News Briefs

Gifted and talented (G/T) enrichment is designed to close the identification gap for elementary students through the implementation of deductive, convergent, divergent, evaluative, and analytical thinking lessons. Kindergarten classroom teachers work in collaboration with G/T teachers to provide 30-minute lessons once a week to enhance critical thinking skills and identify G/T characteristics.  The curriculum supports a differentiated approach to general education, integrates flexibly into any existing primary curriculum, and offers opportunities for learners with different strengths to shine. G/T Enrichment implementation training was offered to all elementary campuses over the summer, where teachers received resources and materials for the 2019–2020…

Robert T. Hill Middle School teacher Josh Ault recently completed an intense, weeklong immersion in American history at the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. The Teacher Institute was created to encourage history education and make it engaging for students. Now in its 30th year, the Teacher Institute prepares teachers to help students meet national and state history standards through hands-on immersion experiences in colonial history. During weeklong sessions on location in Colonial Williamsburg and the surrounding area, Ault and other participants engaged in an interdisciplinary approach to teaching social studies with American history as the focus. Teachers had the opportunity to…

In order to raise awareness on the link between school attendance and academic achievement, Dallas ISD is hosting the national September Attendance Awareness Month with a focus on reducing chronic absenteeism to give all students an equitable opportunity to learn, grow and thrive academically, emotionally and socially. Attendance Awareness Month will provide the district with an opportunity to raise student and community awareness on the importance of school attendance and demonstrate that attendance is a top priority. The 2019-2020 Dallas ISD Attendance Awareness Month theme will be “#ShowUp!” Dallas ISD for the month of September. Coordinated by Parent Services, Student…

Dallas ISD is growing a program that prepares all students for college, careers and life. Facilitated through Dallas ISD Advanced Academic Services, 11 new campuses have received an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) one-time grant, which covers membership, digital curriculum, and AVID weekly supplemental resources. By adding these 11 campuses, AVID now serves 51 Dallas ISD schools. The scholarships help campuses promote leadership and collaborative efforts for both students and staff through professional learning and awareness. Meanwhile, about 250 Dallas ISD educators attended the AVID Summer Institute in Dallas over the summer. And more than 100 Dallas ISD educators attended…