For the second straight day, the Dallas Independent School District has set a record for back-to-school attendance. Attendance on the second day of school in Dallas ISD is 151,800 students, up 8,248 students from the first day of classes on Aug. 25. This school year’s second-day total is the second-highest tally since the 2003-2004 school year. “We made it a priority during the summer to communicate the importance of students attending school the first week,” said Superintendent Mike Miles. “By reaching out to parents, sending information through releases and working with the school principals, we were able to make sure…

As Superintendent Mike Miles entered Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary School the morning of Aug. 25, the scene was similar to that taking place at 223 other schools on the first day of classes in the Dallas Independent School District. As the clock reached 7:50 a.m., a steady stream of smiling children and focused family members entered the building and headed to their appointed classrooms or other locations. Outside, a handful of the more than 793 school buses in use across the district safely delivered smiling boys and girls to the southern Dallas school. Miles and Deputy Superintendent Ann Smisko chose Marsalis…

The Dallas Independent School District continues to meet all four of the state’s accountability standards according to results released today by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). In all four categories—student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps and postsecondary readiness—Dallas ISD outperformed thresholds set by the state. The district’s official rating for 2014 from TEA is “Met Standard.” One hundred eighty four Dallas ISD schools, more than 80 percent of the total number in the school district, met all required performance standards. All totaled, 125 Dallas ISD elementary schools met the performance standards, as well as 31 middle schools and 28…

The Dallas ISD purchased 50 multi-passenger vehicles to transport nearly 3,000 students on routes that do not require full-size school buses for use beginning the first day of school, Monday, Aug. 25. The new vehicles allow more efficient transportation routes with fewer students in the upcoming school year. “This is just a better option to transport children,” said Wanda Paul, chief operating officer of the Dallas ISD. “We want to make sure we transport students safely and efficiently. After the challenges we experienced last year, we were committed to coming up with a better way to service our students. The…