Inside Dallas ISD

This article first appeared in the Hillcrest Hurricane, Hillcrest High School’s student-run newspaper. Delaney Shiu, a junior at Hillcrest High School, wrote this article. This year, a main subject of concern at Hillcrest High School has been the upcoming implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program for the 2016-2017 school year. Teachers of different subjects have been attending training sessions throughout the year in order to become certified IB teachers and so they can further our education. The questions remain: what changes will this bring to Hillcrest and how are we preparing for it? “We still need to submit two applications…

Teachers from the Dallas ISD ACE schools gathered last week at a spring mixer to celebrate their impressive accomplishments over the past year. Dallas ISD launched the ACE Plan, which stands for Accelerating Campus Excellence, as a way to provide strong leadership, effective teaching and high expectations at seven of the district’s most struggling schools. Jolee Healey, executive director of the ACE feeder pattern, said the spring mixer was a way to celebrate and rally the teachers going into the final part of the school year. “We are so happy to meet here today as an ACE family.” Healey said.…

Dallas ISD Principal of the Year Tanya Shelton takes pride in how whenever someone visits her school—Richard Lagow Elementary—they will see teachers teaching and students learning. Shelton, who is described as a hands-on principal who respects teachers and works collaboratively, hopes she will be remembered for the impact she makes on students’ lives, even after they leave Lagow Elementary. “The true measure of a leader is how a campus and students perform even when (the leader) is gone,” Lagow said. John, a fifth-grader at Lagow Elementary, has very kind words for Shelton. “She’s amazing, and I’m glad she’s my principal,” he said.…

Marisol Romero, a kindergarten two-way dual-language teacher at Lakewood Elementary, became an educator by pure coincidence. Soon after graduating college with a Sociology major, Romero visited her brother in Dallas and saw a Dallas ISD TV advertisement for the district’s alternative teaching certification program. Romero followed up on the advertisement and, within eight months, was leading a pre-K class. Romero within three years realized she had found a calling in education. Meet A Top 100 Teacher, a Hub feature that spotlights one of Dallas ISD’s Top 100 teachers, checked in with Romero in her classroom at Lakewood Elementary. What do…