Edwin Flores

Dallas ISD is Firing More "Bad" Teachers Than It Has In Years, and the Axe is Still Swinging

With a lingering budget crisis and shrinking enrollment, the Dallas Independent School District has eliminated hundreds of teaching jobs in recent years, and this year will be no different. But in a sharp departure from years past, the district is preparing to part ways with hundreds more teachers f ... More >>

The Race For Dallas ISD's District 1 School Board Seat Is Going to Be Very Interesting

​Like I was saying, or writing, earlier this morning ...When Edwin Flores announced he wasn't going to seek re-election to the Dallas Independent School District board two weeks ago, the District 1 trustee said he'd hold off on making an endorsement. At the time, only one other candidate had annou ... More >>

Trustee Edwin Flores Has Decided Not to Run For the Dallas ISD School Board Again

​On the other side is a missive I just received from Dallas Independent School District board member Edwin Flores, in which the longtime District 1 trustee announces that he will not seek another term. I asked Flores why not -- if, maybe, this had something to do with the furor over Joseph Drake's ... More >>

After a Long Week, Dallas ISD Trustee Edwin Flores Sends an Open Letter of Apology

​Below is a missive just dispatched to Unfair Park: Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores's "Open Letter of Apology" -- to Central Elementary fourth-grade bilingual teacher Joseph Drake, who was put on leave after he sent Flores a fist-shaking letter concerning 45 minutes added t ... More >>

Step One Is Admitting You Have a Problem And Other Lessons Learned During Flores's Forum

​In the end, of course, the commenter was right: They took it easy on Edwin Flores last night at E.L. DeGolyer Elementary -- mighty easy. The audience was small, equal parts critics and cheerleaders; the faces, familiar -- Michael MacNaughton, Bill Betzen, one-time school board candidate Kyle Ren ... More >>

Ranger Says Dallas ISD Has Reinstated Teacher Put on Leave For Letter to Edwin Flores

​But a few hours ago, Rena Honea, president of AFT-Alliance, held a press conference and posted this petition demanding the Dallas Independent School District reinstate fourth-grade Central Elementary bilingual teacher Joseph Drake, who was put on leave late last week after he sent trustee Edwin F ... More >>

If Nothing Else, They Won't Run Out of Things to Ask DISD Trustee Edwin Flores Tonight

​Edwin Flores's appearance at E.L. DeGolyer Elementary has been on the schedule for quite a while; says the invite, the Dallas Independent School District trustee's scheduled to speak about "the state of the district and superintendent search." I expect that's not all he'll be asked to address.But ... More >>

The Educators Strike Back: Time for Teachers to Stop Being Punked By the Dallas ISD Board

​By now you're probably aware that an unnamed DISD teacher is trying to organize a "Leap Day" sick-out protest by Dallas public school teachers. I hope it's just the beginning. I want to suggest a bunch of other ways public school teachers can get around the state's stupid "right to work" laws ... More >>

PAC EducateDallas Endorses Incumbents For Dallas ISD School Board, Give Each 10 Grand

​Just got off the phone with tax attorney Mark Melton, who, as you'll recall, is co-chairing EducateDallas, that political action committee with ties to the Dallas Regional Chamber. I had questions following receipt of a release this afternoon that says the PAC is endorsing two candidates for the ... More >>

DISD Trustees Don't Want to Close Campuses. But They're Told: They Have No Other Choice.

