Inside Dallas ISD

The Gold Coast Room at the famed Drake Hotel in Chicago was abuzz with anticipation as dinner guests waited hear which of the national finalists in the 2019 Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Model Teacher Challenge would be named the winner. Moments earlier, there was a surprise announcement that the top prize in the annual challenge would now be known as the Steven J. Mariotti Teacher Award, in honor of NFTE founder Steve Mariotti. As the names of the national finalists were called out, the teachers made their way to the stage to collect their awards. Seven took the stage…

Two Dallas Police Department officers joined a group of middle school students for a discussion regarding the national conversation on police brutality. Twenty-three students hosted the talk in a classroom at Boude Storey Middle School. Their presentation focused on their concerns over the use of excessive force by police nationwide. This project was the Service Learning component of the Summer Leadership Academy Program, organized by Dallas ISD’s Extended Learning Opportunities. Senior Corporal Bronner and Senior Corporal McDowell, both from the DPD – South Central Division, listened closely to the students’ concerns. Both officers stood in front of the class to…

Seven additional schools will offer the two-way dual language program this school year, providing more opportunities for students to learn to read, write and speak in two languages. In this program, English speakers can learn Spanish and Spanish speakers can learn English. Students grow to become biliterate and bilingual while gaining high academic achievement and cross-cultural competence. Dallas ISD now has 68 schools that offer the two-way dual language program. Over the course of a day in a two-way dual language program, students that speak and students that are learning to speak English are taught together certain subjects (such as…

Dallas ISD early college namesake, Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. passed away Monday, July 8, at his home in Dallas.  Lassiter, 80, was a former president of El Centro College, chancellor of Dallas County Community College, and a longtime area minister and educator. A staunch supporter of higher education for inner city and minority students, Lassiter was instrumental in building early support for the creation of early college high schools in Dallas ISD. One of his lasting legacies is his role in founding Middle College High School at El Centro College in 1988. In recognition of his support, the Dallas…