Beginning this fall, the newly-christened Eduardo Mata Montessori Elementary School will welcome its inaugural class of more than 300 students to the district’s newest choice school program. The school will attract east Dallas families seeking an alternative to the popular Lakewood Elementary School. “The Montessori program here is allowing for more diversity in our student body,” said Principal Claudia Vega. “What’s exciting is our school is becoming a neighborhood school that mirrors the east Dallas community.” The introduction of the Montessori program at Mata Montessori is the result of a plan approved by the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees designed…

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…