​Late Thursday afternoon, and only because interim super Alan King had a flight to catch, the Dallas Independent School District trustees finally got around to discussing the 2012-13 budget and consolidating -- which is to say, closing -- those 11 campuses in order to save a guesstimated $11.5 mil ... More >>

DISD Is Pulling Its Zoning Request For Joe May, But Flores Still Hopes School Opens In 2013

​3700 Ross remains closed for another week, but I did just talk to Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores about something I mentioned last week: DISD's decision to yank from the City Plan Commission's docket a zoning request for the proposed Jose "Joe" May Elementary School on Web ... More >>

Well, Here's One School the Dallas ISD Won't Be Building After All: Joe May Elementary

What would have been Joe May Elementary ...​I got the word late Friday: the long-disputed Jose "Joe" May Elementary School, which the Dallas Independent School District had planned to build on Webb Chapel between Royal and Walnut Hill as part of its 2008 bond program, is dead. Far as the neighbors ... More >>

From the Comments: DISD Trustee Flores Chimes in on Teach for America's Success

​Below, Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores hopped in the comments to underscore something he said during yesterday's discussion concerning Teach for America. Said the trustee yesterday, TFA corps members in the district "outperform two-thirds of all our teachers in math and sc ... More >>

Read Dallas ISD Trustees' "Goals for the Future"

​I didn't have time to tune in yesterday for the entirety of the ad hoc committee meeting of some Dallas Independent School District trustees tasked with rewriting the district's "educational philosophy." At close to two hours, it wasn't a short discussion either -- it never is when trustees gathe ... More >>

At Last Night's Superintendent Search Town Hall, Way More Questions Than Answers

Photo by Anna MerlanQuite the crowd at last night's superintendent search town hall​Here's what we know about the Dallas Independent School District's search for a new superintendent to replace Michael Hinojosa: nothing. Here are the criteria the trustees have agreed on for what they'd like to see ... More >>

Group Therapy: Listen In As Dallas ISD Trustees Discuss How to Be Less Dysfunctional

​Anna's going to swing by Midway Hills Christian Church tonight at 7, where Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores will host a town hall. The point of this meeting, per a DISD heads-up: "Dr. Flores requests input from the public on selecting a new Superintendent of Schools." Oh, I ... More >>

Dallas Regional Chamber Wants DISD Board to Commit to Commit! Like, Right Now.

​Still waiting on a response from Mayor Mike concerning the Dallas Regional Chamber's so-called Commit! initiative, which we took at long look at Sunday. Turns out, Rawlings, Dwaine Caraway, Uplift Education board member Todd Williams and Dallas ISD board president Lew Blackburn paid The Dallas Mo ... More >>

DISD's Teach Around: District Has a Lot of Vacancies and Not a Lot of Time to Fill Them

Via.​Last we checked there were around 800 teachers vying for 700 vacancies scattered throughout the Dallas Independent School District. Which, sure, sounds a little odd, given that only a few months ago the district was considering thousands of layoffs due to the state's decision to gut public ed ... More >>

Dallas ISD Expects It to Take Till 2014 to Come Up With a Solid Way to Evaluate Teachers

Click to embiggen the teacher evaluation time line.​Back in March we took a look at Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores's proposal for evaluating the district's best teachers -- an imperative, he said at the time, given the layoffs and buyouts taking place due to the state's bu ... More >>

As DISD Struggles to Make Budget Cuts This Year, Board Warned It's Only Gonna Get Worse

​The Dallas Independent School District board was just told it's "still in limbo" when it comes to the exact dollar figure it can expect in cuts from the state Legislature, though something could land on Gov. Rick Perry's desk as early as late next week. Right now, Senate Bill 1 would take $63 mil ... More >>

Hinojosa Looks On As DISD Trustees Discuss What to Do About Interim Superintendent

Photos by Patrick MichelsOutgoing Superintendent Michael Hinojosa tries to pretend he doesn't know who Carla Ranger is talking about.Whoever set the table before last night's DISD board meeting had to be kicking themselves once the trustees got started, with dead-serious Carla Ranger yet again calli ... More >>

DISD Trustee Flores Says If Hinojosa's Out the Door, Then "We Need to Move Forward" Now

Former Mayor Tom Leppert, Edwin Flores and, it would appear, soon-to-be-former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa​It would now appear all but certain Dallas Independent School District Michael Hinojosa is out the door, joining his Fort Worth counterpart Melody Johnson, who surprised her bo ... More >>

