Inside Dallas ISD

It was a chilly Saturday morning, as students started to arrive at the parking lot behind Emmett J. Conrad High School. They came from Conrad and Hillcrest High Schools to conquer the trash-filled Conrad Pond. Members of two chapters of The Environmental League came together to begin the clean-up of the pond, which is an overflow area of White Rock creek. Seventy students came to make a difference, to start the process to reclaim the area from the trash and debris currently filling it. The Conrad High School Environmental League chapter was born last year when a group of seniors…

It was another great week in Dallas ISD! Watch the above video, or read below, to learn more. Oncor Mayor’s Race More than 10,000 students from 165 schools ran in the Oncor Mayor’s Race, a record high turnout for the annual event (learn more)! Principals of the Year Spruce High School’s Danielle Petters and Blanton Elementary’s Laura Garza were named the 2017 Principals of the Year (learn more and see the finalists). UIL competition About 2,000 students from 111 elementary schools competed in the UIL A+ Academic Competition (learn more). Rocking horses Students with special needs at the Multiple Career Magnet High School dropped off their hand built rocking horses to…

Benjamin Franklin Middle School Principal Joseph Sotelo announced Dec. 12 that the International Baccalaureate (IB) has recognized the campus as an IB World School. Representatives of the IB had visited the school in September to interview teachers, parents, students, and administrators; to review course outlines and unit plans; and to observe classroom instruction. This authorization culminates a rigorous two-year preparation and training project that saw the inclusion of unit planning alongside daily lesson planning, a traditional eight period day modified to a block schedule, and the scheduling of all students into eight required subject areas in each grade level. First…

Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School has two new mixed-age Montessori classrooms that have been a big success for the students and campus. The classrooms have 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds working and learning together. “We have materials that really help the children develop their independence and building their empathy and kindness towards others,” said Marianne Carranza, a Montessori teacher at the school. Alejandra Abundis, a parent of a student in a Montessori classroom, said it’s been a great fit for her child. “What she learns in the classroom, she applies to everywhere she goes,” Abundis said. For students interested in…