Inside Dallas ISD

It’s been said that a place without art is a place without an identity. That’s not the case for Moisés E. Molina High School where artwork, images, murals, and 3D sculptures can normally be seen throughout the school. Visual arts teachers like Melissa James and Miriam Montaño Perez have made these displays possible with the aim of helping students develop a strong sense of identity. The visual arts program at Molina High School is so successful that students recently took home 18 regional medals at the Texas High School Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE). This weekend, three of the students’…

Van Harris, a fifth-grade science teacher at Maria Moreno STEAM Academy, knows how to motivate his students to go above and beyond. For example, he had a student miss just one question on her common assessment test last year. As he was guiding his class through setting goals for their upcoming State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test, this student decided she wanted to aim for a perfect score. “I said, ‘OK, we’re going to focus on that goal,’” Harris said. “So I got her packets on the one TEKS she missed, and from that point on we…

Dallas ISD’s College and Career Advising Program (CCAP) is setting high school students up for success starting in ninth grade thanks to an $11 million annual investment from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. Cheryl Nevels, assistant superintendent of college readiness, said typical college advising programs focus on financial aid and college entry application, but with the ESSER investment, Dallas ISD has expanded the program to include career preparation. The program provides students with college and career advisers as soon as they enter high school to effectively support students to and through their postsecondary transition. “It’s about giving…

Christine Hernandez, a fifth-grade math teacher at Solar Preparatory School for Girls at James B. Bonham, defines student success as being rooted “not only in academic success but also in becoming a confident individual, however that may look.” One of her students started the school year with learning gaps that left her feeling like she could not speak up in class, so Hernandez worked with her family and other teachers to help the student honor her strengths and change her mindset to, “How much can we grow this year?” rather than being on grade level. “When we started framing it…