Jon Dahlander

Alan King, Dallas ISD Chief of Staff and Former Interim Superintendant, Resigns

We touched yesterday on what has been a bit of a rough start to the school year for Dallas ISD, and today's news won't help: Alan King, who led the district in the aftermath of former Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's departure last year, has resigned from the district. King served as CFO from Janu ... More >>

Performance Pay Without the Performance: DISD Could Give Employees Extra Cash For Showing Up

Performance pay in public education is a touchy subject. It seems like a good enough idea in theory, but once you get into the details of how exactly performance will be defined and measured in practice, things start to get thorny. One option for avoiding controversy: Define performance as attendanc ... More >>

Don't Worry. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at DISD Hasn't Actually Quadrupled

Update at 5:19 p.m.: Dahlander provides some additional context for the numbers: Apparently OPR had not received the campus incident reports previously, which can be as minor as an injury on the playground to an upset parent in the office. Now that they receive them and review each one to determin ... More >>

DISD (And A Whole Lot of Other School Districts) Not Buying Cheating Allegations From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On Monday, we told you the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had published a broad investigation concluding that hundreds of school districts, including Dallas Independent School District, displayed "troubling test patterns" that could indicate widespread cheating. That day, DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander ... More >>

Investigation of Standardized-Test Cheating Finds "Troubling Patterns" in Dallas ISD Scores

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a sweeping investigation over the weekend of possible cheating on standardized tests in dozens of school districts across the country, and Dallas Independent School District made an appearance. The AJC examined test results for 69,000 schools in 49 states ... More >>

What Sickout? Dallas ISD Says More Teachers Showed Up Today Than Usual.

​I called Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander early this morning to see if that lone, anonymous teacher's call for a leap day of protest went answered by his peers. No, says Dahlander in a statement just dispatched from 3700 Ross. Not at all:The percentage of Dallas ISD teac ... More >>

Per State's Latest List, Students at 43 Dallas ISD Campuses Can Transfer Elsewhere

​I see here that on Thursday the Texas Education Agency quietly sent to superintendents its list of Public Education Grant-designated schools -- otherwise known as the lowest of the low-performing campuses in the state. Forty-three Dallas ISD campuses make the list, from A. Maceo Smith to Woodrow ... More >>

Dallas ISD Board to Begin Discussing "Potential School Consolidations" Thursday Afternoon

​This story in last week's paper served to remind us of what we've known for months: Sooner than later, the Dallas Independent School District's trustees would begin discussing closing campuses to make up for the second round of budget cuts, a guesstimated $30 million worth, due to hit in the 2012 ... More >>

Reading is Fundamental, Which Is Why DISD's Trying to Round Up 1,111 Readers For Friday

Genius.​Speaking of learnin' stuff ...At last week's Dallas ISD board meeting, district spokesman Jon Dahlander told the trustees that so far, a few hundred folks had signed up to read to kiddos on Friday, when the district's hoping to round up 1,111 volunteers for its so-called "community-wide ce ... More >>

Dallas ISD Trustees to Consider Paying $3 Million to "Excess" Employees Willing to Resign

​I see there's a special called meeting tonight of the Dallas Independent School District school board, where there's a single item on the agenda: "Discussion of Options to Deal with Excess Chapter 21 Employees." And what are Chapter 21 employees? They're the folks under contract with the district ... More >>

Two Years Ago She Was DISD's Top Principal. Now, Cynthia Goodsell's Job Is Gone.

Cynthia Goodsell​Yesterday, in the comments below, we discovered that the Dallas ISD had summoned some of its principals and executive directors to 3700 Ross for what was described as an "emergency meeting." Last night, I found out why from a Friend of Unfair Park doing some volunteer work for the ... More >>

"Intelligent Design" Materials Sneak Onto DISD Teachers' Curriculum Site. Maybe God Did It?

