With 227 schools, more than 140,000 students and approximately 20,000 employees, the start of school in Dallas ISD will always encounter a few bumps. But, considering the size of the district, Dallas ISD Chief of Operations Wanda Paul said the start of this school year has gone as smooth for operations as any in recent memory. “We start working on and planning for the first day of school right after the previous school year ends,” she said. “Our staff has incredible commitment to making sure our students have a safe, comfortable school that is in proper condition on the first…

The deadline is Sept. 1 for the second round of letter of intents for the district’s Public School Choice initiative. Dallas ISD’s Office of Transformation and Innovation has invited teams of educators to submit their ideas for future Choice Schools, which is part of the district’s effort to provide students with a high-quality, best-fit school. Some Choice Schools – named “Innovation Schools” – will be existing district neighborhood schools that repurpose their academic model but stay in their current facilities and continue to serve students from their regular attendance boundaries Interested teams can learn more by visiting www.dallasisd.org/choice and clicking on “Public School…

According to call-in counts from schools, approximately 141,857 students were in school on Aug. 24, a decrease of 1,695 students when compared to the first day of the 2014-2015 school year. This year’s total includes approximately 79,339 elementary students and 62,518 secondary students. The district projects to reach a total enrollment of more than 161,000 students. Teacher vacancies Dallas ISD has a current teacher vacancy rate of 1.42 percent. This includes 149.5 vacancies. Overall, Dallas ISD has hired 1,798 teachers for this school year.

When students and parents arrived at the Lincoln High School Communications and Humanities Magnet on Monday morning, they were greeted by doctors, lawyers, judges, counselors, engineers and entrepreneurs. The wide range of Dallas professionals welcomed students at the request of Lincoln’s Head Girls Basketball Coach Carlesa Dixon, a Lincoln alumni turned teacher. Dixon organized the event via Facebook in an effort to involve alumni in welcoming students back to school. Her inspiration came from seeing a picture of 100 men greet students at an all-boys school in Maryland. “I looked at that picture and just thought that those young men were so…