Lew Blackburn

Will the Real Jesus Please Rise Up and Kick John Wiley Price in the Junk?

They say the devil can quote scripture as well as the righteous, which helps explain the confusion sown by Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who whipped out his New Testament this week and rained thunder down on Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles. Price is burni ... More >>

Bernadette Nutall Raises the Stakes in the War Over Protecting Favored DISD Principals

On March 22, I penned a story for this page in which I portrayed school district trustee Bernadette Nutall as appearing to be "neutral" on school reform. Her apparent neutrality made her a very singular exception to the rule at a heated community meeting the night before at Madison High School, wh ... More >>

Carolyn Davis Comes Out Swinging Against School Reform, in Defense of Principals' Jobs

Everybody in school politics always says it's all about the children. That's almost never true. If you don't believe me, you should have been there last night. At a spirited, sometimes cantankerous meeting in the auditorium of James Madison High School in South Dallas, prominent black elected offic ... More >>

Mayor Mike Rawlings Wants 10,000 Men to Rally Against Domestic Abuse, Isn't Entirely Sure What Will Happen After That

This morning at the Dallas Museum of Art, Mayor Mike Rawlings, along with about 1,000 other men in suits sharing the stage, announced a new campaign dubbed "Men Against Abuse." The next stop on this tour of well-meaning gestures will be a celebrity-packed rally on March 23, which the mayor wants 10, ... More >>

If Mike Miles Stays Five Years He'll Make $350K a Year, and Other Details of His Deal with DISD

Mike Miles named Dallas ISD Superintendent from Dallas Independent School Dist on Vimeo. Yesterday we raised some questions about how the Dallas Independent School District might handle the employment contract of Mike Miles, the district's new superintendent. Those details emerged last night -- you ... More >>

Here's What We Want to Know About New DISD Superintendent Mike Miles' Contract

The Dallas Independent School District is expected to officially hire Mike Miles, a former Army Ranger and U.S. Senate candidate and the superintendent of a small school district in Colorado, as its top official later today. Although Miles was named a "lone finalist" a few weeks back, his hiring was ... More >>

DISD's Next Superintendent Needs "Cultural Competency in LGBT Issues"

Back in January, Robert watched as the DISD board, which has the amazing skill of stretching out any conversation to 10 times its natural length, debated the qualities they'd like to see in a new superintendent. Last night, Resource Center Dallas CEO Cece Cox sent the board an open letter, reminding ... More >>

As Shamrock Protests Near An End, Local NAACP President May Be On Her Way Out

Anthony Bond, founder of the Irving chapter of the NAACP, looked at what was happening in South Dallas, at the Diamond Shamrock Kwik Stop on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and decided: Enough's enough. Those protests at the Korean-owned convenience store had to stop, as did calls for its owner Th ... More >>

DISD Has Plans For Two Schools Left Behind. But What About the 29,349 Kids Also In Need?

​The Texas Education Agency released its federally mandated, No Child Left Behind-backed Adequate Yearly Progress report back in August, at which point it was revealed that the Dallas Independent School District missed the mark for the third consecutive year -- which interim superintendent Alan Ki ... More >>

What Makes a Super Superintendent, Far as the DISD Trustees Are Concerned? Here You Go.

​At the beginning of the Dallas ISD trustees' long day's journey into night, I dialed up the back-and-forth over the superintendent search, as the board at long last debated what makes a super super. That video's archived here. And it was intriguing too, a peek into the thought processes of the bo ... More >>

Dallas ISD Trustees, Principals Express Their Deep and Profound Love for Teach for America

​Three hours after their start time, the Dallas ISD board finally got around to discussing whether or not to extend the district's contract with Teach for America -- which would seem like a no-brainer after you read this 2010 Atlantic piece about TFA or this January 2011 study by the University of ... More >>

"Commit!" to This Sneak Preview of Dallas Regional Chamber's Plan to Rescue DISD

Commit!'s no Dallas Achieves, swear​At its August 11 board briefing, Michael Casserly, executive director of the D.C.-based Council of the Great City Schools, told the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees: It could be a good, long while till you find a suitable replacement for Mi ... More >>

At Back to School Fair, Mayor Rawlings, Fresh on the Job, Is Amazed by "The Scale of It"

Photos by Alex Scott, slide show here​With a bright blue Frisbee on his head and a blow-up ball hanging from his lips by its mouthpiece, 9-year-old Emanuel spins around in circles so fast, his new camouflage backpack lifts from his body like a parachute at the moment of landing. Today is his b ... More >>

Michael Hinojosa's Gone, But As He Begins New Job, His Time in Dallas Is Not Forgotten

Photo by Patrick MichelsMiss him yet?​Former Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa officially begins his new gig in Cobb County, Georgia, today. Hence, this morning's piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "New Cobb superintendent's job 1: Close students' achieveme ... More >>

Coalition Pushes For Nolan Estes's (Temporary) Return as Dallas ISD Superintendent

Nolan Estes​As Patrick noted Tuesday, the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees has narrowed down its short list of interim superintendents and hopes to name Michael Hinojosa's temporary replacement by no later than Monday. And while newly installed board president Lew Blackburn w ... More >>

Nolan Estes, a Finalist for Interim Dallas ISD Superintendent, Would Be "Honored" to Return

Photo by Joan Burnard/Dallas Independent School DistrictNolan Estes, at right, presenting a scholarship to School of Science and Engineering student Juliana M. Hossu back in April​At this very moment, Nolan Estes is at his home in Austin filling out a questionnaire sent to the handful of finalists ... More >>

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 >>

Weeks After West Dallas School Reform Announcement, DISD Board's Ready for Details

DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa​Superintendent Michael Hinojosa drew a roomful of huzzahs two weeks ago when he announced that DISD was getting involved in a new effort for school reform in West Dallas. A handful of DISD trustees were among the cheering crowd, including Lew Blackburn and boar ... More >>

Civility is the Last Thing the DISD Board Needs

How Can DISD's Michael Hinojosa Still Love His Job—and Keep It?

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 In the Hole

Teachers get axed and parents fret as Dallas' school leaders scramble to cover a budget hole

Tongue Twisted

A Spanish-language requirement reopens old wounds at DISD

Old School

DISD trustee Ron Price does everything you expect from a politician. These days that's a problem.

Cops on Campus

Forget detention. DISD means business with its new beefed-up police force—bad business, say some employees.