Author: The Hub

With students back in school as of Monday, teachers are leading their classrooms and laying the foundation for a successful year. However, prior to students arriving, teachers were busy preparing their classrooms to create a welcoming learning environment for the students. The Hub checked in with two of these teachers—one going into their first year, the other a veteran teacher—to see how they prepared their classrooms. Watch the above video to learn more.

The Dallas Morning News reports that parents and students are more optimistic at Dallas ISD’s Billy Earl Dade Middle School, which has been revamped under the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) plan. Read the Dallas Morning News article here about the first day of school at Dade. Learn about the ACE plan here.

According to call-in counts from schools, approximately 141,857 students were in school on Aug. 24, a decrease of 1,695 students when compared to the first day of the 2014-2015 school year. This year’s total includes approximately 79,339 elementary students and 62,518 secondary students. The district projects to reach a total enrollment of more than 161,000 students. Teacher vacancies Dallas ISD has a current teacher vacancy rate of 1.42 percent. This includes 149.5 vacancies. Overall, Dallas ISD has hired 1,798 teachers for this school year.

There were lots of smiling faces on the first day of school this year. The Hub gives a big thanks to the Dallas ISD parents who shared photos of their children ready for their big day back. Enjoy the above photos for a glimpse at some of the students that make Dallas ISD a great place to be.

When students and parents arrived at the Lincoln High School Communications and Humanities Magnet on Monday morning, they were greeted by doctors, lawyers, judges, counselors, engineers and entrepreneurs. The wide range of Dallas professionals welcomed students at the request of Lincoln’s Head Girls Basketball Coach Carlesa Dixon, a Lincoln alumni turned teacher. Dixon organized the event via Facebook in an effort to involve alumni in welcoming students back to school. Her inspiration came from seeing a picture of 100 men greet students at an all-boys school in Maryland. “I looked at that picture and just thought that those young men were so…

The Dallas Morning News profiled Blanton Elementary School as it prepared to start the year as an ACE campus, which injected new teachers and leadership into the school with the goal of raising student achievement. Blanton is one of seven ACE campuses this school year. Click here to read the full Dallas Morning News story. Photo courtesy Dallas Morning News

Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa greeted students as they arrived at Dallas ISD’s Onesimo Hernandez Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 24, the first day of school. After touring Hernandez and speaking to students gathered in the auditorium, Hinojosa traveled to the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. At the Dallas ISD school, Hinojosa attended the morning gathering – known as the lyceum – of high school students and toured the campus.

The Hub was at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School this morning as teachers and staff welcomed students back to school. The scene that played out at Stonewall Jackson was similar to the scene that played out at schools across the district on the first day of school. Watch the above video to learn more.

Instead of sitting around watching TV, Joshua Deandra, a student at A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School, spent his summer at debate camp, math camp, and an internship at a tech company. WFAA profiled Deandra, who has overcome a bumpy road and now wants to win debate nations, graduate, and attend Harvard University. Click here to read the full story.

In November, voters can decide whether to approve a $1.6 billion bond program for Dallas ISD that would provide facility improvements across the district and support for growing academic programs. The Board of Trustees today voted unanimously to place the bond program before voters in a November election. Board President Eric Cowan noted Trustees Joyce Foreman and Bernadette Nutall had scheduling conflicts and were unable to attend the called meeting, held at the district administrative building. During the meeting, interim Superintendent Michael Hinojosa thanked the district’s leadership team and the community-led Future Facilities Task Force for their nearly year-long efforts to bringing the…