​Turns out, Rick Perry was right after all.What you see at right is a slide I received last night from a fellow Dallas Independent School District parent. It was, until this morning, available on the district's Curriculum Central website, accessible only to teachers and administration and a resour ... More >>

If Mayor Mike Comes Knockin' On Your Door Tomorrow, He Just Wants You Back in School

​Got a robocall from the Dallas Independent School District last night asking me to help round up any truants I might know of. Sorry, wish I could help. Turns out, it was just a precursor to tomorrow's kick-off of Operation Graduation, which is now in its fourth year and involves city and district ... More >>

As Seen on German TV, the Story of a Young Boy's Journey From Iraq to Syria to Dallas

ZDF/Tomas HaldaAhmed and his classmates at Sam Tasby as seen in the made-for-German-TV short Von Bagdad nach Dallas​Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander, back from summer break, shot me a note this morning about a short film called Von Bagdad nach Dallas. "At some point, you ... More >>

"Are We Going to Live in a Time Where Your Kid Goes to Red Bull High?" Yeah, Maybe.

Photo Courtesy StarterTony Romo and Candice Crawford at the snowbound unveiling of Starter Field at Pleasant Grove in February​In April director Morgan Spurlock came to the Dallas International Film Festival to show his sponsored-from-start-to-finish documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, after ... More >>

Dallas ISD Says As Many As 33 Schools May Be Rated Academically Unacceptable

​We went over this last year: Despite the fact the Dallas Independent School District board was just given a presentation on preliminary TAKS scores for the school year that just wrapped, the Texas Education Agency won't formally release its 2011 Accountability Ratings till July 29. That said, the ... More >>

Wanna Own Davy Crockett? The School, That Is.

Photo by Patrick Michels​On and off last year we took a look at the sad state of the 108-year-old Davy Crockett School on Carroll Avenue, a designated city historic landmark since 1993 and almost all but empty since the Dallas Independent School District moved its students to close-by Ignacio Zara ... More >>

Dallas ISD Hopes to "Earn Community's Trust" By Streamlining Its Alternative Schools

Otto M. Fridia Jr. Alternative High School, which would become the district's over-age middle school​We've had this discussion on and off in recent months: With all the schools coming online courtesy the 2008 bond election, when oh when will Dallas Independent School District begin shuttering some ... More >>

DISD Splits Townview Center Into "Two Schools" With Two Principals, Not Seven

​The Dallas Independent School District sent word earlier this afternoon: It is splitting the mammoth Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center on E. Eighth Street into two schools -- one devoted to humanities; the other, arts and science. The six magnets housed within Townview, among them the TAG Magnet, t ... More >>

And Now, the Dallas Independent School District's "Budget Reduction Plan Version 3.0"

​Almost one month ago to the day the Dallas Independent School Board received an updated version of the district's budget reduction plan made necessary, of course, in the wake of the state budget shortfall emptying classrooms of teachers and filling them with more and more students. Moments ago, t ... More >>

Will DISD Board Offer Buyouts to Central Administration Staffers? Tune In Tomorrow.

​From the looks of the bare-bones agenda, the Board of Trustees Budget Workshop doesn't appear to be all that exciting, especially when you consider that tangible answers about the budget-cutting to come are still a couple of months off. But this evening I called Dallas Independent School District ... More >>

TEA Looking at Letting School Districts Draw From Fund Balance During Budget Crisis

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott​About a month ago, Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander told Unfair Park that even during this current budget crisis, the district has no intention of touching its fund balance, which, he said, should sit at somewhere near the $100-milli ... More >>

DISD Board Will Consider Using $10 Mil From General Fund to Pay Teachers to Leave Early

​When last I looked at the Dallas Independent School District board's meeting agenda for Thursday, there was no item offering to pay some 1,000 teachers up to $10,000 to take early retirement under the so-called "new reality." But, sure enough, it's there now, as Tawnell Hobbs noted this morning: ... More >>

DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa Talks About The Very "Painful" Cuts to Come

​Last night, WFAA reported that some 300 Dallas Independent School District employees will not return next year -- not because of the state's $25-billion shortfall, but because the $104 million in federal stimulus money that funded their positions beginning in 2009 has gone away. As DISD spokesman ... More >>

Shorter School Year. Teacher Furloughs. That Won't Shrink DISD's Budget By $280 Million.

