Author: The Hub

The 2015–16 school year got off to a festive start for Dallas ISD teachers and staff at Wednesday’s convocation ceremony. Approximately 5,000 teachers attended the event at Loos Field House that featured synchronized dancing, discussions with teachers and students, and much, much more. Meanwhile, other teachers and staff gathered with their feeder patterns across the district to watch a live stream of the festivities. Maria Arita, an Emmy-award-winning news anchor whose child is a senior at Booker T. Washington High School, served as the convocation ceremony emcee. She kicked off the official ceremony by thanking teachers for their hard work.…

The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on Friday to potentially call for a November bond election to finance facility improvements across the district. The meeting is set for Aug. 21 at 12 p.m. at the Dallas ISD Administration Building, 3700 Ross Ave. The proposal is based on recommendations compiled by the Future Facilities Task Force with input from numerous sources including Future Facilities Task Force members, Dallas ISD staff, school administrators, community members, and facility assessment reports commissioned by the district. The plan recommends, in part, classroom additions at a number of schools, additional preK classrooms, library expansions, HVAC…

Community meetings this week will focus on future Dallas ISD facilities and programs identified as priorities by the Future Facilities Task Force. The meetings will seek input from the public as well as answer questions about the new Comprehensive Plan for Programs and Facilities and the search for a new superintendent. Topics of discussion will include the expansion of prekindergarten and career-technical education, public school choice and identified improvements at facilities. The way to fund the facilities plan and initiatives will also be discussed. The first meeting was Monday at South Oak Cliff High School. The remaining meetings are scheduled…

Sam Tasby, a civil rights pioneer who fought to desegregate Dallas ISD schools, has died at the age of 93. Dallas ISD named a school after Tasby, who was also a World War II veteran. Sam Tasby Middle School is open in northeast Dallas at 7001 Fair Oaks Ave. Dallas ISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa said the city of Dallas lost a pioneer with the passing of Tasby. “Mr. Tasby drastically changed our school district for the better by standing up for what is right,” Hinojosa said. “Our thoughts are with his family as they mourn and remember this great…

In June, Dallas County Records, following the lead of the Texas Department of State Health Services, stopped accepting the Mexican Consulate-issued identification card, known as a matrícula consular, as an acceptable form of identification when requesting a birth certificate. This change in policy regarding the acceptance of the matrícula consular as a form of identification has resulted in questions regarding its impact on Dallas ISD. The district compiled the following Q&A to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about this situation as it relates to Dallas ISD. Q: Does Dallas ISD accept the Mexican Consulate-issued matrícula…

Before students come back to school on Monday, Aug. 24, Dallas ISD staff will officially kick off the new school year with a convocation ceremony starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. The theme is “Leaving Your Mark,” and centers on how teachers and staff members can positively impact students. The main event will happen at the district’s Alfred J. Loos Field House, where student performances and guest speakers – including Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa – will help staff focus on what is important for the year to come. Because space is limited at Loos, each feeder patterns will…

On Aug. 10, varsity football players from Skyline High School huddled up with members from Love is Respect, which aims to empower youth to end dating abuse, to talk how to prevent and end dating abuse. KERA reports how the players opened up about the relationship challenges they face. Click here to view the full story.

For three days this week, teachers from across the district gathered for training on the Teacher Excellence Initiative, the district’s innovative pay-for-performance teacher evaluation system. These teachers, known as TEI campus experts, then train the teachers at their schools on TEI and provide related updates to their campus throughout the year. But, equally important, the TEI campus experts continually provide feedback to district administrators on what is working—and what isn’t—with TEI. “Teachers have helped shape the formation and continual improvement of this evaluation system, and their feedback is invaluable as we continue to improve TEI in the upcoming year,” TEI…

Newly appointed Roger Q. Mills principal Latonya Clark beamed at her school gym’s transformation into a department store where Dallas ISD parents and students were able to have a family shopping experience while interacting with new teachers and staff as they gathered new uniforms. “Not only were they able to receive a new uniform, they were able to see all of the amazing updates to our building: new landscaping, updated flooring, fresh coats of paints and so much more,” said Clark. “This event offered a sense of pride in our updated school and in themselves as they shopped for brand-new…

Dallas ISD officials announced this week that the district earned the maximum score of 30 and a rating of “Pass” under the state’s school financial accountability rating system known as the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for 2014-2015. A Pass rating, which is the state’s highest possible rating for 2014-2015, demonstrates the high quality of Dallas ISD’s financial management and reporting, district officials said. This is the 13th year of School FIRST, which is a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th…