Inside Dallas ISD

First-year teacher and native Korean speaker, Soo Mee Park shares her culture while teaching Korean to kindergarten through second grade at Preston Hollow Elementary School and sixth through eighth grade at Jesus Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard. Although it has been a challenging experience, Park says it is also a rewarding feeling and a privilege for her to be able to teach Korean. “I was pleasantly surprised at the interest and, for a few students, the familiarity they had with the Korean culture and language. So it makes me proud to be able to teach my culture and language to non-Koreans,”…

At W.W. Samuel High School, Mario Flores is known by classmates and staff to have a vivid imagination, developing characters and writing scripts. A hobby has turned into a passion that he plans to pursue as a film major at the University of Texas at Arlington next fall.  “Growing up I didn’t have cable, all we had were DVD movies, so I would sit there and watch a lot of movies,” Mario said. “My love for movies grew from there.” Mario lists among his favorite movies “Blood In Blood Out,” “Kill Bill,” and “Pulp Fiction.”  One of the reasons Mario…

Dallas ISD’s 2022 Stem Expo Coding Competition, “Virtually Making A Difference,” was a huge success, with a total of 65 entries through which students had the opportunity to showcase their coding skills. Projects answered the question, “How does your program make a difference in society?” The Dallas Education Foundation presented each of the three winners with a $350 gift card, and Bernard Smith of Microsoft’s NextStep Initiative was on hand to offer his congratulations and fun Microsoft swag. The list of winners, along with links to their project submissions, can be found below: Student Teacher School Grade level Project Making…

For the third year, Dallas ISD has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.  Now in its 23rd year, the designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Dallas ISD answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by the…