Inside Dallas ISD

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…

Fourteen outstanding Dallas ISD teachers were recognized May 17 with Texas Instruments’ Innovations in STEM Teaching Awards. The Texas Instruments (TI) Foundation gave the $140,000 grant to the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF), which then provided the award to the teachers. Each honoree receives $10,000, of which $5,000 is directly awarded to the teacher. The other $5,000 is to be used at his or her discretion for professional development or instructional technology. “We know how difficult teaching is, and teaching at the level these professionals do is even more difficult,” said Dallas ISD STEM Executive Director Michael Ruiz.  “Putting a spotlight…