Inside Dallas ISD

Dallas ISD has invested federal funds in accelerating learning to compensate for disruptions caused by COVID-19. It has also invested in after-school programs that give students a safe place to explore their interests, as participation in visual and performing arts, service and leadership, athletics, academics and other activities can accelerate their overall success and social and emotional well-being.  Last year, the district used $3.3 million from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to offer district-run programs—which operate five days a week from 3-6 p.m.—across 55 campuses. More than 3,100 students participated in these programs. The allocation continues this…

Alberto Arroyo, a Molina High junior and a student at Career Institute South, owns about 30 pairs of sneakers and has flipped as many in resale since taking interest as an eighth-grader. As part of a campuswide competition, the 17-year-old “sneakerhead” and hobbyist reseller developed a business idea to address counterfeit sales – one of the biggest leakages of the sneakers market, which is valued at $70 billion worldwide. He is set to present his plan later this month at a national entrepreneurship competition in New York City. “Ever since I was a little kid, I would always have the…

First-grade teacher Katie Holt and instructional coordinator Natalie Cruz-Garcia of the Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern had no idea that they would become such close friends and co-workers nine years ago when they were 2014 corps members in Teach for America and were placed in Dallas ISD. “I have a core memory of setting up our classrooms at the same time our very first year,” Holt said. “We were constantly going in and out of each other’s rooms, planning how we were going to make our first bulletin boards and organize seating arrangements. Details that now we don’t think twice…

For Eric Benson, transforming student lives has had different meanings over his 38 years as a physical education teacher at Bishop Arts Steam Academy. Several of his former students are now leading life-changing careers of their own, including Diana Nunez, a proud Dallas ISD graduate who has spent over two decades working as a teacher, principal and executive director in the district. “We knew early on that Diana was going to be something special, just like everyone else in her family,” Benson said. “I’m so happy for her and all of her siblings, the direction that they’ve gone and all…