Inside Dallas ISD

This coming primary election on March 5 may be the most important for public education in Texas history.  That’s why I am asking every teacher, every school district team member, every parent, every grandparent, every one of our family members, everyone we know to vote in this primary election, especially in races for the Texas House of Representatives and State Senate. About 90% of Texas children—5.4 million in all—attend public schools. Our children can’t vote, so we must.  Here are the facts:  Just 3% of voters who vote in Texas primaries elect who govern the other 97%. That means that…

Dallas ISD is home to the largest STEM Expo in Texas and this year, it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary. The STEM Expo is more than simply a scientific fair; it allows students to investigate, design, and create real-world science, technology, engineering and math activities and projects and brings together numerous district departments and campuses, as well as industry and academic partners. Crystal Alexander has been the woman behind the scene since planning started for the first STEM Expo, which took place in the spring of 2014. Alexander, who has worked for the district for 23 years, graduated from what is…

Submitted by The Dallas Education Foundation L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School is the latest recipient of a book vending machine thanks to Whataburger through their Feeding Student Success program. The Hotchkiss Hawkettes cheerleaders demonstrated excitement for their library’s new addition by cheering on visitors and kicking off the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a high-intensity performance. Although the book vending machine’s lights and design are bright and eye-catching, the real treasure is what’s inside – books curated specifically for the Hawks by the Early Learning and Library & Media Services departments. When the ribbon was finally cut, students crowded around the machine to…

Walking through the hallways at Sylvia Mendez CREW Leadership Academy, you will find a colorful student-made mural mosaic with the message of “Four Houses, one CREW,” which students in Mary Vongvivitpatana’s art classes take pride in. Inspired by the Ron Clark System, Sylvia Mendez is one of the Dallas ISD schools that has the house system in place. Vongvivitpatana says the mosaic mural project, which took several weeks, inspired unity and built a sense of community for the students. The mosaic, composed of tiny squares that were shrunk to about an inch, is what the students worked on to create…