9 Aug 2006
Back-to-School Kickoff, Presented by Ford Held at American Airlines Center
DALLAS—For the first time in 9 years, nearly 20,000 Dallas Independent School District employees came together under one roof.
The DISD Back to School Kickoff, Presented by Ford was held today at the American Airlines Center.
"It is important to get everyone together to get unified and focused on the academic goals for the upcoming school year," said Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. "We thank Ford Motor Company and the rest of our corporate sponsors for completely underwriting this significant event."
Hinojosa outlined his vision and five goals for the 2006-07 school year. The superintendent noted that each employee should internalize a single message: "We educate and graduate students ready for college." The district's five goals are: Student Achievement, Teacher Development, Financial Management, School Safety and Facility Improvement.
"The Dallas ISD board of trustees and I have set a goal of becoming the top urban school district in the country in 2010," said Hinojosa. "In order to accomplish that, it is imperative to make sure that everyone understands the direction of the district and how each person, no matter what job they do, contributes to making a difference in the lives of Dallas students."
While the beginning of each school year brings excitement, the 2006-07 school year in Dallas ISD will be one filled with significant changes. Dallas ISD will open 12 new schools this year as part of the 2002 bond program. Dallas Achieves, a comprehensive strategy that will align the district's curriculum, direct more resources to the classroom and benchmark Dallas' success with that of other large Texas school districts, will also be implemented. In addition, most district sixth graders will now attend middle schools and the Dallas Education Foundation, a separate 501(c)3 organization, will begin raising funds to support efforts in Dallas ISD classrooms.
"This is a watershed year for Dallas ISD," said Jack Lowe Jr., president of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees. "With so many changes comes a tremendously exciting opportunity to improve student academic achievement."
Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency announced that 80, more than one-third, of
Dallas ISD's 220 schools are rated either exemplary or recognized, up significantly from only 49 last year. The success was tempered by the figures that 23 district schools are considered low-performing.
"The staff has worked enormously hard to achieve the success that has been seen throughout the district," said Hinojosa. "Still, the lower ratings at some schools show that there is still significant room for improvement."
In addition to Ford, the event was sponsored by Bank of America and JCPenney/IzodED with another significant donation from Wells Fargo Bank.
"Ford has contributed to education in Texas for nearly 20 years," said Andrew Frick, Southwest Marketing Manager for Ford and Lincoln Mercury Sales Operations. "It's a partnership between Ford Motor Company and its dealers and is just one of the ways that we fulfill our promise, as Bill Ford says, to make the world a better place."
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