United to Learn (U2L) is proud to share the significant progress and impact achieved throughout the 2024-2025 academic year across its 103 Dallas ISD network schools.
Together with educators, district leaders, and community support, we advanced key Dallas ISD priorities:
- strengthening literacy outcomes,
- expanding College and Career Military Readiness (CCMR),
- and supporting the rollout of high-quality curriculum.
We also responded to urgent campus needs, enhancing school culture, promoting educator effectiveness, and tailoring programs to accelerate student achievement.
U2L Network Schools Saw Growth in Third Grade Reading
United to Learn activated key levers to accelerate outcomes, including targeted literacy intervention, cultivating strong school culture, and strengthening learning environments. These concerted efforts led to meaningful gains in literacy outcomes.
- 3rd Grade Reading STAAR spring 2025 results:
- 9.5% more 3rd graders scored Meets Grade Level in reading
- 18% more 4th graders scored Meets Grade Level in reading than their 3rd-grade cohort did in 2024
- 90% of U2L schools receiving the highest level of support (Team Thrive) improved 3rd-grade Reading STAAR scores
- i-Ready English Results across all grade levels:
- 91% of students who participated in United to Learn’s Aspiring Teacher Program tutoring increased their overall i-Ready scale score
- 19.6% more students scored Meets or Above Grade Level from the beginning of the year to the end of the year
- 100% of U2L schools saw growth in this area
- i-Ready Spanish Results for all grade levels:
- 67% of students who participated in United to Learn’s Aspiring Teacher Program tutoring showed growth in key reading domains
- 14.5% more students scored Meets or Above Grade Level from the beginning of the year to the end of the year
- 96% of U2L schools saw growth in this area
- TEA Accountability Ratings:
- Over 63% of all U2L campuses improved their TEA ratings across academics and climate
- 29% maintained their prior year ratings in these areas
Key Programs Driving Impact:
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Culture Corps Collaborative: Strengthened schoolwide systems and climate through leadership coaching, staff wellness, and community building.
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Community Campus Day: Transformed learning environments with volunteer-led projects tailored to each school’s unique vision and needs.
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Aspiring Teachers Program: Boosted instructional quality and student literacy through high-impact tutoring and educator pipeline development.
Accelerating Student Achievement Through Targeted Interventions
Spotlight on Aspiring Teachers Program
The Aspiring Teachers program is a dual-purpose initiative that bridges workforce development with student academic intervention. Our literacy trains high school and college students and places them in classrooms to provide high-impact literacy tutoring while developing a strong, local teacher pipeline.
- Over the past year, U2L trained and engaged 140 educators-in-training, who delivered over 15,000 hours of tutoring to 775 kindergarten through 3rd-grade students across 23 Dallas ISD Title I elementary campuses.
- English Assessment end-of-year results: 91% of students increased their overall i-Ready scale score, and 62% grew by at least one full grade level band.
- Spanish Assessment end-of-year results: Over 67% of students showed growth in key reading domains (Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Comprehension of Literature, and Comprehension of Informational Text). The percentage of students achieving Meets or Above Grade Level score increased by 26.2%.
U2L was also recognized as a P-TECH Industry Partner with the Excellence in Internships award from Dallas ISD, affirming our commitment to high-quality opportunities for future educators. Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) is an education model used within Dallas ISD that combines high school with an associate’s degree program, offering students a pathway to both a high school diploma and a college degree, often in a technology-focused field. These programs are designed to prepare students for careers in high-demand industries and help engage students who may be less likely to attend college.
Strengthening Campus Culture and Climate
Team Thrive: A Model for Intensive Support
Team Thrive, a strategic initiative launched across 20 United to Learn network schools, provides intensive, multi-layered support to high-need Dallas ISD campuses. This comprehensive approach leverages the full breadth of the U2L model, impacting 10,000 students and 1,300 educators.
- In 2025, 90% of participating schools improved 3rd-grade Reading STAAR scores, with an average increase of 8.6%.
- Progress continued into 4th grade, where every campus in the cohort saw gains, and 85% achieved double-digit growth.
- The U2L Thriving Campus Rubric, now in its second year, shows significant growth in school culture: 90% of campuses achieved Exemplary or Proficient ratings in social emotional learning (school culture and well-being), a dramatic increase from just 19% at the start of the year.
Clinton P. Russell Elementary School is a prime example of Team Thrive’s transformative power. Under Principal Chara Pace’s leadership and with U2L’s support, Russell Elementary rose from a state accountability rating of a “D” to an “A” over two years. Read more about Russell Elementary School’s transformation here.
“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to hold that ‘A’,” says Pace. “What we’ve achieved with United to Learn’s help is more than amazing. I can say with 100% certainty that their support played a huge role in our success.”
— Principal Chara Pace, Clinton P. Russell Elementary School
Investing in Learning Environments and Educator Effectiveness
Efforts to revamp learning spaces and transform instructional practices through initiatives like Community Campus Day, Learning Launch, New Teacher Grants, and Book Bash grew.
- Learning Launch: 84 partner schools participated in this initiative, providing high-quality tools and resources to alleviate the burden on educators who often spend hundreds of dollars and many hours sourcing materials.
- New Teacher Grants: 50 early-career teachers received $500 grants, helping them purchase essential classroom materials and reduce financial strain.
- Community Campus Day: 31 campus enhancement projects, ranging from STEAM lab upgrades to outdoor classrooms, were brought to life by U2L staff, volunteers, and partners. These projects directly impacted learning environments for more than 16,300 students and collectively raised $315,000 in investment.
- Book Bash: Through 29 interactive literacy celebrations, U2L provided 19,360 brand-new books to 14,539 students. A survey highlighted that 96% of respondents felt more excited about reading after attending Book Bash. In March, U2L celebrated the distribution of its 50,000th book.
Deepening Community Engagement and Partnerships
U2L’s success is deeply rooted in uniting community organizations, high schools, businesses, and individuals to support Dallas ISD elementary schools.
- Our network benefited from the dedication of 2,064 unique volunteers who contributed over 13,200 hours of service, valued at $459,228.
- Corporate partners invested over $500,000 and contributed more than 1,500 volunteer hours across U2L schools. Notable contributions included Jacobs Engineering’s Black Leadership Program leading career conversations and Truist transforming the library at Cesar Chavez Learning Center.
- U2L Teen Programming engaged 331 students across three programs (Teen Fellows, Teen Board, Teen Corps Volunteers), contributing over 7,000 service hours across more than 35 U2L campuses.
- The 4th Annual Policy Study Cohort convened 24 city leaders to explore systemic barriers affecting schools and communities, with a 92% completion rate.
- The Margaret J. Hirsch Women’s Forum launched a dynamic year of programming, fostering meaningful dialogue on topics like productive discourse, corporate social responsibility, and equitable housing practices.
Looking Forward
We are thrilled to announce that U2L is expanding its reach in the 2025-2026 school year, serving 124 elementary schools, providing targeted support to 63,600 students and 8,000 teachers and school staff. U2L proudly stands as a partner comprehensively supporting these historically under-championed campuses, meeting the needs of today’s classrooms and shaping the future of our region. With your help, we continue to fuel our city’s most powerful engine of economic mobility: our public schools.