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DeAndrea Fleming
DeAndrea Fleming was a member of the DeSoto Independent School District in Texas, representing Place 6.
Fleming ran for election to the Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees to represent District 7 in Texas. She did not appear on the ballot for the general runoff election on June 15, 2024.
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Dallas County, Texas (2024)
General runoff election
The general runoff election was canceled. Kesha O’Reilly won election in the general runoff election for Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees District 7.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- DeAndrea Fleming (Nonpartisan)
General election
General election for Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees District 7
Kesha O’Reilly and DeAndrea Fleming advanced to a runoff. They defeated Joey Rodriguez and Jasmond Anderson in the general election for Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees District 7 on May 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kesha O’Reilly (Nonpartisan)  | 36.1 | 4,574 |
| ✔ |  | DeAndrea Fleming (Nonpartisan) | 29.7 | 3,774 |
 | Joey Rodriguez (Nonpartisan) | 18.1 | 2,292 | |
| Jasmond Anderson (Nonpartisan) | 16.1 | 2,047 | ||
| Total votes: 12,687 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nikisha Jackson (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Fleming in this election.
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.[1][2]
Results
| DeSoto Independent School District, Place 4 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Tiffany Clark |
52.45% | 1,091 |
| Jerry Hall Incumbent | 22.84% | 475 |
| DeAndrea Fleming | 16.35% | 340 |
| Krystal Denise Sams | 8.37% | 174 |
| Total Votes | 2,080 | |
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017 | ||
Funding
Fleming reported no contributions or expenditures to the Dallas County Elections Office as of May 1, 2017.[3]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
DeAndrea Fleming did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
DeAndrea Fleming participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on April 17, 2017:
| “ | There is an urgent need to improve the opportunities for our children in schools and as I aspire to be a school board trustee, I am passionately committed to create the conditions for rapid and sustained change. As a transformational leader, I know that to successfully impact student outcomes, leaders must drive a fundamental shift in school culture and instructional practice that results in early gains and ongoing high performance. I am confident that I possess the qualifications required to help our organization promote its philosophy and goals of student success. I am an enthusiastic, creative, passionate educator and mentor with the beliefs that all children can learn and thrive in a learning environment that is stimulating, comforting and appropriate to their unique talents and abilities.[5][6] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | When the school board streamlines the resources from a balanced budget and makes post secondary readiness the priority, then employee relations should be key. When teachers are well developed and supported it then improves the focus and ability of teaching and closing the achievement gaps of all children including those with special needs. We must remember to include programs that specialize in the development of the talents and interest of children.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (April 17, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. I support the ability for parents to choose their children’s future. I support parents who choose to put their children in charter schools, private schools, or home schools. Ultimately, parents should be the drivers for these decisions and I support the broadest range of educational opportunity for our youth. However, I want every parent to seek DeSotoISD as the first and best choice for their children. In effort to make DeSoto ISD schools more competitive, we must restore DeSoto ISD as a premier organization. The district must remain diligent and intentional in advertising the best product and delivering results by way of: Higher percentage above average passing rates for SAT and ACT assessments 1:1 technology for every campus Extensive teacher professional development Increased AP (advanced placement) course enrollments More academic scholarships from Community to Ivy League Colleges School-to-work and grow your own programs Entrepreneurial/trade/technical (CTE) certifications by graduation School of choice pathway alignment from elementary to high school Higher percentage rate of level III and post-secondary readiness performance Unite as a community to support the development of our children Hold each board of trustee member accountable for school improvement Transform the traditional model of our educational system Involve students in the process Parental and Community Involvement Our students must be well-prepared academically and socially balanced with a strong foundation in character and leadership. By working together we can all share in the knowledge and satisfaction that we have provided for the educational needs of all children, and have built a district where students, parents, teachers, and staff feel they are welcome and that they belong. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Private education is an alternative that many parents seek out for their children. Many do so with the understanding that they must pay tuition. School vouchers can be counterproductive to both public and private school systems, because although parents are able to send their children to schools with i.e., smaller class sizes, alternative assessments and higher parental involvement, many of the student’s emotional, social and even academic needs still fail to be met. Until we understand that our primary function is to ensure all students are able to compete globally, critically think and become active and responsible citizens, we will continue to get the same result in any system of education. Equitable resources, accountability and policies should govern the whole if money is received from state funding, otherwise, there will always be achievement gaps. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion can only be used if the conduct of the student has the potential to “seriously affect the health, safety, or welfare of the student, other students, staff or persons” or the conduct seriously interferes with the educational process. All students must be given a formal hearing before being expelled from school, regardless of the reason. Expulsion means the school district prevents the student from attending traditional schools in the school district which is a long term suspension. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teachers directly affect instruction in the classroom. |
Candidate website
