Author: The Hub

On the first day of the new school year, Alex Sanger Elementary School welcomed a new class of 60 smiling and eager sixth-graders. El primer día de clases, la escuela Alex Sanger le dió la bienvenida a 60 alumnos del sexto grado sonrientes y ávidos por aprender. Sanger’s new sixth-graders likely understand both those sentences because they are enrolled in a dual language program that features instruction in Spanish and English. Sanger, located near White Rock Lake, this year expanded its dual language program through sixth-grade. Previously, the school only went up to fifth-grade. Elsy Serpas, a sixth-grade math teacher…

The deadline is Sept. 1 for the second round of letter of intents for the district’s Public School Choice initiative. Dallas ISD’s Office of Transformation and Innovation has invited teams of educators to submit their ideas for future Choice Schools, which is part of the district’s effort to provide students with a high-quality, best-fit school. Some Choice Schools – named “Innovation Schools” – will be existing district neighborhood schools that repurpose their academic model but stay in their current facilities and continue to serve students from their regular attendance boundaries Interested teams can learn more by visiting www.dallasisd.org/choice and clicking on “Public School…

Over the past several years, Dallas ISD has grown its nursing program so that each school has its own registered nurse. For this school year, there are still approximately 15 open nursing positions that the district is looking to fill. Leigh Pelletier, a Dallas ISD nurse supervisor, said the job is ideal for a registered nurse who wants to make a difference every day. “It’s an incredibly rewarding job to be a nurse with Dallas ISD,” she said. Pelletier said some of the benefits of working as a Dallas ISD nurse include: Working with a predominately happy, healthy population of…

Anyone who has been to high school will likely agree that the beginning of freshman year can be an overwhelming experience. With this in mind, the Hub asked Esther, a Dallas ISD senior, what tips she would give a freshman in their first week of school. Watch the above video to hear her advice.

Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Association was recently awarded the National Parent Teacher Association 2015 Healthy Lifestyles: Energy Balance 101 Grant for $2,000. WHES was one of 25 PTA programs selected nationally to receive the grant that required each organization to demonstrate how they planned to use the funds to promote healthy lifestyles for students and families through nutrition and physical activity. Part of the grant requires that each selected PTA organization host two family education events through that school. WHES PTA President Wendi Brown, who attended Wilmer-Hutchins High School as a teenager, called the award “a blessing.” “We believe that…

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…