The DISD super is doing his best to prepare teachers, parents and students for the very worst-case scenario.​While the Plano Independent School District is already preparing for a worst-case scenario and eliminating top-tier administrative positions, the Dallas Independent School District's board ... More >>

More On the Rogers Situation: Because, Really, Is Anything More Important?

​Great. Tell me you're sick of journalists talking about journalists. I was too. I was perfectly ready to drop L'Affaire Tim Rogers -- whether or not he used his clout as the editor of D Magazine to get his kid bucked into a preschool program ahead of qualified poor kids. But Mr. Rogers feels ... More >>

D Magazine Editor Tim Rogers Should Have Taken The Schutze Short Course On How Not to Humiliate Yourself as a Journalist.

An Early Look at "Repurposing" Plans for A. Maceo and North Dallas High Schools

Via The Past Whispers​Back to the Dallas Independent School District trustees' to-do list for Thursday ...Like I said, lots of interesting stuff there, beginning at the top of the briefing agenda: "Discussion of 2010-2011 Repurposing Plans for Academically Unacceptable (AU4) Schools." That AU4 ref ... More >>

First, DISD Opened a High School for Over-Age Students. Now, Perhaps, Comes Middle School.

​Lots of interesting items to be found on the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees' briefing agenda for Thursday, and we'll get to 'em in short order -- which is to say, in the order the phone calls are returned on the myriad subjects of interest. But let's begin with this: At its ... More >>

Dallas ISD Board of Trustees to Consider Expanding Pre-K to All-Day Throughout District

​There are countless studies that show children who get a full day of pre-kindergarten fare better than kids who only get partial-day instruction. Take, for instance, this '06 National Institute for Early Education Research look-see, Is More Better? The Effects of Full-Day vs. Half-Day Preschool o ... More >>

Spokesperson Explains How DISD Found Itself In "Landlocked Situation" In Jubilee Park

Daniel RodrigueOne of several homes the DISD is hoping to seize with eminent domain to make room for the new O.M. Roberts Elementary School.​After reading yesterday's editorial in The Dallas Morning News about the Dallas Independent School District's use of eminent domain to shore up land for a ne ... More >>

A Sneak Peek at Dallas ISD's 2010-11 Budget. And, For the First Time, Budget Town Halls!

​I just went over to the Dallas Independent School District's Web site to look for something relating to tomorrow's school board briefing when I found this: the proposed 2010-2011 budget. I asked DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander if this is the first time the district has posted its would-be budget in ... More >>

DISD's Official Comment About Land Grab in Jubilee Park Isn't Much of One

Daniel RodriguePat Berry, whose commercial greenhouse is threatened by DISD's plans for a new elementary school in Jubilee Park​Well, we finally heard back from Dallas Independent School District on its plans to force Jubilee Park residents and Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse off their land to make w ... More >>

Already Worried About DISD's Intentions With Adamson High School, Preservationists Add Old Oak Cliff Christian Church to Worry List

The former Oak Cliff Christian Church as it appeared circa 1955​A few week back Schutze wrote about Adamson High School alums' efforts to spare their old school from the wrecking ball as the Dallas Independent School District makes way for a new campus. (In the words of DISD spokesman Jon Dahlande ... More >>

Before OK'ing New Report Card for Superintendent, Trustees Alter Criteria

Mark GrahamDISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa​A couple of weeks ago we noticed that the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees was considering a new "Superintendent Evaluation Instrument," which broke down the criteria into three separate categories: "student achievement," "sound ... More >>

Has Woodrow Wilson High School Aged Better Than Adamson, Or Does it Just Have a Heckuva Lot More White Kids?

