Inside Dallas ISD

As a professional basketball player, Nancy Lieberman’s jersey number was 10. On Wednesday, Aug. 16, she visited Dallas ISD’s Robert T. Hill Middle School to ask students to commit to working at least 10 hours of community service during the next year. In return, students from Hill and Gaston middle schools and Bryan Adams High School received one of about 500 new backpacks filled with supplies from Nancy Lieberman Charities. Lieberman’s professional resumé leaves no doubt that she is one of the most successful American basketball players of all time, from being a standout in high school, to helping her college team earn…

Volunteering in Dallas ISD is a great way to make a difference and help students and schools thrive. Data shows a correlation between volunteers and higher student achievement, so the district highly encourages volunteerism. VOLY, the district’s volunteer management system, connects volunteers with students and schools where they can help. About 30,000 people registered last school year to volunteer through VOLY, and the district is looking to build on that success. Here are a few quick easy steps on how new and returning volunteers can register to volunteer. New Volunteers: Go to http://dallasisd.voly.org Create a volunteer account Complete application, orientation and…

As Dallas ISD football programs welcome their student-athletes back onto the field, the district’s coaches and athletic training staff are working together to ensure student-athlete safety is a priority during the often  soaring summer temperatures. Heat illness is the leading cause of preventable illness in high school athletics. And high-intensity outdoor sports during the summer months poses the greatest risk for these heat-related issues. The Dallas ISD Athletics department has placed licensed athletic trainers (LAT) at each of the district’s comprehensive high schools to monitor the health and safety of the district’s estimated 10,000 student-athletes. A $3 million proposal approved by the…

Last week’s freshman orientation for Dallas ISD’s CityLab High School was no ordinary orientation, but then the school itself is beyond ordinary. Opening this fall, CityLab is Dallas ISD’s newest transformation school. The curriculum will focus on components of architecture, urban planning, environmental science and community development while taking advantage of its downtown setting to bring lessons to life. One day last week, about 100 students were at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library learning about prototypes and why they are important in the design, manufacturing and marketing process. The “Makers Space,” coordinated by SMU, put students into groups to…