News Briefs

Trustee Jaime Resendez is holding a District 4 community meeting on Saturday, May 13, at 11 a.m. The meeting will be at the Eastfield Pleasant Grove Campus, 802 S. Buckner Blvd., Room 108. The meeting will include a discussion about a possible Tax Ratification Election for Dallas ISD. For more information, call 972-925-3721.

Monday, Aug. 28 is the first day of classes for the 2017-2018 school year. Each school day will have an additional 10 minutes during breakfast in the classroom. With the expanded day, the district will reach the state-mandated total minutes of instruction by June 1, the last day of classes. Other features: 171 days of instruction for students starting Monday, Aug. 28 10 teacher professional development/planning days, five preparation/work days and one day’s credit for teachers who attend both parent conference nights Two fair days for all students; elementary Fair Day, Friday, Oct. 13, and secondary Fair Day, Friday, Oct. 20; Elementary…

Last week, students, staff and parents at Benjamin Franklin Middle School celebrated diversity at the school’s second annual International Festival. Besides food and fun activities, the festival combined with the Cervantes Festival to celebrate the work of late Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, best known for his novel, Don Quixote. The Cervantes Literacy Project, funded by a Junior League of Dallas Innovative Teaching Grant, created a space in the school’s courtyard with quotes and elements from Cervantes’ writings. The project included reading, research and drama presentations as well. Proceeds from the festival, which was Friday, April 21, will benefit the school’s departments,…

Dallas ISD was one of only four school districts nationwide selected this year to be provided free public school “peer-to-peer” concerts and workshops by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. With lead funding from Toyota, United Airlines and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute will present this unique education program in four Dallas public schools May 9-12. Combining performance with educational information, these “informances” will be presented by six of the country’s most gifted high school music students along with internationally acclaimed jazz trombonist and NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis, vocal sensation and former winner of the Thelonious Monk…