Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD
I hope all of you had a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving week.
The Dallas ISD school board has been busy this past month, and you can find what’s been happening, highlighted below:
Dallas ISD District 7 Monthly Updates:
Community Listening progress & goal setting: Thank you to everyone across our wider Dallas community who made their voice heard during the community listening process. The Dallas ISD Board held 15 meetings across the city and is in the process of summarizing all feedback received from the meetings and the survey, which collectively engaged more than a thousand Dallas ISD stakeholders.
Dallas ISD teacher recruitment hits records: Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D. shared the numbers of teacher applications to Dallas ISD board members at this month’s meeting. Not only has Dallas achieved higher teacher retention than the region and state over these last few years, but we’ve also hit records on teacher applications for those fewer positions.
Bond progress updates: Two weeks ago, we had an incredible ribbon cutting ceremony on the gorgeous new George Peabody Elementary School. Additionally, Rosemont Upper Campus remains on track for completion.
November Board Meeting debrief: This month, Dallas ISD had its regular board briefing and meeting. A few key items areI’ve chosen to highlighted a few items below:
- College credential attainment: A decade ago, less than 8% of Dallas ISD seniors earned an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years after graduation. Today, more than 11% of Dallas ISD graduates earn an associate degree before they graduate from high school. Dallas ISD has seen significant growth in students earning college-based credentials, and now we have 69% of early college graduates earning an associate degree by graduation.
- Dallas ISD comprehensive annual report: Dallas ISD’s comprehensive financial report is now final, and we’re in a very strong financial position. Our audit showed zero findings, and we have received a ‘superior’ rating from TEA on the first financial rating.
Upcoming Events:
- 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec.19: Dallas ISD Board Meeting
- Friday, Dec. 20: Early release for all schools
- Dec. 23 – Jan 3: Winter break
- Tuesday, Jan. 7: Students return – first day of spring semester
- Monday, Jan. 20: MLK Day – no school
As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello.
Ben Mackey
As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello. Just reach out to me at BenMackey@dallasisd.org
Best,
Ben Mackey
