Katherine Leiva remembers the first time she stepped into a U.S. classroom at age five.  After moving from El Salvador, she landed in Virginia, where she found herself surrounded by a language she didn’t understand. Every word feeling strange and unfamiliar. “You just got thrown into English,” she said. “I had a big disconnection with my culture, Spanish at home, English everywhere else.” Now, as a sixth-grade teacher at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School, Leiva guides her students through the same challenges she once faced.  “It’s nice to be that person that they can talk to in whichever language they…

Dallas ISD is proving its role as a leader in innovation by launching a cutting-edge artificial intelligence initiative, developed in partnership with Educate Texas, an initiative of the Communities Foundation of Texas. Designed to improve instruction and student outcomes, the program will offer personalized feedback so teachers can better support students with new math concepts. It specifically helps educators improve teaching methods when students struggle to grasp challenging math concepts “Our leadership team has a readiness to innovate in this space. We value learning new tools to set our teachers and students up for success,” said Angie Gaylord, chief academic…

Imagine stepping into a space where every classroom, lab, and workshop is designed to prepare you for a real-world career before you even graduate high school. That’s the future taking shape in west Dallas, where Dallas ISD has broken ground on Career Institute West, the district’s final career institute and the newest pathway for students to explore high-demand careers. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Joe Carreón, board president, reinforced his appreciation for the West Dallas community and shared commitment to expanding opportunities for students across the district. “Today is a re-commitment to the vision that we, in Dallas ISD, are ensuring…

What an amazing first week! Students back in classrooms! Lowest first-day teacher vacancies in over a decade! And now, the new A-F ratings are so good that you’ll want to print them out and put them on your refrigerator! I know you’re busy, so I’ll make this quick: Dallas ISD has gone from a C (79) to a B (83!), and that’s even better news if you look under the hood: Dallas ISD doubled the number of A schools from last year, going from 30 to 60 this year. Now, 163 campuses (over 70%!) have earned an A or B…