Inside Dallas ISD

Approximately 250 Dallas ISD staff members across the district have earned a Mindfulness Coach Certification from the district’s Social and Emotional Learning department. This training has equipped these leaders to conduct campuswide training and small group support for staff and students.  “Mindfulness practices help students and adults practice self-awareness and self-management, two social and emotional learning competencies,” shared Juany Valdespino-Gaytan, executive director of Advanced Academic Services and Social & Emotional Learning. “By providing staff across the district with an opportunity to get mindfulness-trained and certified, we are broadening the reach of this practice to students and staff who interact with…

All three Dallas ISD Career Institutes (CI) are hosting summer camps that introduce middle school students to the career and technical education pathways offered at their campuses. The sixth- and seventh-grade scholars who are part of Summer Breeze 2022 are training for various careers using industry-standard equipment in state-of-the-art facilities while learning about the free programs available to them. Throughout high school, students who join a Career Institute train for high-demand, high-wage jobs in facilities supported by industry partners where they can obtain official certifications and dual credit prior to graduation. All Dallas ISD traditional high schools offer access and…

A severe vision impairment hasn’t stopped Abelino Leija, a sophomore at Madison High School, from playing soccer along with his teammates. After a group effort by his case manager, his soccer coach, and The Vision Team staff at Madison, Abelino obtained specialized protective goggles that allow him to meet the medical requirements that kept him from joining his high school’s soccer team during his freshman year. While Abelino struggles with stargardt macular dystrophy, an eye disease that affects his central vision by making it hard to see what’s in front of him, he doesn’t let the condition hold him back…

As Scott Davison, an English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, is getting ready to start his 50th year as a teacher next fall, he looks back at the wealth of knowledge, experiences and fascinating stories he has amassed and recalls education wasn’t always his first choice. In fact, he said he “sort of stumbled into it.” Growing up in Oak Cliff, he dove into the arts at an early age. He became a child actor at 6, but he never limited himself to one discipline, also pursuing dancing, singing, playing numerous musical…