Inside Dallas ISD

Dallas ISD’s annual college fair aims to increase students’ awareness of the benefits of attending college, and to get families face to face with the representatives of the higher education institutions that are expected to participate in this year’s event. The free fair is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Ellis Davis Field House, 9191 Polk St. Dallas ISD Counseling Services Executive Director Dr. Sylvia Lopez said the event is all about exposure to the world of college, increasing awareness and providing opportunities for students to talk directly with college admissions staff. “The fair introduces our…

With Week One in the rearview mirror, the Dallas ISD has many successes to celebrate surrounding the start of the 2014-2015 school year. Staffing One of the largest successes was starting the school year with 10,600 qualified teachers. This year, the Dallas ISD made history by filling 99.9 percent of the district’s teaching positions before the first day of school. Human Capital Management’s focused efforts on recruiting and hiring placed a teacher in all but 14 classrooms across the district at the start of the school year. Call Center Operators for Dallas ISD Connect, the district’s call center, ended the…

It’s no easy task for a teacher to keep her skills when moving from her native country to another one thousands of miles away. But that’s what teachers Sonia Medina Rodriguez and Silvia Lozano Rodriguez, originally from Albacete, Spain, have done. They are two of more than 60 teachers from Spain who have decided to take a leap of faith and travel to Texas to teach for the Dallas Independent School District. “In the beginning, it’s a little difficult because it’s different than Spain,” said Medina Rodriguez. “You’re far from your family, your friends and everything is new, but then…

When tragedies happen at district schools, a cadre of specially trained staff stand ready to step in to comfort, reassure and counsel students, staff and families. A death or other tragedy involving a student or school staff member brings with it the same grief felt by a family when one of its members is stricken. In a school setting, that might mean upwards of 500 staff and students need help grappling with loss or trauma. While the school counselors represent the front line in this process, the district’s Psychological and Social Services Department is staffed with 37 full-time licensed counselors,…