New Version of Dallas ISD's Teacher RIF Proposal Eliminates CEI, Adds Back Seniority

​One week ago today we took a look at Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores's proposal to rework how the district determines who its "best teachers" are before mass layoffs begin courtesy the state's budget shortfall. After which it went before the board at Thursday's briefing. A ... More >>

Dallas ISD Trustee Flores's "Methodical" Proposal to Keep Best Teachers in District

​Twice in recent weeks I've heard Dallas ISD trustee Edwin Flores discuss his proposal to rework how the district determines who its "best teachers" are -- the first time, when we spoke two weeks ago about the district's offer to buy out full-timers, then again at his budget town hall last week at ... More >>

The City and Dallas Independent School District Are At Odds Over Planned Joe May Elementary

A rendering of Jose "Joe" May Elementary School, which is supposed to be built on Webb Chapel Road between Royal and Walnut Hill Lanes​Last night, Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores held court in the E.D. Walker Middle School auditorium, where some 100 district parents bundled ... More >>

DISD Trustee Flores On Why Paying Teachers $10,000 to Leave Is Ultimately a Real Bargain

Edwin Flores​Had a long talk with Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores today about a lot of things, some of which I'll get to tomorrow. But before tonight's board meeting, I figured it was worth sharing at least this one thing -- our chat about the proposal to pay the first 1,00 ... More >>

The "Imbalance of Power": Dallas ISD Trustees Will Finally Vote Tonight on New Bullying Policy

​When we first looked at the Dallas Independent School District's proposed anti-bullying policy one month ago, it was a brief two-page document intended, as trustee Edwin Flores said at the time, to be more "comprehensive" than the existing student code of conduct. But for some, the so-called "Fre ... More >>

Dallas ISD Trustees Take A Look At Ways to Bring More Charter Schools Into the District

​A handful of Dallas Independent School District gatheredn the old board room at 3700 Ross this morning to poke at a question with big implications: How can the district get the most of its new partnerships charter schools, possibly even next school year? Born out of April's West Dallas "School Zo ... More >>

Resource Center Dallas Wants Dallas ISD to Define Students Protected by Bullying Policy

​Yesterday we spoke with Dallas Independent School District trustee Edwin Flores about a proposed policy before the board tomorrow: "Freedom from Bullying." Which is great news, says the Resource Center Dallas. But the center's higher-ups believe the bullying policy doesn't go far enough, especial ... More >>

Dallas ISD Trustee Flores on Why District Needs a New "Comprehensive" Policy on Bullying

While we're on the subject, perhaps some required reading?​On Thursday, the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees will take a closer look at a proposed policy: "Freedom from Bullying." District officials say this morning it was an idea proposed, separately, by trustees Edwin Flore ... More >>

Old Guard Board Members Are At It Again, Trying To Destroy the Magnets. But A New Coalition Of Trustees Seems Determined To Stop Them.

DISD Superintendent Hinojosa Comments -- Kinda -- on Reports That He's Moving to Vegas

​I was on the phone with a Dallas Independent School Board trustee just seconds ago -- a trustee, mind you, who had not heard there were reports and a yeah-sure-maybe? that DISD Superintendent Michael Hinjosa's outta here, possibly as early as tomorrow, to take the Las Vegas gig -- when the follow ... More >>

DISD CFO Says Budget's Balanced, District's Better Off Than City of Dallas, But, Still ...

​Speaking of the city's $131.1-million shortfall ...That very subject came up last night at the first DISD Budget Town Hall Meeting held at Walnut Hill Elementary, where school district staffers, principals and board members far outnumbered parents. (There were, maybe, 10 people in the audience no ... More >>

So This is What the County Elections Man Meant By a "Dismal" Election Day Turnout

Edwin Flores​This'll most likely be our one and only item about the race for the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees -- because, judging by the early-voting numbers, well, not too many folks seem to be all that interested. Take the hotly contested District 1 race, for instance: In ... More >>

So You're Saying the Only Person The Dallas News Could Find to Support the DISD Board's Incumbents Was an Incumbent? Yeesh.

