Inside Dallas ISD

At John J. Pershing Elementary School, two educators are using innovative approaches to strengthen bilingual literacy in their classrooms. This year, Maria Fernandez and Jessica Riedel used the funding from Read Conmigo Educator Grants to transform their students’ reading experience. Fernandez, who teaches fourth-grade bilingual reading, used her award given by the Kemper Foundation to launch Break a Leg, a drama-based literacy initiative that uses puppets and theater to help students improve reading comprehension, build vocabulary, and express their emotions. “I began to notice emotional learning gaps after the pandemic,” she said. “The plays helped my students find new vocabulary…

For Jose Torres, a teaching assistant at W.A. Blair Elementary School, the district’s 2024-2025 theme of “Make it Happen” has been more of an approach to life. He made it happen as a senior in high school when he stepped in to teach a chemistry class and is doing it now as he works on his teaching degree. Torres, who graduated from Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro College, loves chemistry. It was through that passion he learned he also loved teaching. When the chemistry teacher moved to teach physics, the chemistry class was…

Angie Baker and Kyria Hart are the dynamic duo of counseling at North Lake Early College High School. Their hard work and dedication not only has had an impact on the daily lives of their students but has also been recognized at a state level. They received the Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students award, which recognizes school counseling programs that support the personal, social, and academic well-being of students. “After working with two graduating classes of students, the biggest impact that I have noticed from our program is the relationship building between counselors and students. Students have a safe space…

Nazira Sahial has created a nurturing environment in her kindergarten classroom at Personalized Learning Academy at Highland Meadows, where students can feel seen and valued. She understands the importance of honoring diverse ancestries, especially her own, which she celebrates during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. At first, Sahial considered pursuing medicine, but she discovered her true passion in education while working as a pre-K aide during her undergraduate studies at Dallas College. “I started to reconnect with a childhood memory of tearing out workbook pages and pretending to be a teacher,” Sahial said. “Something about that…