Dallas Independent School District officials today congratulated Trustee Mike Morath on his appointment by Governor Greg Abbott as the new Texas Education Commissioner. Morath will replace Michael Williams, who announced his resignation earlier this fall. Morath has served on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees since 2011 and was elected to a second term in 2014. He represents District 2, which covers sections of North Dallas and Near East Dallas. District reforms he supported during his tenure included: helping to implement the new Teacher Excellence Initiative, making Dallas ISD the first major school system in Texas to pay teachers based…

Eight students in the Dallas Independent School District have earned their way to the finals of the annual Gardere Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. The following students will compete in the final round of the competition, to be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15, at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., Dallas, TX 75201. The event is free and open to the public. •    Kywin Brown, fifth grade, Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary •    Jayden Jackson, fifth grade, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary •    Donna Guevara, fifth grade, John Neely Bryan Elementary •    Guadalupe Zamora, fifth grade, Arcadia Park Elementary •    Marco Mares,…

A variety of additional supports and resources will be provided to Dallas Independent School District campuses identified by the Texas Education Agency as Public Education Grant (PEG) schools for the 2016-2017 school year. TEA plans to release the list to the public on Monday. TEA defines a Public Education Grant, or PEG school, as a campus designated as an improvement required campus once in the previous three years (2013, 2014, 2015) or one that recorded an aggregated passing rate of less than or equal to 50 percent on any subject-area STAAR or TAKS assessment (including end-of-course assessments) for any two…

Dallas ISD elementary students are looking to bag a prize in a new competition that encourages recycling. The It’s A Bag’s Life Recycling Challenge gives students a change to learn about the 3Rs—reduce, reuse and recycle—and enjoy a competition to see which campus can collect the most plastic bags and wraps per student. The contest kicked off Dec. 10 and ends April 22, Earth Day. Every participating school will get a prize, and the school with the most bags collected will win a park bench made from recycled plastic bags. Mayor Mike Rawlings and representatives from local business partners— Kroger’s,…