Latest news with #DallasISD
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Dallas ISD enhances security and safety protocols ahead of new school year
The focus for Dallas Independent School District for the 2025-2026 calendar year is not only improved teaching, learning but also safety, according to Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde. Dallas public schools will welcome an expected 140,000 students on Tuesday, Aug. 12, and Elizade said she's excited. "We have a great foundation of success that we're going to be building on. So, I say to our parents and guardians, bring the kids on in and let's have a great year," she said. Over the past three years, Dallas ISD has spent an estimated $95 million, adding more cameras, surveillance monitors, metal detectors and resource officers. Specific campus security additions were approved on Monday, Aug. 11. Starting Tuesday, students and parents will see if anything has changed.
Axios
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Axios
What's new in Dallas-Fort Worth schools this year
North Texas schools are beginning the semester with more per-student funding from the state and several new laws to enforce, including a ban on students' cellphone use during school hours. Why it matters: The new academic year will not be a fresh start for many school districts amid staffing shortages, tight budgets and pressure to improve school performance ratings. The latest: A new state law mandates that districts establish policies prohibiting students from using personal communication devices such as cellphones and smart watches during school hours, with some exceptions. Another law increases teacher pay and districts' per-student funding by $55, the first base funding change since 2019. Zoom in: Fort Worth ISD is transitioning 15 of its campuses to an extended academic year that starts Monday and will end on June 30, with 25 more school days than the district's traditional year. Dallas ISD also returns to school on Monday but will end classes on May 27. The district is projecting a roughly $128 million budget shortfall for this year. The Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Plano school districts have consolidated students into fewer campuses this year after closing some schools in response to declining enrollment. What we're watching: Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special session and asked state lawmakers to consider eliminating the STAAR test.
CBS News
31-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Almost 1,000 educators attend Dallas ISD new teacher orientation
The Dallas Independent School District is preparing to welcome nearly 1,000 new teachers for the 2025–26 school year. On Thursday, those educators packed the Winspear Opera House for the district's new teacher orientation, including first-year teachers Victor Sanchez and Khiyra Frazier. "I'm a tad bit nervous, but I'm also excited," Frazier said. "I have dealt with kids before, but they have not been in the classroom. I went to school in Dallas, and my mom is also a teacher." Sanchez said his path to the classroom began with mentoring and tutoring. "I realized that I had very effective results. People that I would mentor would get the highest marks in their standardized testing," he said. Robert Abel, chief of human capital management for Dallas ISD, said the district received more than 10,000 teacher applications — a record — and has filled more than 99% of its vacancies. "I think it's because Dallas ISD is becoming a destination district," Abel said. "We have one of the highest teacher compensation plans in the metroplex. Our teachers start off at a minimum of $65,000. They can earn up to $100,000, which puts us way above the market." As the first day of school approaches on Aug. 12, new teachers are preparing not just their classrooms and curriculum, but also their mindset. "I'm making sure that I rest and that my sleep cycle is in order," Sanchez said. "I'm also spending time with friends, with family, with loved ones, so that way I have beautiful thoughts and memories to keep me going." Frazier said she's been watching training videos and focusing on how to prepare for working with younger students. Both teachers say they're driven by a strong sense of purpose. "I'm just ready to be the teacher that I always wanted and make sure the students have a safe place," Frazier said. Sanchez added, "I'm looking forward to seeing what my students are doing 20, 30 years from now—when they have their own families, after they've purchased their own home, and all the wonderful and great things they're going to do to change the future."
