Inside Dallas ISD

Parents who are looking for effective ways to support their children’s academic progress should be sure to take advantage of January parent-teacher conferences. Parent-teacher conferences for elementary students are tonight. The conferences are an opportunity for parents to check in with their child’s teachers, discuss their child’s classroom behavior, homework habits, and other factors that can impact student progress. Consider these tips to get the most from conferences: Most schools will hand out first semester report cards at the January conferences. Report cards are a snapshot of students’ progress and can serve as a good conversation starter. Whatever the grades,…

Dallas ISD third- and fifth-graders recently got the chance to attend an annual Dallas Winds concert specifically for them at the Music Hall at Fair Park. The Dallas Winds Experience is designed to encourage the students to love the music and eventually make some of their own. “The whole idea is to give them a wonderful entertaining performance and encourage them to join the band when they get in sixth grade,” said Kim Campell, director of Dallas Winds. Musical selections draw from the Music Memory project, so that students have studied some of the pieces in class, Campbell said. The…

Dallas ISD recently named Clarita Rivera as the 2016 Secondary Principal of the Year. Rivera leads the Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs Middle School. “I told my teachers and staff, this is our plaque and this is our school, because we are all winners of this honor it’s not just me. I just represent you there,” Rivera said. She also credits a principal she worked with when she was a teacher who mentored her to become a leader. What she most enjoys as a principal is working with people at all levels, the children first, and then parents,…

Several Skyline students will get the chance to study abroad this summer thanks to scholarships from the Council on International Educational Exchange. All five students are in Skyline High School’s World Languages Cluster, a program where students can become familiar with up to four different languages. The students will spend a total of four weeks abroad at destinations such as Germany, Italy, China, France and Spain. They were awarded scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $6,200 based on academic merit and financial need. “Our World Languages Cluster and the CIEE scholarships position Skyline as one of the leading globally-minded schools in the area,” Skyline Principal…