Author: The Hub

On a weekday morning in a cold district warehouse, Dora Rivas makes a walkthrough inspection for the last time. After serving a decade as Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services executive director, winning numerous achievement awards, and propelling the district to its healthiest standards, Rivas is packing up her lunchbox and moving on. For the last 10 years, Rivas has worked hard to implement changes that would impact Dallas ISD students even beyond their school years. Under her leadership, the district moved to completely free breakfast and lunch for all students and rolled out the Breakfast in the Classroom initiative in…

Dallas ISD high school football kicks off this week with competitive games all over the city. For those interested in following the action, here are the schedules for this year’s football games: Click here for the varsity football schedule; Click here for the junior varsity football schedule; Click here for the ninth-grade football schedule. Games are subject to change, and any such changes will be posted to the Dallas ISD Athletics page calendar.

At its regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees recognized two men who lead the district’s JROTC program and a former trustee. Major Morris Shepherd is retiring and was awarded the Congressional Record and presented with a U.S. flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol in his honor. Shepherd currently serves as the Deputy Director of Army Instruction for the school district, based at Roosevelt High School, where he oversees the activities of all Leadership Cadet Corps programs. Lt. Col. Robert Davis, Director of Army Instruction for the district’s JROTC program, was selected Director…

Dallas ISD interim Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told trustees on Thursday what he learned from his listening tour that saw him ask 100 Dallas ISD stakeholders 10 open-ended questions about the state of the district. The 100 stakeholders Hinojosa interviewed included approximately 70 Dallas ISD staff members at various levels throughout the district, 20 community members, and the nine trustees. The listening tour was part of Hinojosa’s goal to reenter the district in an organized way that also helped him gather valuable input. The questions that Hinojosa asked stakeholders included: If you were in my shoes as superintendent, what would you focus…

With its total adopted property tax rate of $1.282 per $100 valuation, the Dallas Independent School District continues to have one of the lowest tax rates among school districts in Dallas County. The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees approved the 2015 tax rate during its meeting on Aug. 27. The property tax rate, a combination of its maintenance and operations levy and its debt service levy, is unchanged from the previous year. Only Highland Park ISD and Garland ISD have lower tax rates among school districts in Dallas County. “I just want to thank Board members for running an incredibly…

With 227 schools, more than 140,000 students and approximately 20,000 employees, the start of school in Dallas ISD will always encounter a few bumps. But, considering the size of the district, Dallas ISD Chief of Operations Wanda Paul said the start of this school year has gone as smooth for operations as any in recent memory. “We start working on and planning for the first day of school right after the previous school year ends,” she said. “Our staff has incredible commitment to making sure our students have a safe, comfortable school that is in proper condition on the first…

Dallas ISD libraries checked out 40 percent more books over the summer than the previous year. During summer school, students, staff, and community members checked out more than 32,000 books from 32 Dallas ISD libraries. Meanwhile, the number of eBooks checked out by students and staff rose from 64 in summer 2014 to 1026 in summer 2015. “Each year the libraries and departments under the umbrella of the Language and Literacy Department continue to do their part by promoting summer literacy by keeping libraries open to service students and families,” said Gay Patrick, director of Library Media Services. “It’s critical that…

The agenda for tonight’s Board of Trustees meeting includes consideration of Dallas ISD’s tax rates (maintenance and operating, as well as debt service) and a report by interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa on the results of staff, community and Board input gathered over the course of 100 meetings during the first weeks of his tenure. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Dallas ISD Main Administration Building, 3700 Ross Ave. The meeting can be live streamed here.

As a member of Townview’s Big “D” Band 15 years ago, Matt Houston learned many valuable lessons beyond music. Houston’s band days might be far behind him, but the lessons he learned in school are still close to his heart as he helps others build businesses. AlumNow, a Hub feature that checks in with district alumni to see where they are now, checked in with the School of Health Professions at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center grad (2002) for an update on what he’s been doing. What are you doing now? I’m head of a consulting firm that focuses on business development, strategy, and marketing.…

For his first podcast with Dallas ISD, Dr. Robert Bravo, the Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership, had a wide-ranging discussion with Alan Cohen, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Early Childhood. On the podcast, Cohen and Bravo discuss the significance of preK, the importance of supporting the emotional health of students, and a cultural shift that could have an immediate positive impact on young students. “There is nothing scarier in the world than having 24 four-year-olds look up at you at the beginning of the day and say entertain me for eight hours,” Cohen noted. Click here to listen to…