Inside Dallas ISD

A Skyline High School senior broke her school’s record for the largest fundraiser by an individual student after raising $6,500 for the Pennies from the Heart campaign. Common Cents – Pennies from the Heart is a yearly, districtwide effort where students from all grade levels raise funds for charities of their own choosing. Skyline requires that the students running for a homecoming court position participate in the school’s yearly fundraiser competition. When one of her friends got lupus, Princess Fulcher raised funds for a physical health advocacy non-profit. “It’s not only about winning homecoming queen, but it’s also about other…

Want to be a teacher, but don’t have a TEA Teaching Certificate? The Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program (ACP) trains college graduates who studied a career outside of teaching to follow their passion and lead a classroom. Sunday, March 22 is the deadline to apply for the ACP’s Phase 53. Candidates who are interested in joining the Phase 53 cohort of the ACP can apply on this website: https://www.dallasisd.org/altcert . The ACP is a paid-training strategy to prepare applicants to lead the district’s classrooms. The program focuses on training the college graduates who studied a career outside of education but later…

The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Alan King–the well-respected education leader who at one point served as Dallas ISD interim superintendent–as the district’s interim chief internal auditor. King’s appointment follows this month’s resignation of auditor Steve Martin. In addition to his time as Dallas ISD interim superintendent, King’s resume includes serving as Dallas ISD chief financial officer and chief of staff. When residents voted in 2017 to dissolve Dallas County Schools–the taxpayer-funded agency that Dallas ISD contracted with to bus students–King was hired to successfully oversee the dissolution process. Multiple trustees praised King’s accomplished background as a perfect…

As the Dallas ISD Police Department officer assigned to Thomas J. Rusk Middle School, Officer Walter Gunn believes that building relationships with students is the most vital part of this job. Gunn maintains an open-door policy at Rusk Middle School, where he encourages students to talk to him about their issues inside and outside the classroom. When he walks the hallways during transition periods, he makes sure to shake the students’ hands or give them high-fives, and he is constantly interacting with students whenever possible. “If the students can trust you, they’re able to connect with you. And if they…