Inside Dallas ISD

On Saturday, Nov.13, Student Activities broke its own record high at the first in-person secondary chess tournament since December 2019! A total of 646 secondary students from 63 schools participated in the tournament. In the middle school section (grades 6-8), Long Middle School took first place, Pleasant Grove TAG came in second, and Sudie Williams placed third. In the high school section (grades 9-12), TAG took first place, Thomas Jefferson came in second, and Science and Engineering placed third. Students enjoyed a little hula hoop and limbo competition while waiting for each round. Everyone was excited to be back!

Michael Iwasko has always admired the passion his wife Alicia pours into her work with Dallas ISD families, first as a teacher and now as principal at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School. That is why when their daughter turned 2, he decided to quit his corporate job and find a way to also make a difference. “I wanted my daughter [Nadezhda] to look at me with the same pride as when she looks at the work my wife does to make a difference in her school and our community,” Michael said. These past few weeks, the family, which now also…

After knocking out 10-time state champs Aledo last weekend, the South Oak Cliff High School football team is taking on Lovejoy on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Star in Frisco for the regional final. If SOC wins the game, they will be the first Dallas ISD team to make the semi-final since Skyline in 2014, according to WFAA. You can buy tickets to the game here.  A Dallas ISD school hasn’t won a football state championship since 1958. “Our coaches are always telling to keep our head on. Don’t let the hype get to us. Don’t let everybody around us…

Last November, thanks to the generosity of the Laura Bush Foundation (LBF), the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) was awarded $500,000 for the direct benefit of Dallas ISD to rebuild library collections of schools affected by the October 2019 Dallas-area tornadoes. These grants are being used to expand, update, and diversify the library book collections at Thomas Jefferson High School, Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Jr. High School, and Walnut Hill PK-8, with the goal to increase student interest in reading and directly tie book collection to instruction. After the 2019 tornadoes, Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Junior High School accepted 310 students displaced from…