Inside Dallas ISD

Dedication is what retired Dallas ISD Maintenance and Facilities employee Brent Ditmars says kept him on the job for 41 years. Ditmars, who has worked at many Dallas ISD schools, started out painting facilities and then working on wooden floors. That’s when his supervisor,who knew he could draw, asked him to paint the mascots on the floors in the gyms. You can find Ditmars’ artwork in places such as L.G. Pinkston High School, H. Grady Spruce High School and numerous other facilities. He’s proud of the legacy he’s left behind in his work. “I have mixed emotions about it, after…

Dallas ISD teachers interested in teaching Modern Band will soon have the opportunity to participate in a Little Kids Rock training workshop to prepare them to teach their students how to play popular music including hip hop, rap, rock and blues. Composition, improvisation and recording are also emphasized. Dallas ISD has partnered with the nonprofit organization Little Kids Rock (LKR) since 2008, giving thousands of students the gift of music. Approximately 75 district schools will benefit from LKR this school year. Nationally, more than 100,000 students take part in the program.“We are able to reach a group of students who…

Six Dallas ISD students will travel Sept. 25 to Washington, D.C., for the second leg of the commemorative 2014 Freedom Riders historical tours. The students’ journey this time centers on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. Each trip focuses on a pivotal time in the nation’s history and requires students to take on the roles of well-known leaders of the civil rights movement as they re-enact historical events. During this trip, the students will portray well-known Dallas activists and envision what it might have been like had the leaders…

Dallas ISD high school juniors and seniors are starting the school year focused on taking steps toward college. Counselors are meeting and talking with students to help them get prepared to make the most of their conversations with college recruiters at the Sept. 17 Districtwide College Fair. At Hillcrest High School, Lead Counselor Gailene Anderson recently visited with seniors in the school’s AVID classroom to discuss what to expect from the college fair. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a course designed to help first generation college students get past hurdles like passing advanced placement classes, preparing…