CBS News
30-06-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Health reason forces Dallas ISD's "Animal Man" to leave the classroom for good
Harry Monroe has been an educator for 51 years. He spent 33 of those with the Dallas Independent School District. Now, he's leaving for health reasons. It may not be the retirement chapter Monroe envisioned, but he lived to see it. For that, he's grateful. "I consider myself the last of the dinosaurs," Monroe said. The 78-year-old has been a science teacher in the Dallas Independent School District System for 33 years. He taught at the former Colonial Elementary School in South Dallas, now MLK Elementary School. He landed a dream job at Dallas ISD's Environmental Center in Seagoville. The road to Dallas ISD started in his hometown of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, after Monroe got his Master's degree. Kingfisher is about 40 minutes northwest of Oklahoma City. Monroe taught in the Houston area. The science teacher said he was about to sign a contract when he pursued the job in Dallas in 1992. Over the years, he's come to realize something. "Some of these kids are just very fortunate if they make it to school in the morning," he said. "It was a rude awakening." For those who did make it, they got to know the educator in room 506, who was called "The Animal Man." "I'm always using animals in my lessons," he said. Nobody knows his love of critters than his wife, Henrietta. The 74-year-old recalled the morning she was vacuuming until there was a discovery under the table at home. "There was a gigantic spider, there was a turtle, there was a, I think it was a snake," Henrietta Monroe said. The animal discovery that morning was just beginning. "And I think the one that scared me the most was this gigantic hissing cockroach," she said. According to his wife, the two had an interesting conversation about notifications and critters that morning. She is supportive of his love for animals, but his wife offered him some seasoned advice. "I told him that he had to think of himself first, that his health was very important," she said. "And retiring might be the thing for him, but I wanted him to know that that was his decision. Because I wanted him to feel comfortable making the decision himself." Monroe, who prided himself on opening systems to inner-city students, started to feel a decline in his system. It became worse than not feeling 100%. He got medical attention and found out he had transthyretin amyloidosis, or ATTR. "Now, what this medication will do — it's not going to get rid of it. It will slow it down," Monroe said. "It will stop the progression of it." ATTR is chunks of flawed protein, making it hard for the heart to pump. Monroe said he and his wife joked about him dying in devotion to the classroom and students. He did not want to make that happen literally. "It's supposed to keep you from dying and to reduce your hospital visits," he said. So, as much as he wanted to continue, Monroe began cleaning out his room. He adopted out his snapping turtles, silky Chinese chicken, guinea pigs, and the axolotl. In the meantime, his wife began helping him sort a museum of teaching tools and artifacts from globes near a stuffed bobcat, Columbian mammoth fossil remains, posters, and boar skulls. "And it's kind of hard; I didn't sleep very well last night, thinking about that," Monroe said."You know, men are not supposed to cry, but I'm pretty emotional right now. I don't know whether I'm going to cry or not." All of the packing was happening on the day Monroe had his final chance to be a showman of science to a group of energetic kindergartners. "I realize this is the last class that I will teach here at the Environmental Ed Center," he said. Monroe followed the script of his system, teaching the kids and removing their fear by exposure. "How they fit in in the environment, that everything is part of the system," he said. "And I would explain that, basically, I'd be talking about the importance of them being around." Now, the time has come for him to go home with Henrietta, his wife of 31 years. She has even softened on allowing creatures into the house. Monroe mentioned Bobwhite quail. "I would accept a cockroach or the spider, the turtle, whatever he had out there," she said. His wife said her husband spent so much time in the classroom that she knows the science teacher will need a period to adjust to retirement. "Just the thought of actually retiring, it still bothers him," she said. "And I can understand that." Monroe plans to stay in touch with coworkers and even return to visit. Much of his time, though, will be spent with family and loved ones. It's a new system he'll get used to. Room 506 bids farewell to its keeper of more than three decades. "I'll just say thanks. It's been a good part of my life," he said. "How many people get to do a job that they enjoy?" Animal man, out.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Textbooks, Not Texts: Texas Bans Cellphones To Boost School Focus
A new law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott over the weekend will prohibit students in Texas public schools from using cellphones and other personal communication devices during school hours. House Bill 1481 mandates that public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools adopt policies requiring devices like cellphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other telecommunication-enabled electronics to be stored securely and out of sight during the school day. Schools must either ban students from bringing devices to campus or provide storage options, such as locked pouches, to ensure a safe and secure environment. The law requires disciplinary measures for students found using prohibited devices, with exceptions for school-provided devices, those needed for educational programs, doctor-prescribed devices, or those required for health or safety protocols. Several North Texas districts, including Richardson ISD, have already implemented cellphone restrictions, citing distractions and bullying as reasons. Richardson ISD utilizes Yondr pouches, magnetic locking devices that enable students to carry their phones without accessing them. The district's superintendent reported 85% of teachers noted increased instructional time after the policy's adoption, Fox 4 KDFW reported. Dallas ISD, which has tested various approaches, must now develop a district-wide policy this summer. Piper Freeman, who just completed eighth grade at Dallas ISD's Robert T. Hill Junior High, where cellphones have been banned for several years, told Fox 4, 'It made a lot of people mad because they could not have their phones.' However, she added, 'It can be distracting when you see other kids on their phones.' Piper's mother, Megan Freeman, credited the pouches for reducing fights and improving social skills, recalling her son's observation: 'He said, 'Mom, you can tell the kids who have not had Yondr pouches because all of us Highlanders, we are talking at lunch. Everyone else is like this on their phone. They don't know how to communicate.' I love it.' Some opposition has emerged, with students in Houston staging a walkout last year against a cellphone ban and parents citing safety concerns, referencing the Uvalde school shooting, where victims used phones to call for help. Megan Freeman acknowledged these concerns, saying, 'I have had that frustration. I wish I could text my son or Piper. It's made me more proactive. Or I message the teachers.' Law enforcement experts advise students to avoid using their phones during emergencies and follow instructions quietly, noting that all Texas classrooms have desk phones for making 911 calls.
