Inside Dallas ISD

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,…

Roberto Gonzalez, principal at Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern, did not set out to become an educator, but he said in many ways, teaching was all around him as he was growing up in Cartagena, Colombia. His mother worked as a math teacher and then as a principal in Colombia, inspiring Gonzalez to pursue a life of service—one that started out in the medical field. “I always liked to help,” Gonzalez said. “My mind was helping people, so I went into the medical field and became a family practitioner working with underserved communities.” Due to violence that made it increasingly…

Dallas ISD’s Regional Day School Program for the Deaf is built on a foundation of connections and opportunities. The students and graduates the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services team has supported are in every field and industry, thriving as carpenters, culinary artists, cheerleaders, soccer players, nurses, construction workers, and more. September is Deaf Awareness Month. “We want our students to know they can become anything they want to be,” said Tina Vaguine, manager for the RDSPD. “We want them to believe in themselves, and we want them and their families to know that they can do anything.” Deaf and…

For Esmeralda Martinez, a Spanish and leadership teacher at Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, paving the way for student success and contributing to a legacy of leadership are her priorities and her passion. She moved to the United States when she was 5 years old and recalls translating for her mother from Mexico and her father from Colombia as she grew up learning English as a second language. Combined with her positive experiences with teachers in her Dallas ISD schools and her involvement in Skyline High School’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) council, Martinez realized she…