Author: The Hub

Students stepping up to help families impacted by tragedy, growing excitement for Dallas ISD’s new single-gender schools, and a reduction in the number of semester exams are just some of the big news items in this edition of This Week in Dallas ISD. Watch the above video—or read below—to learn more! Supporting principals More than 40 Dallas ISD departments are helping prepare principals for a successful school year. Here’s how. Stepping up to help Students from Lakewood Elementary set up lemonade stands to raise money for the families of police officers killed in the July 7 shooting. (Read this) Chief…

Dallas ISD hosted a high-energy information fair last week to help prepare principals for a successful school year. Nearly 40 Dallas ISD departments hosted booths at the fair to provide information about their services to the principals. Macario Hernandez, who will begin his first year as principal at Trinidad Garza Early College High School, said he is excited to use the resources available. “This is the first training that we are able to see so many departments from all over the district that we are actually able to tap into,” he said. “I’m excited to be able to utilize the…

Two Dallas ISD elementary schools, Martin Weiss School of Leadership and Jack Lowe Elementary School, have been selected from hundreds of schools across the country to receive a grant from Leader.org. The grant, which awarded both schools with more than $42,000 each, will enable Weiss and Lowe in implementing The Leader in Me whole-school transformation process for developing 21st century leadership skills in K-12 students. This unique opportunity will teach students the leadership habits they will need to be successful in college, careers, and daily life. “We are so proud to be implementing The Leader in Me process in our…

There are lots of exciting things going in the Dallas ISD Summer Achievers Academy, a tuition-free, full-day summer enrichment camp for district students. Students are spending their days in two parts—the morning is dedicated to classroom instruction, which also doubles as a training ground for new teachers entering the district through Teach for America and Dallas ISD’s Alternative Certification Program, Compass. Afternoons are dedicated to social emotional enrichment facilitated by Big Thought, a Dallas-area non-profit. Teachers and students spend the day engaged in high-energy, interactive activities aimed at helping Dallas ISD campers grow as students and people. Dallas ISD’s Summer…

Seventy Dallas ISD seniors are receiving special assistance selecting, applying for and securing financial aid for college thanks to a collective of organizations that have formed the Texas Higher Education Initiative. St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, 12 Texas colleges and universities, and four area school districts created the initiative to streamline the college admissions process for first-generation students interested in attending Texas colleges. On a recent Saturday morning, the initiative partners invited ninety area high school students to talk with college admissions officers, learn how to write winning college essays and to get help navigating the higher education financial aid system.…

Dallas ISD will reduce the number of semester exams, otherwise known as Assessments of Course Performance (ACPs), by more than 30 percent in the upcoming school year. The majority of the cuts in testing will happen in elementary schools, where all second semester ACPs have been eliminated and first semester exams are limited to Reading and Math plus Grade 5 Science and Grade 4 Language Arts. “Reducing the number of assessments will allow for more valuable time for teaching and learning inside the classroom,” said Stephanie Elizalde, chief of school leadership. For example, a third-grader last year took ACPs for language…

Dallas ISD trustee Dan Micciche has earned the designation of Master Trustee upon completion of Leadership TASB, a program sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). During the fifth session, June 30-July 1, school board members in the 2015–16 Leadership TASB class made presentations of their team’s findings following year-long research. Class participants selected topics related to public school boards facing change and selected narrowed research fields for in-depth study. Their research focused on topics that included strategies to deal with employee retention, understanding statewide accountability, successful early childhood education programs, focused community engagement, the role of the…

The Dallas Morning News featured Brighter Bites, a Dallas ISD partner that offers fresh produce while teaching healthful diet and nutrition. The story catches Brighter Bites in action at Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary School. Go here for the full story.

Eduardo Mata Montessori se convirtió en la primera escuela Montessori School of Choice para el Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dallas.Cuenta con 400 estudiantes de las edades de 3 años hasta kinder, y de los grados 1o a 3o de primaria. Las clases en Montessori son de aprendizaje activo y con un proceso significativo. La filosofía principal se enfoca en la creencia de que los niños están enfocados en aprender; sólo necesitan las herramientas y una guía para lograrlo.

Staff from Vizient reached out to the Dallas ISD Volunteer and Partnership Services team to offer support. In the meantime, DeGolyer Elementary School had asked for help with some painting and their school garden – so the match was made. On Friday, July 22, 16 Vizient interns participated in a day of service, including more than $5,000 of donated landscaping and playground and gym supplies. Principal Tara Mays expressed gratitude for the company’s support and willingness to serve the students, teachers, and families of DeGolyer Elementary. Vizient, Inc., based in Irving is the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country,…