News Briefs

The Dallas Independent School District is forming a task force aimed at enhancing steps the district is currently taking to close the achievement gap for African-American students. Board of Trustees First Vice President Lew Blackburn will lead a group that will review progress made under the district’s African-American Success Initiative and explore ways to improve its outcomes. The task force announcement was made as part of a presentation on the initiative during today’s monthly Board Briefing. Check out this news report on the initiative to improve black student success from CBS 11. LINK: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/01/15/disd-working-to-improve-black-student-success/

A group of local business and community leaders that includes Ron and Matrice Kirk, Ron McCray, Brenda Jackson, Levy and Diane Curry, and Paget and Deborah Alves are donating the 10,000 free tickets to Dallas ISD students in grades 7-9 to see the movie “Selma”. Students may attend a free screening of the movie on Jan. 17-19. The timing of the viewing, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend, provides even more incentive to share the story of the March on Selma and how it shaped the past and present. WFAA’s Demond Fernandez spoke with students and staff at…

DTR candidates give advice over a slice to teachers interested in applying for DTR.

North Texas is experiencing unprecedented seismic activity, and the Dallas Independent School District is equipping its school leaders with information to better protect students and staff. The district’s Office of Emergency Management emergency operations team has forwarded a packet of information to all principals detailing a drop-cover-hold procedure to be used by school communities during an earthquake, as well as posters that can be placed throughout a campus. Dallas ISD does not have a specific earthquake protocol. However, the district employs an “all hazards” approach to protecting students. Student and staff safety is always a No. 1 concern. The drop-cover-hold…