23 Aug 2002
Goal Is To Better Prepare Students, Better Serve the Community
DALLAS—Among the changes students in the Dallas Independent School District will find this school year is a new test, new physical education class guidelines and a series of services designed to better serve the community.
• TAKS To Replace TAAS<./p>
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills will replace the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills this year. In general, TAKS is designed to test higher-order thinking skills. Students will have to analyze texts more deeply, solve multiple-step problems and become familiar with probability and statistics, algebra and geometry. TAKS also will have more essay questions and cover a broader spectrum of knowledge. Tutoring and accelerated learning instruction will be available to students who need help mastering the test.
• Construction of New Schools Planned
Twenty new schools are expected to be built in the DISD. This is thanks to the support received from the community for a $1.37 billion bond program approved in the spring. This show of support will allow the district to build 20 new schools, make additions to 37, and renovations to all of the district facilities over the next five years. The first two new schools are an elementary in the Reilly Annex area and a replacement school for Arcadia Park Elementary in Oak Cliff. Both schools are slated to open in the 2004-2005 school year.
Overall construction plans call for three elementaries in the southeast area; six elementaries and one middle school in southwest Dallas; two elementaries and one middle school in the northwest part of the city; two elementaries and one middle school in the northeast area. Two elementaries and one middle school will be built in the Vickery Meadows area and construction of an elementary school is planned in the north part of town.
• Classes Start With Lowest Number of Teacher Vacancies Ever
This year, thanks to an aggressive recruitment campaign, the district hired more new teachers than ever before and will have fewer than 50 teacher vacancies by the start of classes.
-District teachers also will receive one of the largest salary increases the DISD has ever been able to offer.
-New teachers will participate in a mentoring program to provide them additional support and ensure their retention. In addition, all teachers will receive a $250 supply stipend and a laptop computer.
• Writing and Reading Key To Success in School
Write Direction, a program that focuses on ways to teach children writing skills, will premiere this fall in the DISD. Emphasis on writing will begin as early as kindergarten so that children will have a solid foundation as they advance through school. The "building-block' approach used by the program enables students to build on skills they acquired in earlier grades and eventually apply these new skills in all classes.
• P. E. Classes Are Now Required for Elementary School Students
Elementary school students must take physical education classes for 30-minutes a day, starting this semester. Although most district schools already have some type of physical education program, a new state law requires that all students in kindergarten through sixth grade exercise either 30-minutes a day or a total of 135-minutes a week. Students in middle and high school already are required to take P.E. The daily exercise program is designed to get them in good physical shape. According to some experts, students who are physically fit tend to score higher on tests than students who do not exercise.
• Student Code of Conduct Continues To Be Enforced
The Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees recently approved revisions to the Student Code of Conduct for the 2002-2003 school year. These changes reflect the district's emphasis on working more closely with disruptive or misbehaving students at their home schools, and tracking them more carefully when they've been assigned to an alternative program.
The code groups various kinds of student misconduct requiring some kind of disciplinary action into four student categories:
-Major: cheating, misbehaving on the school bus, and violating the dress and grooming code, for example, are considered major offenses.
-Discretionary: some examples are fighting, persistent and disruptive behavior, taking a knife not classified as an illegal weapon or toy gun to school.
-Mandatory: some examples of offenses include using, possessing or delivering drugs and alcohol (not considered a felony), kidnapping, and public lewdness.
-Expellable: some examples of infractions are murder, taking a firearm to school, and arson.
• Dress Code Aims to Provide a Better School Environment
The dress code is fashioned to teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline and minimize distractions.Key points of the dress code:
- Shirts must be worn inside slacks with belts at all times by all students unless the shirts are designed to be worn outside of the slacks or the pants are designed to be worn without a belt.
- Sweat bands and skulls caps and other similar grooming items shall not be worn at school.
- Visible body piercing is not allowed, including piercing of the tongue, while on school campus or at school-sponsored activities.
- Footwear that constitutes a safety hazard, including steel-toed boots or shoes cannot be worn.
- Leggings, biker pants, or pants allowed to sag below the waistline are not acceptable.
Each district school with the support of the Site Based Decision Making committee may establish its own dress code, which must incorporate and not be in conflict with the district's dress and grooming standards. As a part of these codes, individual schools may designate a uniform for students to wear on a voluntary basis.
• Customer Call Center Open for Customers
A customer service center has opened to respond to concerns and complaints from employees and the public. To reach the center, please call 972-925-5555.