News Briefs

The Oak Cliff Advocate is publishing a series of stories about families who, after trying other options, find the perfect fit for their children at a Dallas ISD neighborhood school. Read about how the Bryce family found Felix G. Botello Elementary to be the best place for their son Clark. “They care enough to figure out who we are as people and speak our language, whatever language that may be — physical, mental, actual language,” said Clark’s mom, Rachael Lieck Bryce. Read the entire story here. Read about the Lukas family’s choice to send their children to Lida Hooe Elementary…

Eleventh-graders attending a Dallas ISD high school have about a month before they will take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) during the school day on Wednesday, March 7. To prepare for the exam, students may access free, personalized lessons at  satpractice.org. Dallas ISD’s investment in PSAT administrations affords students the ability to link their PSAT scores to Khan Academy and access Official SAT® Practice as early as eighth grade. A study from the class of 2017 showed that students who spent 6 hours on Official SAT® Practice gained an average of 90 points from the PSAT/NMSQT to the SAT and students…

Jack Kelanic is the district’s chief technology officer. Kelanic brings more than 20 years of technology leadership experience to his new post. His responsibilities include developing the long-range technology plan to enable digital learning for Dallas ISD students and improving technology support for schools and district business operations. Prior to his appointment to Dallas ISD, Kelanic served as the director of information technology for the city of Tacoma, where he led key initiatives such as open data and analytics, mobile government services, digital equity, and technology infrastructure modernization. He also served as the chief information systems director for the Los Angeles Unified…

It was another great week across the district in Dallas ISD! Watch this video, or read below, to learn more. Winter Blitz More than 2,000 students participated in Winter Blitz, a Destination Imagination workshop that encouraged the creative spirit (watch this). Aspen Challenge Teams of Dallas ISD students attended the Aspen Challenge Kick Off and heard from leaders who are tackling current national challenges (watch this). Going for gold Olympic gold medalist and Skyline High School grad Michael Johnson talked with students at his alma mater and presented a check from Muscle Milk to the school’s athletic program (watch this). NFL retirees read…