Author: News and Information

Thanks to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the fall of 2013, the district’s concept of personalized learning may take flight in a whole new way. HKS Architects revealed the innovative and futuristic plans during a presentation at its Dallas headquarters. Check out this report featured on WFAA-TV Channel 8 in the link below. http://www.wfaa.com/media/cinematic/video/16003830/dallas-isd-could-get-innovative-classrooms/

“Some colleges might actually give credit, they would give credit three credit hours for an AP exam score. So, it’s good for kids,” Dr. Ann Smisko, assistant superintendent. Advanced Placement, or AP, exams have been around since the early 1950s. Today the exam, which is administered as an end of course test, gives students the opportunity to earn college credit. “I have a great passion for math, so it was an easy course for me to take,” said Kenneth Bailey. Not all students would agree that advanced placement calculus is easy. Kenneth Bailey, a senior at Lincoln High School, who…

Students will be able to ease into the week of Nov. 10. There will be no classes on Monday because it is a teacher preparation day. Students: be safe and be sure to read a book during your time away. Meanwhile, staff at our schools will be hard at work on ways to continue to increase student achievement!

Following the announcement of an Ebola patient in our community, Dallas ISD took several steps to communicate the local impact of the disease with its students, staff and community. The chart and story links below illustrate the most important actions taken between the start of the Ebola challenge on Oct. 1, and its conclusion on Nov. 7. Communicate and inform – Answering the call  Acting out of an abundance of caution Mental health professionals allayed fears Students welcomed back Thank you from the superintendent

VIDEO: Dallas ISD details the actions taken to support the homebound students returning to school. The return of the students on Oct. 24 was cause for celebration…and concern. Dallas ISD was pleased the five students that were quarantined were completely symptom-free, as they had been all along. With the appropriate medical clearance, the students were able to continue their studies and march toward ever-increasing student achievement. However, the district took a proactive approach to the slight potential of bullying or harassment of those students. Four business days before the students’ return, Dallas ISD counselors and health professionals visited the impacted schools…

VIDEO: Nursing director answers questions about Ebola and influenza. Based on direction from Dallas County Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the five students that had come in contact with the initial Ebola patient were quarantined for 21 days. During that time they did not attend school, but were provided services to help them continue their education in the best way possible. Education about Ebola and its impact continued at the impacted schools and across the district. Suzanne Kubelka, nursing director for Dallas ISD, worked closely with health professionals to relay the most important…

Video: Superintendent Mike Miles speaks on Oct. 2 with Fox 4 about the district’s response to the Ebola challenge. The school year for five Dallas ISD schools took a sudden and dramatic twist Oct. 1. That day, it was announced that a case of Ebola has been identified in Dallas. National, state and local leaders, along with a cadre of health experts, descended on our community to address the challenge. Meanwhile, it was made known that five Dallas ISD students had contact with the Ebola patient and would be quarantined for 21 days.The challenge for Dallas ISD was significant, but…

The South Dallas Superbowl returns to the Cotton Bowl after 25 years. The Lincoln Tigers and Madison Trojans will face off at 7:30 p.m., today,  Nov. 7. This morning on Fox 4’s Good Day, Madison High School showed off their school spirit. Watch members of the football team, cheerleaders, band and staff in the link below: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/clip/10823941/south-dallas-super-bowl

Music is a universal language that crosses all boundaries. For a second-grader at Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary, music is more than just a language – it is the vehicle that moves imagination. Meet 7-year-old Tinashe McGowan. “Sometimes when I play the piano, it takes me on a little journey,” said Tinashe. “I just start playing and I go on a magical adventure.”   Quickly becoming a master of the classical piano, Tinashe has been playing since he was 3 years old. Tinashe’s mother, Eneida Simpson, remembers his interest at such a young age. “I knew he liked music since he…

A minority student in the Dallas Independent School District is more than twice as likely to pass an Advanced Placement, or AP, math or science exam than in any other large urban school district in the country, based on the most recent testing results available. For those minority students, that multiplier is even greater: African-American and Hispanic students who succeed in AP courses are four times more likely to graduate from college. This means Dallas ISD minority students are closing the most important achievement gap for students: college and career readiness. The two charts below, courtesy of the National Math…