As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 160,000 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 18,613 employees including 10,000 teachers in 220 schools.
17 Jan 2001
DISD's oldest student, George Dawson, turns 103 on Thursday, January 18. Dawson was 98 when he enrolled in GED classes in DISD to learn to read. A birthday celebration has been planned at 11:30 a.m. in the cafeteria at Lincoln Instructional Center, 5000 Malcolm X Blvd. (Mapsco Code 56D)
Guests include Carl Henry, the Adult Basic Education teacher who taught Dawson to read, and who is donating the cake; former employers at Oak Farms Dairy, family and friends from the community.
Dawson has been featured in many national publications including People Magazine, Jet Magazine and has been a guest on Oprah! In addition, he has co-authored Life Is So Good, which has sold more than 100,000 copies and made several recommended reading lists last year.