Author: The Hub

In its annual Best of Dallas issue, the Dallas Observer named Mata Elementary as the Best Dallas ISD Innovation. The article, which you can read in full here, states: “Teachers and administrators there are passionate, energetic and wholly committed to students’ success. A-plus.”

Dallas ISD provides an annual $200 stipend to district teachers and staff in their September paychecks to help them purchase supplies and materials for the school year. In total, 10,767 employees received $2,153,400 in September. The Hub asked Maria, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, to interview teachers at Robert E. Lee Elementary School about how they planned to use their stipend. Watch the above video to see what the teachers said.

At a high-energy pep rally on Friday that was equal parts rock concert and lesson on healthy living, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) launched its statewide Farm Fresh Fridays initiative in front of 500 students at Margaret B. Henderson Elementary School. The TDA is offering the “Jump With Jill” show at no cost to select Texas schools in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Henderson students learned a few things about respecting their bodies through healthy choices, eating breakfast, enjoying fruit (“Nature’s Candy”), snacking on the superpowers of vegetables, exercising and drinking plenty of water. After the hour-long program,…

Dallas ISD is a hotbed of history, from the people who’ve passed through district classrooms, to the students who’ve graduated, to the very buildings standing in the district’s 324 mile radius. Within that radius is Sunset High School, named for the neighborhood in which it was built, the Sunset Hills Addition of Oak Cliff. The school was built in 1925 when Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States, Ford produced its first truck, F.Scott Fitzgerald released “The Great Gatsby,” and the average family household income in the U.S. was, give or take, $5,200, according to a recent edition of…

Dallas ISD interim Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told members of the Board of Trustees that approximately 71 percent of teachers returning to a Teacher Excellence Initiative-eligible role will see a salary increase next month. Hinojosa made his presentation at the Trustee’s regular business meeting on Sept. 24 at the district administration building. He noted the average pay raise for returning teachers this year under the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) will be $2,700, which is about a 4.5 percent raise on average. More than 35 percent of returning teachers will receive a raise of $4,000–$5,000. Hinojosa’s presentation to trustees came after teachers received…

Questions about class sizes, scholarships, and extracurricular activities dominated Wednesday’s Districtwide College Fair that brought more than 2,000 Dallas ISD students to the Ellis Davis Fieldhouse. Representatives from more than 200 colleges, universities, the military and trade schools fielded students’ questions and provided information, brochures and, in some cases, key chains and other goodies. Dr. Sylvia Lopez, director of the Dallas ISD Counseling Services department, said the college fair was a huge success. “The high school counselors did a fantastic job of preparing the students for the College Fair,” she said. “The students were ready to greet and meet the…

From the arboretum to the zoo, students at six Dallas ISD schools will enjoy a variety of field trips this school year thanks to a donation from a locally owned grocery store. Representatives from Elrod’s Cost Plus Supermarket, which has five locations in the DFW area, presented a check for $27,284 to Dallas ISD on Sept. 24. Julia Johnson, Elrod’s marketing manager, said the donation to the Dallas ISD Field Trip fund was a way to give back to the neighbors who shop at the grocery store. “We think it’s important to support the families that both work and shop…

With more than 20,000 employees and more than 220 school campuses, staffing is not always a simple process at Dallas ISD. Historically, a staffing tool known as leveling has generated some confusion. As a result, we have compiled a guide to help people understand the process. What is leveling? Leveling is the process in which the district transfers some teaching positions from one school to another after the school year has begun. What are the benefits of leveling? Leveling is required each fall to ensure the correct number of teaching positions are allocated to each campus. Why does leveling happen? Each…

On Sept. 26, at George H.W. Bush Elementary, Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities and DECA Dental Group will kick off a new partnership that will provide underserved children in Dallas with free dental care. More than 500 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade Bush students will receive a free dental screening in the school gym, which the group will convert to a “dental lab” for the event. Dentists will conduct the screenings, and the students can receive ongoing dental treatments at three DECA Dental locations over the next six months, free of charge. Healthy teeth factor significantly in a child’s ability to eat and speak…

A spider has appeared in Mrs. Arellano’s second-grade classroom at Arthur Kramer Elementary School, and her students are freaking out. After the spider is dealt with, the panic quickly turns into questions or, as they are called in the International Baccalaureate-candidate school, “wonders,” about the spider. “Where does the spider live?” “What does the spider eat?” “How long does a spider live?” Because Arthur Kramer Elementary is involved in the IB program, which helps put students in charge of their own learning, Mrs. Arellano encourages the students’ “wonders” about the arachnid. (For the record: Spiders live almost every habitat on earth;…