Fleming highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | Campaign Priority 1: Become a Highly Sought-After Premier School District in both Academics and Athletics DeAndrea wants every parent to seek DeSotoISD as the first and best choice for their children. DeAndrea supports the ability for parents to choose their children’s future. She support parents who choose to put their children in charter schools, private schools, or home schools. Ultimately, parents should be the drivers for these decisions and she supports the broadest range of educational opportunity for our youth. However, to become a premier organization, the district must remain diligent in advertising the best product and delivering results by way of:
Our students must be well-prepared academically and socially balanced with a strong foundation in character and leadership. By working together we can all share in the knowledge and satisfaction that we have provided for the educational needs of all children, and have built a district where students, parents, teachers, and staff feel they are welcome and that they belong. DeAndrea will keep home property values and preserving the community charm of our neighborhood schools at the forefront of short- and long-term planning. Therefore, the citizens must have a voice and choice in the decisions made that will constantly promote a school district that grows the city of DeSoto. DeAndrea will not only represent the public, but also translate the needs of students into policies, goals and strategies that reflect the standards and values of the community. Campaign Priority 2: DeAndrea will seek to emphasize the creation of a Budget and Facilities Committee which will be comprised of instructional staff, classified staff, parents and community business people. The truth be told, sharing financial information can be scary for a management team. It identifies the points where you perform well, but it also highlights your mistakes and all of the areas where you need to improve. DeAndrea wants the community and employees to have access to our financial records and to know that the budget-building process is open and transparent to all involved. DeAndrea will work to ensure complete transparency of the district budget through clearer and timely communication. She will work to ensure taxpayer money is spent wisely with a focus on students and classroom teachers. In effort to retain the top talent in our classrooms, we need to offer top-talent salaries. She will help develop creative ways to compensate and retain high performing teachers. DeAndrea will work diligently to ensure our parents and community understand the progress and challenges that the district encounter. We can do more with what we have, streamline our processes and ensure dollars go to the classroom where they have the greatest effect on students. Campaign Priority 3: Establishing a structure to support student achievement is a core function of the scool board. DeAndrea seeks to accomplish this by developing and adopting policies and making policy-level decisions that affect the schools, staff and students and influence teaching practices and the culture of learning. School boards monitor district activities to ensure that annual progress is being made, achievement gaps are closing, and the public is kept informed about student progress. School boards are the link between the schools and the communities served by their schools. School improvement requires community support for improvement, which comes from effective linkages. DeAndrea will play a key role in establishing these linkages by upholding the board's role to:
DeAndrea will work diligently to support teachers, parents, and the community in their endeavors to collaboratively achieve student excellence, not just in assessment performance, but in maturity as the future leaders of our world. She will ensure that all allies are accountable for their individual obligation as it is related to our scholar’s pursuit of achievement. Every child has equal inherent worth and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. DeAndrea will advocate establishing meaningful relationships because rapport has a profound lifelong impact.[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[7] | ||
The Dallas Morning News survey
Fleming participated in the following survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News. The questions provided by The Dallas Morning News appear bolded, and Fleming's responses follow below.
Why are you running for this office, and why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
| “ | In my 16 years of education I was intentional in my learning of instruction and school operation. From being a classroom teacher to Instructional coach, central staff member and campus administrator those experiences have afforded me the ability to understand how it all works together: school finance, program evaluation, day to day school operations, curriculum and instruction, professional development and state accountability are some of my strengths.
My initial steps will be to evaluate the data and the climate of the district in comparison to a high performing school district. We must look at the performance levels of students as it relates to ESSA federal policy as well as the state accountability system. We must ensure that our students have equal access to : Higher percentage passing rates for SAT and ACT assessments 1:1 technology for every campus Extensive teacher professional development Increased AP (advanced placement) course enrollments More academic scholarships from Community to Ivy League Colleges School-to-work and grow your own programs Entrepreneurial/trade/technical (CTE) certifications by graduation School of choice pathway alignment from elementary to high school Higher percentage rate of level III and post-secondary readiness performance Unite as a community to support the development of our children Hold each board of trustee member accountable for school improvement Transform the traditional model of our educational system Involve students in the process Parental and Community Involvement[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
If elected, what two issues would you give the most attention and resources?
| “ | Improving Student Achievement and District Funding that supports classroom instruction[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
For non-incumbent trustees: Have you attended any school board meetings? If so, what have you learned about how a board member can be effective?
| “ | Yes. I've learned the importance of listening and researching agenda items, working with other board members despite disagreements and how necessary it is to successfully gain the majority vote all while ensuring that all decisions remain centered on our DeSoto children and their best interest.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
As you look around the country, what innovative ideas would you recommend for improving classroom performance?
| “ | Provide Personalized Learning Opportunities Move away from standardization and uniformity of learning focused on a one-size-fits-all system that is excessively focused on bachelor degrees for all as a measure of success and achievement. In its place, the system should develop and promote career and technical education at grades 6-10, offering greater choice, including graduation at sixteen for students pursuing associate degrees and trade certificates.
