Inside Dallas ISD

Social and emotional learning (SEL) builds the skills, knowledge and attitudes that students and adults need to be successful. SEL is a high priority in Dallas ISD, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made it more clear the value SEL skills bring to the district’s individuals, classrooms, and families. While SEL does not replace needed mental health services, SEL can promote mental wellness in many ways. By fostering responsive relationships, emotionally safe environments, and social and emotional skills development, SEL cultivates important “protective factors” to buffer against mental health risks. SEL is for individuals of all ages and when schools…

Updated Nov. 1 Due to the number of COVID-19 cases and our commitment to safety, Dallas ISD has postponed the Superintendent Community Conversations originally scheduled for the fall semester. The conversations planned for the spring semester are expected to happen as originally planned. Original Story Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is hosting a series of Community Conversations to talk with parents and community members about Dallas ISD. Scheduled from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m., the sessions will be held at district high schools to encourage attendance by parents whose children are enrolled in schools located nearby or in the feeder pattern. Parents with…

Mary Crossland was among the first group of Black educators on the frontlines of desegregation who joined the faculty of predominantly white schools in the early ’70s. Crossland graduated as valedictorian from her high school in New Boston, Texas. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Prairie View A&M University and later returned to earn a master’s in education. After graduating, she moved to Dallas in 1969 to work as a teacher for Dallas ISD, her first and only employer. Her co-workers celebrated her 51 years of service to Dallas ISD students and her commitment to L.O. Donald Elementary – the…

In order to raise awareness on the link between school attendance and academic achievement, Dallas ISD Parent Services is celebrating September Attendance Awareness Month with a variety of ways for students and schools to participate. School attendance is essential to academic success, but too often students, parents and schools don’t realize how quickly absences, excused or unexcused, can add up to academic trouble. Chronic absence – missing just 18 days per school year- can lead to third graders being unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing courses and ninth-graders dropping out of high school. Efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism help give…