It’s Wednesday morning at Harold Lang Middle School, and the campus leadership team is holding a banner while cheering loud enough that people walking by on the sidewalk stop to see what’s going on. The school is celebrating their adoption of an intersession calendar, which will extend the school year to start at the beginning of August and end in late June. “We feel like this will be a huge lever in closing the achievement gaps that we always talk about,” Lang Principal Nicole Lyons said. “We feel like this extended time will give us more concentrated time with our…

Dallas ISD hopped into spring by delivering more than three dozen Easter baskets to visually impaired students. This year, the annual beeping egg hunt was revamped to ensure students can still partake in Easter festivities. Normally, students participate in a unique Easter egg hunt specially designed for children who are sight impaired and use their sense of hearing to locate beeping eggs. Dallas ISD Special Education Vision Department personally delivered Easter basket bundles to each family who would have participated in the Easter Egg hunt tradition. The baskets were filled with candy, eggs, family activities, a gift card and other…

Dallas ISD’s Mental Health Services will be hosting a Mental Health Matters Virtual Symposium on Saturday, May 1,, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., featuring recorded presentations and a live Q&A. There will be English and Spanish presentations on topics such as parenting, bullying, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and more. The symposium will feature speakers from community partners and the district’s Social and Emotional Learning, Counseling Services, and Mental Health Services departments. For more information or to register, please visit www.mentalhealthmattersdallas.com Once the event is complete, English presentations will be overdubbed in Spanish. All presentations will be available on the website for…

The Extended Learning Opportunities Department continues to expand student access in afterschool enrichment programs. Last spring when the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted traditional in-person enrichment programs, the ELO Department remained committed to creating no cost, no subscription, easy access platforms to ensure parents and student have access enrichment opportunities that are Engaging, Enriching, and Empowering. The ELO Department is ensuring that parents and students have access to quality enrichment resources throughout the pandemic. These resources were made available to parents, students, and community organizations via the Extended Learning Opportunities website.  The ELO website includes a bevy of resources, including virtual…