Inside Dallas ISD

A Dallas ISD middle school teacher has been named the New Teacher of the Year by the Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA). J.L. Long Middle School teacher Dayne Harris will be honored for his achievements in October at the TFLA Fall Conference. “The committee was impressed by the obvious dedication you have shown to your school, students, and community,” TFLA President Elect Stephanie Escobar wrote to Harris in a letter. “We are humbled and inspired by the excellence you have demonstrated during your years in world language education.”

The NFL draft is a big deal for anyone who dreams of playing professional football, but for dads in Dallas ISD, the draft took on a more important meaning as hundreds of them across the district gathered to launch the All-Pro Dad Initiative. The dads and father figures huddled last night at Justin F. Kimball High School as they were each drafted into the program designed to increase male engagement throughout the district and build a strong network of fathers and father figures to support students and each other. During the event, dads from each feeder pattern were announced and…

It’s Friday morning, and an auditorium full of Woodrow Wilson High School students is belting out “Happy Birthday to You” to celebrate the school’s 90th year. Principal Michael Moran has just listed off numerous accomplishments—a perfect seven out of seven academic distinctions, an undefeated football team, an acclaimed International Baccalaureate program, for starters—to students as part of an all-class pep rally to celebrate the school’s birthday. “This school has history, this school has an outstanding reputation, and I know each and every one of you will make Woodrow proud this year,” Moran tells students. Woodrow Wilson High School opened to…

Seventeen years later, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, resonate with those who remember, and those who were too young to be aware or those yet to be born. At L.G. Pinkston High School, a Tuesday morning ceremony before school began brought together staff and students in JROTC, band and from nearby elementary schools along with members of the Dallas ISD Police Department, Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue. The event included the lowering of the U.S. flag, a flag-folding ceremony, lighting of candles and a wreath-laying. After a moment of silence, the major events of the terrorist attacks…