DISD trustee Edwin Flores​The Dallas Morning News op-ed page always bends over backward to give both sides their say. If somebody turns in an opinion piece saying babies should not be cut into chunks and eaten, they'll hunt around all week until they find someone else to write the opposing view. ... More >>

Reasons No. 487 and 826 Why Parents Don't Send Their Children to Dallas Public Schools

Kyle Renard​On Monday I moderated a District 1 school board candidates debate, and long story short, all four contenders were thoughtful, well-reasoned and dead-level; even 79-year-old long-shot Melvin Cannon's call for more vocational education was greeted with a few nods of approval. Most of the ... More >>

On the SMU Campus, Hispanic High School Students are Getting a Taste of College

Megan FeldmanDallas Mayor Tom Leppert, DISD trustee Edwin Flores and superintendent Michael Hinojosa at SMU's Hispanic Youth Symposium kick-off yesterdayA cluster of local educators and politicos -- among them Mayor Tom Leppert, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, SM ... More >>

What Summer Vacation?

School's out for summer, but the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees has one hellacious evening ahead of it, beginning with a 5 p.m. public hearing at 3700 Ross Avenue concerning the proposed 2009-'10 school year budget. After that's done, it's down to big business, some of which ... More >>

In Gutting Learning Centers, the Dallas ISD Clearly Has Learned Nothing in 39 Years

Sam Tasby, who sued the DISD in 1970, when his son Phillip was denied admission to two all-white schools near the Tasby residenceWell, we have now officially turned our back on school desegregation. I'm sure some of you will be thrilled. Personally, I'm sitting here at my computer in the back corne ... More >>

DISD Trustee Carla Ranger Writes of Texas AG's Opinion: "Voting Rights Have Been Sacrificed on the Alter of Political Power."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott"Bummer." That's how Dallas Independent School District board trustee Edwin Flores initially responded yesterday when Unfair Park asked for comment concerning the Texas Attorney General's opinion yesterday that the board "was not authorized to change the length of i ... More >>

Hinojosa's Still Out and About, Trying to Prove to Parents That He Really, Really Cares

Last night at Thomas C. Marsh Middle School, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and school board trustee Edwin Flores took their show back on the road and hosted yet another town hall meeting, following last month's what-up-y'all at W.T. White High School. And, yet ag ... More >>

Last Night at W.T. White, Michael Hinojosa Reminded Everyone Who's in Charge of DISD

Mark GrahamMichael HinojosaIt was the last question of the night: "What do you think of the mayor's concept for taking over the Dallas Independent School District?" The audience, consisting of only a few folks scattered throughout the W.T. White High School auditorium last night, let out a collectiv ... More >>

Far As DISD Trustee Flores Is Concerned, Hinojosa's the Right Man

OK, you know the drill by now: Collect 'em all! Today, it's Edwin Flores's turn.First, a disclaimer: I've always liked Flores, who's pictured at right; he's affable and accessible. And you get the sense that he loves being a trustee and is able to shrug off the criticism that comes with the job. Th ... More >>

Meet a Real Live DISD Trustee!

Edwin Flores Northwest Dallas residents with kids in the Dallas Independent School District and some spare time Saturday might want to duck into Thomas C. Marsh Middle School, where, as you will see, board trustee Edwin Flores will be hosting a District 1 Summit. The full flier that came home wit ... More >>

DISD Trustees May Make Cutbacks in Democratic Process

DISD trustees may try to cancel next year's school board election to preserve the status quo and the superintendent

DISD Trustee Edwin Flores on Budget Shortfall: "We Need a Revolution."

DISD Board of Trustees No Doubt Thrilled About Tomorrow's Meeting

An Arts Magnet By Any Other Name

Tongue Twisted

A Spanish-language requirement reopens old wounds at DISD

School Board, Never Boring