Sara KerensAdamson High School in Oak Cliff, where less than 1 percent of the students are white.​Jon Dahlander, spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District, posted a comment on Unfair Park today that perfectly expressed the school system's official position on the preservation/demoli ... More >>

Yes, But Will DISD Kids Watch Obama?

​So, the Plano Independent School District has opted out of President Obama's speech to students on Tuesday, but what says the Dallas ISD? I asked Jon Dahlander, district spokesman, via e-mail this morning about the district's plans. While I was out of the office, he left the following message on ... More >>

If Nothing Else, You Can Always Go to Booker T. to Watch Obama's Speech With Ron Kirk

​A few minutes ago, I spoke to Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander concerning his voice-mail message this morning. I wondered if today's decision, to let teachers and principals decide whether their classes could watch President Obama's speech to students on Tuesday, was a c ... More >>

Dallas ISD Spokesman Says District's Been Working to Fix Adult Basic Ed Since March

​We end the day where we began the day, if only because we've finally spoken with Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander concerning the critical internal audit of the Adult Basic Education Program, funded last year with $3.7 million in grant money. We were expecting to post the ... More >>

And Now, For Some Good DISD News ...

Thomas Jefferson High School, which, ahem, some of us have always recognized as one of DISD's finest learning establishmentsBased on preliminary calculations and TAKS results, a record number of Dallas Independent School District campuses are poised to be classified as "recognized" or "exemplary" b ... More >>

Wherein the DO and the DISD Have a Math-Off Concerning Per-Pupil Expenditures

On Tuesday of this week Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander responded to questions I had asked him last week for my column this week about per-pupil expenditures at high school campuses. Unfortunately, his response by e-mail reached me several days after my deadline had passed ... More >>

Right Now, the DISD Board is Probably Yelling At Each Other Behind Closed Doors

DISD board trustee Ron PriceAs I noted, earlier Jim's at 3700 Ross Avenue, where, at this very moment, the board of trustees is behind closed doors, no doubt arguing over the ramifications of the Texas Attorney General's opinion that the trustees should not have extended their terms from three years ... More >>

Booker T. Washington Will Likely Lose 13 Positions For the 2009-'10 School Year

Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander just called Unfair Park back to explain the figure on Page 14 of the summary of staffing formulas at DISD campuses for the 2009-'10 school year being discussed by trustees today. And while it looks as though the Booker T. Washington High Sch ... More >>

As DISD Shuts Down its First Campus Due to Swine Flu, What Happens After That?

Just got off the phone with Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander, who, moments ago, announced that the district is closing Daniel Webster Elementary from tomorrow till May 11 due to one confirmed case of the swine flu at that campus. (It will remain open throughout today to acc ... More >>

DISD's Making One Dell of a Deal

Allen Gwinn's taken a sneak peek at the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees' briefing agenda for Thursday, and one item in particular struck him as ... well, interesting. Which is: Ratification of Authority to Execute Master Lease Agreement with Dell, Inc. for Sixty Months and Provi ... More >>

Kathlyn Gilliam, Rev. Zan Holmes Among Those Nominated for New Schools' Names

Kathyln Gilliam's already been the subject of this 2006 documentaryBack in June, the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees voted not to name the district's Ross Ave. HQ for former school board president Kathlyn Gilliam, despite the protesters at their front door. The polarizing Gillia ... More >>

DISD: Hitting Bottom, Then Reaching for a Shovel to Dig Deeper

Explanations be damned. There is only one justifiable response to the worst fiscal disaster in DISD history.

DISD's "State of Financial Exigency"

ESPN: Now Also Jess-Obsessed

Unfair Park Exclusive: TEA Appoints Monitor For DISD's "Academically Unacceptable" Schools