Inside Dallas ISD

“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.…

While getting his masters at Texas Southern University, Christopher Barksdale witnessed first-hand the power of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). “The education experience, pride, and mentoring, at an HBCU is like nothing else,” Barksdale said. “Being able to see and learn from others who look like myself has truly paved the way for me to get to where I am today.” Today Barksdale is set to lead a new secondary school seeking International Baccalaureate candidacy that Dallas ISD and Paul Quinn College, an HBCU, are partnering together to launch in southern Dallas. Barksdale, who has most recently served…