As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 164,500 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 19,234 employees including 10,500 teachers in 218 schools.
10 Dec 2001
DISD Launches TV Flight On Cable
DALLAS-The Dallas Independent School District Teacher of the Year says it's her students that give her good reason to wake up and go to work every day, while the Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year and a DISD teacher says she teaches with dedicated professionals, while one student dreams of building a rocket that takes him to another planet where he lands and opens his own ice cream store.
Each of these scenarios came to life on Dallas AT&T Broadband cable on Monday as the DISD premiered five 30-second TV spots produced to promote its year-long Better Schools, Better Dallas! program that focuses on academic achievement, student safety and good stewardship of the tax dollar.
The spots, which are expected to reach an estimated 170,000 homes in the district, began airing on Monday morning and will run until Sunday, December 16. The spots will run in rotation times on CNN, The Weather Channel, BET, Nick, Galavision, E!, The Animal Channel, Court TV, The History Channel, MSMBC, CMT, Hallmark, TNN , ESPN and FX. The district premiered five spots and additional spots will be produced and aired in late January. The first spot, titled, "When I Grow Up," features students from Sidney Lanier Elementary School. The first student in the spot says she wants to find a cure for cancer. A second students says he wants to "build a rocket, fly it to another planet and open an ice cream store." A third student puts it all in perspective, however, when she says, "But first, we want to graduate."
The second spot features Barbara Dorff, the Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year and a DISD teacher at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Dorff says she has taught in other good districts in North Texas, but says she is honored to teach in DISD with other professionals who are focused on ensuring DISD students get the best education possible.
The third spot begins with Roseanne Burzynski, the DISD teacher of the year, who says it is her students that "make me wake up every morning and I love teaching, I wouldn't do anything else but teach." Moses finishes the spot with the message: "Our priorities in DISD are to keep our students safe, make sure they're learning, and to make sure we are wisely spending your tax dollars. We understand what an impact we can have on this city. When we do well, Dallas does even better. And that's why we say: 'Better Schools, Better Dallas!'"
The fourth and fifth spots are identical, except one is in English and the other in Spanish. The upbeat, high tempo spots highlight the fact that there are 16 exemplary schools, 32 recognized schools and 163,763 students who will inherit the future of Dallas. The spot concludes by reminding the public of the district's message: "Better Schools, Better Dallas!" and in Spanish"Con mejores escuelas, un mejor Dallas!"
"There are thousands of stories to tell about the good things happening in DISD, and we will use this time to begin telling them," Donald Claxton, DISD Executive Manager–Communication Services. "For too long, urban education has not gotten the recognition of its many achievements."