Inside Dallas ISD

Walking the halls of W.H. Adamson High School with Community Liaison Maria Garcia, it’s unusual to encounter anyone who doesn’t know her even in the early days of a new school year. A mainstay at the Oak Cliff campus for 18 years, Garcia is still excited about her job connecting the school with parents and community resources. Since 1993 when she transitioned from an Adamson parent and PTA officer to a paid staff member, Garcia has touched the lives of thousands of families. You might say she’s a legend. Recently, she was officially presented that title by Ford Motor Company,…

On a weekday morning in a cold district warehouse, Dora Rivas makes a walkthrough inspection for the last time. After serving a decade as Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services executive director, winning numerous achievement awards, and propelling the district to its healthiest standards, Rivas is packing up her lunchbox and moving on. For the last 10 years, Rivas has worked hard to implement changes that would impact Dallas ISD students even beyond their school years. Under her leadership, the district moved to completely free breakfast and lunch for all students and rolled out the Breakfast in the Classroom initiative in…

Dallas ISD libraries checked out 40 percent more books over the summer than the previous year. During summer school, students, staff, and community members checked out more than 32,000 books from 32 Dallas ISD libraries. Meanwhile, the number of eBooks checked out by students and staff rose from 64 in summer 2014 to 1026 in summer 2015. “Each year the libraries and departments under the umbrella of the Language and Literacy Department continue to do their part by promoting summer literacy by keeping libraries open to service students and families,” said Gay Patrick, director of Library Media Services. “It’s critical that…

For his first podcast with Dallas ISD, Dr. Robert Bravo, the Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership, had a wide-ranging discussion with Alan Cohen, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Early Childhood. On the podcast, Cohen and Bravo discuss the significance of preK, the importance of supporting the emotional health of students, and a cultural shift that could have an immediate positive impact on young students. “There is nothing scarier in the world than having 24 four-year-olds look up at you at the beginning of the day and say entertain me for eight hours,” Cohen noted. Click here to listen to…