Leslie Romero, a fourth-grade student in the dual-language program at Harrell Budd Elementary, has many reasons she is thankful to be bilingual and biliterate. For starters, she is able to help her Spanish-speaking parents when they need to translate or understand something in English. She also knows that being bilingual and biliterate will be useful when she looks to get a job down the road. But knowing two languages provided an extra bonus this month, as her essay titled “Why I’m Proud To Be Bilingual” won first place in the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Essay contest for the…

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and trustees said a demographic report showing a slight student enrollment decrease this year is a call to action to determine ways to bring families back to the district. The student enrollment in 2015–16 is 158,692, which is down from the 2014–15 student enrollment of 160,253. The largest enrollment drop—approximately 1,000 students—came on the kindergarten level. Hinojosa said the slight student enrollment decrease is a wake up call for anyone who believes the district can go about “business as usual.” “We must determine why students are leaving or not choosing to come to Dallas ISD, and we…

At an energetic meet and greet on Tuesday night to honor and welcome Dallas ISD Chief of Staff Dr. Cynthia Wilson, more than 70 community and faith leaders were briefed on the district’s effort to help ensure African American students succeed in school and beyond. Trustee Lew Blackburn spearheaded the event that provided details on the African American Student Success Initiative, which aims to close the achievement gap and increase access to opportunities for African American students. Blackburn, Trustee Bernadette Nutall, and Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa joined the community and faith leaders in attending the meet and greet. “When members…

Update: Great news! STEM Day registration has been extended to Feb. 1. There are good reasons that the study of STEM-related subjects is all the rage these days. Forget all the stereotypes of how STEM is the lone preserve of nerds. Today, it’s widely recognized that excellence in STEM is the pathway to a wide array of interesting and lucrative careers. STEM is also documented to promote creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. From coding classes and math and science competitions to the new STEAM school at D.A. Hulcy and the Solar Preparatory STEAM School for Girls, Dallas ISD is…