Happy faces were seen at the entrances of select Dallas ISD schools yesterday morning, as students receiving special education services at specialized self-contained classrooms were given the option to return to their campuses to begin working with their teachers. This was the first time the students saw each other in person after months of virtual learning due to the pandemic. “It is important for these students to be back because they need the consistency of the daily routine that the school can provide, as well as the support for the academic and social skills they need to develop,” said Heather…

Dallas ISD administrators have been selected to join a nationwide effort of school system leaders to develop strategies that further equity in education. The district will be a part of the inaugural Century Foundation’s Bridges Collaborative cohort, which will advance integration along race, class, and other lines in schools and communities. Dallas ISD will join approximately 50 other organizations – school districts, charter schools and fair-housing advocates – as members of this school integration initiative. The collaborative will serve as a hub for practitioners from across the country. Dallas ISD is highlighted for its work using 50/50 socioeconomic diversity enrollment lotteries…

From Sept. 9–30, Dallas ISD schools are administering beginning-of-the-year assessments to help inform teachers exactly where students are so they can best tailor the supports they will need. Students are encouraged to take the assessment on their campus, though they do have the ability to take the assessment from home. Dallas ISD is providing transportation for the in-person assessment, and you can go here to see the shuttle stops for each campus. Here’s how the process works if your student is in grades K to 11: Families will be informed by their campus of the student’s scheduled date and time…

While school starts in a distance-learning model for all district students on Tues., Sept. 8, current plans call for the restart of on-campus classes in Dallas ISD on Mon., Oct. 5. Based on the recent leveling out of Dallas County COVID-19 cases, Dallas ISD is inviting students who will attend classes for the first time in a new building to return a week early, on Mon., Sept. 28. Students in grades prekindergarten, kindergarten, those moving to a new campus for fourth or sixth grade, from elementary to a new middle school, and from middle school to a new building for…