​The iDesign Central Fellowship is an experience for Dallas ISD central staff leaders to build habits for design to lead teams and  transform culture. 

This fellowship uses design thinking to build creative confidence for using a human-centered approach to solve our biggest challenges at the district, division, and team level. Simply put, design thinking is an intentional process to construct fresh, relevant, and creative solutions to old problems.

Monday, August 22nd | 12:00-12:30 PM

Fellow Competencies 

Leads with Empathy
Ability to be aware of, understanding of, and sensitive to another person's feelings and thoughts without having had the same experience. Consciously works to understand the experience of others and prioritizes equity.

Creative Confidence
Comfortable with not having an answer- leans into the unknown and establishes a creative approach to the work that incorporates many perspectives, sustains optimism, and perseveres through ambiguity.

Leads + Manages Others 
Leads and manages a team in a way that builds and sustains trust, develops team members, and effectively and efficiently drives toward a commonly-held vision. Proven success in leading teams, leading change management initiatives, developing staff, and engaging stakeholders. ​

Systems Manager
Creates, refines, and evaluates systems to maximize effectiveness and reduce stress on team and district. Identifies necessary resources in line with overall strategy and manages them responsibly. Understands and effectively navigates and networks with internal and external stakeholders.

Effective Communicator 
Creates and intentionally shares clear and compelling messages using a variety of strategies. Sets clear and concise expectations and is responsive to the needs of all stakeholders.

Coalition Builder
Generates multi-departmental support by galvanizing diverse internal and external communities based on shared interests. Understands the needs of students and families and remains focused on the District’s mission of educating all students. ​

Cohort 2 Fellowship Experience | September 2022- February 2023

Fellow Commitments

• Commit to and engage in 5 full day design workshops between September 2022 and February 2023.
  • ​Workshop dates are: September 13th, October 4th, November 1st, January 11th, and February 14th
• Participate in the showcase events on December 15th and February 28th
• Select one day (chosen at your discretion) to shadow a user to better understand how they experience the system(s) you lead
• Prioritize 4-6 hours between workshops to apply learning through design challenges
• Take risks to adopt an equity mindset
• Lean into the ambiguity created when using design thinking
• Throughout the fellowship experience, new learning modifies prior assumptions

Who Should Apply?
Any Dallas ISD central staff leader who wants to change the status quo at the district level. Every role in every division in central staff is eligible to apply. 

Application Need to Knows

• The deadline to apply is Thursday, August 25th at 5:00 PM.
• Apply by submitting the application linked below.
• The application will ask you to answer the following:
  • Using 500 words or less, or a video submission of 5 minutes or less, tell us a little about yourself as a person and a leader. What ideas, experiences, and people have shaped your approach to leading? Why are you interested in participating in the iDesign Central Fellowship? What do you hope to get out of the fellowship experience? 
  • Submit three artifacts that demonstrate evidence of how you reflect the iDesign Fellow competencies. Artifacts can be anything you feel best exemplifies how you embody the competencies, e.g., work plans, slide decks, meeting agendas, a written narrative or case study, etc. One artifact can represent multiple competencies. 
• This fellowship is open to 20 central staff leaders from all divisions.
• Cohort 2 Fellows will be announced August 29th.