Author: The Hub

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…

Ever wonder what an entire Dallas ISD graduation ceremony would look like if it happened in less than half a minute? Watch the above video, which was shot with a GoPro, to find out.

Most days, schools are pleasant places where students and staff respect each other and practice courteous behavior. To increase the odds of maintaining a peaceful environment, the district wants to make sure everyone knows the rules of the road. District and school administrators encourage students and parents to become familiar with students’ rights and the rules of behavior from the very first day of the new school year. That’s why the Office of Student Discipline has published a Student Code of Conduct Quick Reference Guide. Published this year for the first time, the quick reference guide brochure is a snapshot…

What makes schools successful? In no small part, it’s the parents and communities that support them. The Dallas Independent School District has benefitted from numerous community groups, organizations and businesses that have helped support the district. Greenville Avenue Pizza Company’s “Slices for Supplies” recently invited patrons to donate school supplies or monetary donations in exchange for a one topping slice of cheese pizza, the proceeds of which were given to Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary. Owners Sammy and Molly Mandell, products of Dallas ISD, matched the donations in hopes of providing a sizable contribution to Zaragoza, their second fundraising effort for the school in…

Skyline High School alum (2010) Julissa Marmolejo was amazed to see how much her third-grade students academically grew by the end of last school year. For her first year as a teacher, the growth she saw affirmed that she chose the right career. AlumNow, a Hub feature that checks in with district alumni to see where they are now, caught up with Marmolejo for an update as she prepares to return to the classroom for a second year of teaching. What are you doing now? I just completed my first year of teaching at David G. Burnet Elementary as a third-grade bilingual math and science…