Author: The Hub

Dallas ISD Trustee Joyce Foreman was among a group of school board members gathering in McAllen April 19–22 to continue learning the latest on 21st century challenges to leadership and the implications of those trends for educators. Session theme for this, the fourth of five training sessions of Leadership TASB (LTASB), was “Where Leadership Happens at the Wall.” Trustees began activities Thursday with a visit to Hidalgo ISD, including a tour of the district’s Early College High School. The day concluded with a tour and dinner at the Museum of South Texas History. Friday’s session focused on campus tours at…

A total of 102 graduating Dallas ISD seniors at Fair Park-area schools were awarded the State Fair of Texas Pete Schenkel Scholarship. More than $1.3 million in new scholarships were awarded to those students in the State Fair of Texas Youth Scholarship Program. along with 115 Youth Livestock Scholarship recipients from around Texas. The Dallas ISD winners are: • Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School: Nailah Blair, Alexandra Castillo, Lidia Engdaw, Sandra Escorza, Julissa Espinoza-Reyes, Z’Kijah Fleming, Destiny Jimenez, Victoria Lopez Hernandez, Brianda Macias Aguilar, Paola Martinez Lopez, Ariana Quirino, Michelle Ramirez, Leslie Ramos Hernandez, Gina Rattanakone, Melanie Rivera, Erika Sarmiento,…

Tatum Elementary teacher Carolyn Myers was driving to work when a car crashed into her, flipping her automobile on its side. Myers was trapped, thought she smelled smoke, and, as she puts it, “was totally freaked out.” After screaming for help, a man came to her rescue, climbing down into the car and steadily talking her through the situation—calming her down— until the ambulance arrived. “I truly believe this man saved my life,” Myers said. “I can not thank him enough.” The man turned out to be Sgt. Dewye Jiles, a veteran of the Gulf War and current JROTC instructor…

Dados los beneficios que otorga una educación integral, los líderes del distrito y la Junta Escolar de Dallas ISD están muy contentos de ver una mejoría significativa en el número de estudiantes que participan en actividades extracurriculares y complementarias. Aproximadamente, el 60 por ciento de los estudiantes inscritos este año escolar han participado en alguna actividad extracurricular o complementaria. Estos son algunos datos del aumento en la participación de los estudiantes este año escolar en tres categorías: 19,434 estudiantes participaron en una actividad estudiantil (a comparación de 11,482 estudiantes en 2015–2016 y 5,248 estudiantes en 2014–2015); 12,057 estudiantes participaron en…

Students and staff at Dallas ISD’s J.J. Rhoads Learning Center wrapped up the week on Friday, May 12, with a Career Day that had an outdoor component and also presenters in third- through fifth-grade classrooms. Outside, Dallas Police and Dallas Fire-Rescue brought vehicles for students to see and explore. Indoors, presenters from the U.S. Army, Dallas World Aquarium and many others talked about how they got into their careers and what it takes to be successful at their jobs.

District leaders briefed trustees on proposed changes to the Teacher Excellence Initiative that incorporate feedback from teachers, staff and stakeholders. TEI is a continuous improvement model for strategic compensation that seeks to define, support and reward teacher excellence. Under one proposed change, teachers at Proficient I and above would receive performance retention increases on top of their base salaries if they stay at the same effectiveness level. Survey results show that 80 percent of teachers believe such an increase would make TEI more fair. Other proposed TEI changes include: Reducing the number of spot observations; Ensuring market competitiveness for all…

Spend the next 149 seconds catching up on many of the great things that happened across the district this week! Watch the above video, or read below, to learn more. Blast from the past Students who were eighth-graders at Quintinilla Middle School in 2007 returned to the school to pick up and read letters they wrote to themselves 10 years ago. Some students cried; some students laughed; and many students did both. (Watch a video) Heartbeat of a campus National School Nurse Day was Wednesday, and it was an opportunity to thank the Dallas ISD nurses on the front lines of student health. (Learn…

Dallas ISD students in grades 7–10 are invited to register for a free summer PSAT prep class this summer. All sessions will be held Tuesday–Thursday from 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Students can register here. The sessions are scheduled for: Session A: July 11 – 13, 2017 and July 18 – 20, 2017: Emmett J. Conrad High School Moises E. Molina High School Spruce High School Session B: July 25 – 27, 2017 and August 1 – 3, 2017: Bryan Adams High School Justin F. Kimball High School Skyline High School

Given the benefits of a well-rounded education, Dallas ISD leaders and trustees are thrilled by the notable increase of students participating in extracurricular or co-curricular activities. Nearly 60 percent of all enrolled students this school year have participated in an extra-curricular or co-curricular activity. Here’s a look at the increased student participation by category this school year: 19,434 students participated in a student activity (up from 11,482 students in 2015–2016 and 5,248 students in 2014–2015); 12,057 students participated in athletics (up from 10,593 students in 2015–2016 and 9,914 students in 2014–2015); 54,790 students participated in the secondary level visual and performing…

A proposal under consideration would give Dallas ISD more control regarding when the school year starts, as well as allow the district more flexibility in hiring hard-to-fill select teaching positions. The Texas Legislature passed a bill that allows Texas school districts to pursue a District of Innovation (DOI) designation. The designation gives districts such as Dallas ISD most of the flexibilities available to the state’s open-enrollment charter schools. More than 100 independent school districts in Texas have approved the DOI designation. Trustees earlier this year appointed representatives to a DOI Committee, which then created a proposed plan. DOI Committee members…