Inside Dallas ISD

It’s never too early to get students interested in becoming civically engaged, and at North Dallas High School, that engagement comes in the form of a voter registration drive at school, sponsored by the Student Voter Empowerment Club (SVEC). SVEC is a nonpartisan, student-led organization under the March to the Polls umbrella, whose projects include promoting civic education, increasing student voter turnout, and instilling a commitment to voting and civic engagement beyond the high school years. Rubi Chavez, office manager and the sponsor of the student-led League of United Latin American Students (LULAC) chapter at North Dallas High School began…

Jason Hamilton graduated from Justin F. Kimball High School in 2002 and has come back to Dallas ISD to put 24 years of culinary experience and 18 years as an executive chef to use in the district’s newest Career and Technical Education (CTE) initiative. Hamilton, a CTE coordinator, is overseeing the management of the district’s food truck initiative, ensuring smooth operations across participating schools. He ensures students are taught the technical, culinary, management, and entrepreneurial skills needed to run a food truck. He says the food truck program is set to transform the student learning experience. The food truck is expected…

A drumline with dancers, typical in a marching band, is not a common part of the elementary school experience—but that didn’t stop teacher Andra Birdsong from making it happen at her school. Birdsong, a music teacher at Daniel Webster Elementary School, first got the idea when her students were invited to participate in a community parade after Justin F. Kimball High School’s boys varsity basketball team won the state championship in the Spring of 2023. Kimball is the high school into which Webster feeds. Nearly a year later, she has at least 25 students performing as either part of the…

Master teacher Michael Chang first came to  Dallas ISD in 2018 to teach fourth grade math and science at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School, where he continues to impact students’ lives. Prior to coming to the district, he taught math and science in Tulsa, Okla., and is now in his 10th year as an educator. He is originally from Manitowoc, Wis., and graduated from Marquette University in 2014. What drew you to education? Born and raised by immigrant parents in a low-income family, I was always told by my mother that education was the key to breaking the cycle of…