Inside Dallas ISD

During the 17 years that Raquel Radford Baker has worked for Dallas ISD’s Transportation Services, student safety has been her first priority, but she never imagined she would be in a position to actively save a student’s life while on a route. At about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, at Seagoville North Elementary School, she noticed a 7-year-old student staggering toward her in the bus. She first thought he might be sick because he appeared to be trying to throw up, Radford Baker said. As he got closer, she heard him mention something about a penny, and she immediately…

Harry Monroe, a science teacher at Dallas ISD’s Environmental Education Center, has always had a passion for teaching students about the natural world that surrounds them. One of the ways he is able to do this is through his classroom aquarium, something he will be sharing with elementary teachers across the district thanks to a Junior League of Dallas Grant for Innovative Teaching. With 48 years of teaching experience and 31 years in Dallas ISD, Monroe has seen students alight with curiosity and wonder time and time again when interacting with living creatures like guppies, goldfish, Gambusia (or mosquitofish), and…

Twice a year, every year, certain days are designated to give teachers the opportunity to meet with parents and discuss their students’ progress. This year, parent conferences will be a little different. More flexibility is being built around parent conferences by designating a parent conferences week and counting the parent conference time as one full teacher work day each semester, which is seven hours and 45 minutes per DK (LOCAL). This fall, the conferences are to be scheduled and conducted to meet the needs of the parents and teachers during the week of Oct. 23. Teachers will put in a…

When Claudio Urbina, athletic coordinator, and head football coach at W.H. Adamson High School, first learned about being named the new athletic coordinator for his alma mater, it was a powerful moment for him. Dallas ISD is celebrating coaches like him on National Coaches Day on Oct. 6 and throughout the month. “Even now when I drive into work, it’s still somewhat surreal,” Urbina said. “I can’t believe this is what I do for a living. I really enjoy what I do, and I know what we’re doing has a direct impact on the kids in this community.” For Urbina,…