Inside Dallas ISD

Five months after a tornado destroyed their campus, Thomas Jefferson High School students faced another challenge in March when the pandemic caused all learning to go virtual. After learning from home this school year, seniors like Alejandra Resendez and Lilah Alarcon returned to campus on April 12 to finish out their high school career together and with a sense of normalcy. While keeping safety as the priority and following all established safety measures, Dallas ISD launched the Finish Strong ‘21 campaign to strongly urge seniors like Resendez and Alacon to return to on-campus learning five days a week. Eyes on…

“It’s up to you. If I can be successful, you can, too.” These are the words Salvador Becerra, a construction instructor at Career Institutes East, regularly shares with his students. After more than 34 years as a custodian and maintenance man at Dallas ISD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and other companies, Becerra jumped at the opportunity to share his wealth of knowledge and experience as a full-time teacher.  “Teaching is a gift that allows me to do my part to change the community and share everything I’ve learned in the real world,” Becerra said.  Becerra has a degree…

Dallas ISD’s Visual & Performing Arts Department is proud to announce that Dallas ISD has been awarded the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Best Communities for Music Education Award for the second year in a row. The NAMM Foundation’s Best Communities for Music Education Award is a signature program of the NAMM Foundation that recognizes and celebrates school districts for their support and commitment to music education and efforts to assure access to music for all students as part of a well-rounded education. This year, NAMM asked all submitting districts to share their stories and experiences of how instruction…

Antonio and Sandra Verduzco have been part of Dallas ISD for 53 years combined as district students and employees. Both raised in Oak Cliff, they attended schools on opposite sides of the district. Antonio is a Class of ’93 Skyline graduate, having spent his early years in Dallas ISD at Nancy J. Cochran Elementary, T.W. Browne and W.H. Atwell middle schools. Sandra started her education in México, where she was born. She arrived in Dallas, speaking no English, at the age of 9 and attended L.P. Cowart Elementary, then L.V. Stockard Middle School, graduating from Sunset High School in 1997.…