Congratulations to former Molina student Arza Brown, who overcame several challenges to excel at Molina High School

School is finally back in full swing! Over this past month, more than 142,000 students have come back to school with our world class educators. We are thrilled to have our students back in person, and we look forward to an incredible year ahead, despite the challenges that COVID has continued to put in our path. Before going any further, I want to express my pride in Dallas ISD, Superintendent Hinojosa, and all our educators for how they’ve navigated this challenging start to the school year.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still a very real threat, I want to highlight a number of mitigating steps Dallas ISD has taken to put the safety of our students, staff, and families first:

  • Dallas ISD continues to temporarily require masks: Our goal, from the beginning of the pandemic has been to follow the scientific guidance of experts, such as the CDC and other health authorities. Therefore, based on these recommendations, Dallas ISD is continuing to require masks.
  • Maintaining contact tracing measures: Dallas ISD has continued to implement all contact tracing and notification policies that worked effectively during the last school year, and we will maintain this process for the foreseeable future.
  • Vaccine incentives for employees: To both incentivize employees to receive the vaccine and get a sense of the vaccination rate across Dallas ISD, employees who show proof of their vaccination will receive a $500 bonus from our federal ESSER funds. To date, approximately 70% of Dallas ISD employees have taken advantage of this opportunity and that number continues to grow rapidly.
  • Rapid Tests Available at Every Campus: Dallas ISD is ensuring that every campus has rapid testing available for students and staff.

Dallas ISD District 7 Monthly Updates

  • Apple partners with Dallas ISD to refresh libraries: Apple has partnered with Dallas ISD to renovate, refurbish, and refresh libraries across Dallas ISD to bring them into the 21st century and make them the campus hubs they are intended to be. We are thrilled for this partnership and the deep investment in our school libraries.
  • Molina Student Overcomes Challenges to Achieve: Congratulations to former Molina student Arza Brown, who overcame several challenges to excel at Molina High School, thanks to the incredible support from family and staff, and now is off on a prestigious scholarship to West Texas A&M!

Upcoming Events:

  • Dallas ISD Board Meeting: 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23
  • Sept. office hours: I am happy to schedule video chats, phone calls, or socially distanced coffees with any and everyone who would like to chat about any items concerning Dallas ISD! Please reach out to me at BenMackey@dallasisd.org to set up a time.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello!

Best,
Ben Mackey

Dallas ISD Trustee
Ben Mackey, District 7