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.
24 Jan 2001
On the average, teachers usually spend $500 of their own money to outfit their classrooms. However, this year Dallas teachers will have almost all the supplies they need to finish out the school year for free thanks to donations from the Dallas business community. All DISD teachers and teacher aides have been invited to go "shopping" Saturday, January 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fair Park Coliseum, courtesy of Donations for Education.
The Donations for Education program is sponsored by the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce. The three organizations teamed up to request donations from businesses in the area with great results. Truckloads of office supplies and furniture began arriving at Fair Park this week to be sorted.
Office supplies most sought after by teachers include note pads, copy machines, calculators, unused letterhead paper, folders, display cases, staplers, paper clips, rubber bands and even furniture. Other items which usually are depleted by the second semester of classes are tissue paper, notebook paper, pencils, erasers, glue sticks, art supplies, scissors and crayons.