Inside Dallas ISD

May 2-6 is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week!  Like their counterparts across the nation, Dallas ISD teachers and staff are uncommon heroes as they play an essential role in student success. During Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, we invite the community to join us in recognizing the dedicated educators and staff members who wholeheartedly commit themselves to helping all students succeed. Each day this week, we will recognize a Dallas ISD teacher and staff member in the district.  Today, we salute Lizandra Ayala, a teacher at William Anderson Elementary, and Jennifer House, a librarian at Stevens Park Elementary. Lizandra Ayala, teacher at William…

Four Dallas ISD campuses were the focus of a recent project with the American Architectural Foundation to reimagine how the schools should look and function. The foundation provided pro bono support to create architectural drawings and conceptual designs. Committees comprising staff, students and community members for each school worked with architects to prioritize needs and desires. There are common elements in the plans, from flexible learning spaces and courtyards to multipurpose and flexible classrooms. Other elements address what a committee saw as failings of existing buildings, such as not providing welcoming entrances for students or visitors. The three-day process included…

Volunteers and partner groups annually contribute thousands of hours of time and numerous in-kind donations and financial resources to help Dallas ISD schools extend learning experiences for students. This year alone, volunteers have logged more than 265,444 volunteer hours, which is equals 15,926,640 minutes. One way the district recognizes their contributions each year is to invite campus staff to nominate those volunteers and partners they feel go above and beyond in their efforts to make a difference on their campus. In this 47th year of honoring those who donate their time, talent, and resources to Dallas ISD, the district received over 170 nominations. These are the…

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…