School Structure Make schools more progressive environments. Allow 4 day school weeks, increase or decrease the lengths of days, allow students to teach, allow students to rate teachers so that it enforces teachers to care and have to try. Students need access to the careers that are available in today’s economy through career exposure. Restructure a school finance system that’s based on local property taxes. Cater to the Learning Styles Critical Thinking and Problem Solving by focusing on teaching students how use and apply their minds to tasks or problems. Make math/science relevant. Teachers then need to move from passive student teaching to facilitators for student learning. Student Evaluation Decrease the emphasis on standardized testing as a measure of rigor and accountability, and replace that with support for a child’s whole education, including social-emotional needs. Provide more demanding ways for students to show growth. Kids before Content! Seek out the best talent, Retain the best talent, Pay for the best talent![6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (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?
| “ | As a 68% Economic Disadvantaged district and with almost $32 million of bond dollars available, I would only solicit an increase if funding was geared towards teacher training and improving instruction in the classroom. However, we must seek out creative ways to utilize what we currently have through student centered funding, which provides a closer look at providing the resources based on data at the campuses in need.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (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?
| “ | By implementing innovative, technology based initiatives matched to specific academic or administrative goals, and changing the mix of our investments, the district can be able to reduce costs and deliver new high quality content and services. We can reduce or save money by going to digital books and invest in every elementary student to have technology which then creates ways to improve performance and student engagement.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (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?
| “ | The preliminary A-F Ratings provide a snapshot as to what student achievement should look like beginning the 2017-18 School year. This past January, many school districts were given a rating based on Student Achievement, Student Progress, Closing the Performance Gaps, and Post Secondary Readiness. There are 2 perspectives of action a district can and should take in response to the new state ratings of all schools.
Perspective of Action 1 (Favor) The first action is to be proactive! Before receiving these ratings in January, the state provided a framework and a calculation criteria to districts to use to project the accountability rating. Districts can utilize the formula to project the next school year’s rating and should also utilize current and ongoing district assessment data to monitor student progress throughout the school year. The school board should be the primary facilitators of communicating this information to every stakeholder and align the district priorities as it relates to increasing student achievement, making financial decisions for instruction and resources to the classrooms, and enhancing parental and community involvement. The vision of the district is managed and governed by the Board of Trustees working alongside the Superintendent to ensure adequate progress is made towards achieving the district goals. Far too long have we accepted the minimum state passing standards as an acceptable measure of achievement. The A-F rating forces a district to face the brutal facts of closing the gaps and improving student performance at expected and accelerated levels of growth. We must focus on increasing the performance of each individual student to meet progress measures above 80% for level III and post secondary readiness. When these ratings are considered at face value, the A-F rating system enhances the ability for every child to learn in a high performing school. Perspective of Action 2 (Oppose) The second action is to confront and petition inequities in fairness of the distribution of the ratings. For example, many school districts were not accessed a rating in Domain III , in which these ratings include only students who are economically disadvantaged (ED). It isolates districts with a higher enrollment of ED students who’s campuses receive a D or F rating. Whereas the districts with a smaller or none enrollment of ED students are not rated at all. The future policy states that a district can’t receive an A rating when it has a campus that earns a D or F rating. This inequity highlights the gaps of growth for many minority students and/or low income households. Rather than utilizing this measure for solution-oriented conversations, it penalizes and suppresses the effort of ensuring a fair and equitable rating system is applied to all school districts in Texas.[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (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?
| “ | Simply identifying at-risk students does nothing to mitigate their risk factors and help them graduate. However, the predictive power of early-warning data is being harnessed by district should be used to guide interventions and embed prevention strategies throughout all schools in DeSoto ISD. We must seek new approaches to help educators prevent students from falling off the track to graduation and to target interventions and support to students who need them most. Early warning data can be used to better understand and target resources to low-performing schools where concentrated numbers of students require significantly improved schools in order to succeed.
