for DeSoto ISD School Board Trustee - Place 5," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 [http://c3.thevoterguide.org/v/dallas17/race-detail.do?id=15582373 The Dallas Morning News, "Voter Guide: DeSoto ISD, Place 5," accessed May 3, 2017]
| DeSoto Independent School District elections in 2017 | |
| Dallas County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 6, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Place 3: • Incumbent, Karen Daniel • Demetric Brown • Van Stripling • Jeremy Woods Place 4: • Incumbent, Jerry Hall • Tiffany Clark • DeAndrea Fleming • Krystal Denise Sams Place 5: • Incumbent, Aubrey Hooper • A'Londa Barber • Laneshia Jordan • Darrell Porter |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