By preventing students from falling through the cracks and ensuring that they receive the appropriate level of attention, instruction, engagement, and support needed to succeed in their classes, educators can give every student the chance to graduate from high school prepared for college, the workforce, and life. I will advocate to: 1. Engage and Partner with Parents 2. Cultivate Relationships 3. Pay Attention to Warning Signs 4. Develop a Community Plan 5.Invest in Preschool Leaders 6. Adopt a Student-Centered Funding Model 7.Raise the Academic Bar 8. Make learning Relevant[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
What schools in your district have been particularly effective in getting every child up to grade level in reading and math?
| “ | Out of the 11 schools based on Texas Accountability System data, DeSoto ISD currently has 9 of the 11 schools on track in getting every child up to grade level in reading and math thus receiving a met standard rating. In order to become a high performing district, we must ensure systems are in place that address the deficiencies of every student at every campus.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
How would you assess your district’s current school choice efforts, and what changes are needed?
| “ | As DeSoto ISD seeks to become a District of Innovation, the policies, procedures, programs and practices must directly support the accomplishment of the goals of the district.
Collectively each board member should be ensure and/or able to: Analyze the Data throughly, Set the District Goals based on the data by involving all stakeholders, Develop an action plan to address the areas of improvement , Determine and Align the resources that will be utilized both academically and socially, Extensively train all employees and continuously support campus- based employees by putting more dollars in growing and retaining teachers, Implement the plan and observe the practices frequently with less district mandated assessments which provides students more instructional leaning time, Progress monitor through frequent observations and hold campus administrators accountable for communicating and providing evidence of student progress, Evaluate the plan and solicit feedback, Intentionally abandon programs that don’t align to the vision or accrue adequate data to analyze.[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?
| “ | Dr. Harris was named Region 10 Superintendent of the Year through implementation of DeSoto ISD’s City of Education program targeting special student populations. He has secured important federal grants and maintained an easy, collaborative working relationship with DeSoto ISD’s board over the past year. His vision for DeSoto ISD is to expect to be the best and no excuses. He expects all students, staff and the community to raise their expectations and accept responsibility to achieve success in everything they do! However, community members should elect board members that support the vision, yet challenge and hold board members accountable when the vision isn't improving student performance. When schools aren't performing the board should be held accountable.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (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?
| “ | Early Intervention is best! Although research states class size doesn't affect student performance, I do see the value of a smaller class size helpful for children who need one to one interventions. Therefore, increasing class size would not be beneficial to meet the needs of many students. In DeSoto there is an entire campus dedicated to early intervention for Pre K students, however, we must ensure the students are reading before exiting to Kinder and promote those students who enter pre-K with above grade level performance.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
What resources are lacking in schools in your district? How could the district deliver services in the most cost-effective manner?
| “ | 1.The use of textbooks vs the use of technology 2. Technology 1:1 and the effective use of integrating the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) into instruction 3. Smartboards (smart interactive systems) 4. Response To Intervention- A cohesive and time effective method to address the implementation of RTI on every campus 5. Training and Professional Development for every employee to improve their practices and student performance in the classroom. 6.Social Services Mentorship and Community Partnerships to help erase the gaps of student learning and appropriately address the social development of students in the curriculum.[6] | ” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
In what ways can your district’s communications with parents be improved? Likewise, how can parental involvement in your district improve?
| “ | District communication needs to be improved and must provide substance for parents to make informed decisions in regards to: Updates on their child's progress or insight on how they improve; Timely notice when performance is slipping; Information on what their child is expected to learn during this year; Homework and grading policies.
Classes should be developed to train parents on how to use the district-wide systems and provide awareness to the benefits of these systems. While parental involvement must be looked at on a student-by student and campus-by-campus basis, we can always encourage the dissemination of information through social media platforms, but streamline which platforms are district approved, so parents won't be pressed to learn multiple platforms that promote the same channel of communication. Parental involvement is a key issue across the nation, but we as a district must over-communicate the expectation of the parent to school relationships. Although now mandated through educational policies to improve parental involvement, we must look at resources to help involve the working and single parents, custodial grandparents, and foster parents with limited time to participate. Parents must feel welcome and more importantly, must be valued by equipping them with the tools to help their child be successful. Parents send their best and expect the best in return, together we must continue to build relationships to maximize the success of every student.[6] |
” |
| —DeAndrea Fleming (2017)[8] | ||
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "DeAndrea Fleming's responses," April 17, 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 6.15 6.16 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ DeAndrea Fleming for DeSotoISD School Board Place 4, "DeAndrea's Top Priorities," 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 The Dallas Morning News, "Voter Guide: DeSoto ISD, Place 4," accessed May 3, 2017
