Courtesy Todd Overman/Dallas Independent School DistrictJade Esquivel, a North Dallas High School teacher and 7-year DISD vet, with Laura Bush following her announcement this morningBy now, perhaps, you’ve heard: Laura Bush was at North Dallas High School this morning to debut the George W. Bush Institute’s first significant initiative, aimed…
A good Friend of Unfair Park (OK, my next-door-neighbor and fellow DISD parent) directs our attention to yesterday’s announcement heralding the launch of this website, which allows you to see how the Dallas Independent School District’s doling out the $1.35 billion approved for the 2008 bond program. Says the man…
The great Chris Howell promises to share with us later in the day a photo from Marc Ribot’s breathtaking Saturday-night show-and-tell at the Kessler — truly a once-in-a-lifetime event, since the guitarist has played Texas but once (last night) in his storied career. In the meantime: A good Friend of…
[Update at 9:40 a.m.: Hinojosa is being interviewed at this very moment. You can watch here, if you have RealPlayer.]This morning, as you’re no doubt well aware, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa will be interviewed by the Clark County School District board of trustees — because, as of…
Tomorrow marks the first annual Michael Hinojosa Day: At 9:30 a.m. CST, or thereabouts, the Dallas Independent School District Superintendent will be interviewed by the Clark County School District’s board of trustees, after which he and Colorado’s Commission of Education Dwight Jones will meet their would-be constituents at two public…
The ACLU of Texas just released its annual banned-books report, Free People Read Freely — compiled with the assistance of former Washington Post reporter Myra MacPherson, mother of the late, great Leah Siegel. As in previous years, the report documents the books banned, restricted or given the okee-doke in school…
Reggie Bush gave back his Heisman Trophy. To which I respond: Big friggin’ deal. I know the Heisman is one of the most hyped awards, but – let’s be honest – it’s also the most meaningless sports trophy this side of the Governor’s Cup, Golden Boot and the Iron Skillet…
Patrick MichelsWhere to begin — Vegas, maybe? Perhaps you’ve heard: Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa’s now just one of two finalists for the Clark County School District’s top job, since the Floridian in the mix dropped out. Meanwhile, this Thursday, the DISD’s board of trustees will meet to…
If you fell prey to the siren call of the Discovery Institute’s 2007 Darwin vs. Design conference at Southern Methodist University, well, dust off your fossil records and get your ape suit to the dry cleaners, because next Thursday night we’re gonna do it all again.Next week’s panel discussion, “Four…
Shortly after the Clark County School District’s board of trustees announced that Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is a finalist for the top job there, the super released a statement in which he said, among other things:Tomorrow, we will announce our final budget numbers from the 2009-10 school…
Patrick MichelsPatrick took this photo this morning at the Jubilee Park event. I knew it would come in handy.A few minutes ago, the Clark County School District announced: Sure enough, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa’s a finalist for the superintendent’s job there — no surprise. Joining him on…
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…
Donna MicheauxI’m here at the Dallas Independent School District board of trustees briefing, awaiting a presentation by Chief Administrative Officer Donna Micheaux on those proposed new admissions policies for the district’s magnet schools. But according to the public speakers who have already appeared, Micheaux called them all this morning before…
Yesterday, I mentioned that some Dallas Independent School District parents are concerned about a proposed change to magnet admissions that would allow room for “students of promise”; today it’s in the paper, where trustee Edwin Flores “acknowledged that a proposed change would reserve 10 percent of magnet admission slots for…
I’ve been getting all kinds of e-mails in recent days concerning tomorrow’s meeting of the Dallas Independent School District’s board of trustees, which will discuss changing the way students are admitted into vanguards, academies and magnets. Last week word was there’d be a lottery system of some kind included in…
Way back in June we mentioned that a federal judge told the Royal Lane-based Institute for Creation Research that its lawsuit against the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board didn’t stand a holy ghost of a chance — mostly because, well, it didn’t make a lick of sense. Which is to…
Reggie Bush is a liar. Should Vince Young be a Heisman winner? That’s the contention of Texas coach Mack Brown, who says – if – the Heisman Trophy Trust yanks back its 2005 award from the Southern Cal running back it should be handed over to former Longhorns’ quarterback Vince…
About two months back, Dallas Independent School District trustee Carla Ranger blasted the district’s no-grade-lower-than-a-50 policy (again), this time by insisting it violated state law. Ranger’s comments followed a ruling by State District Judge Gisela Triana-Doyal, who slapped down 11 Houston-area districts’ similar min-grade requirements. Three years after the district…
We’ve all been hearing for months that upon Dallas Independent School District students’ return to school next week, they’d find among their lunchtime offerings considerably healthier dishes than the slim pickings of yore. But with first bell but days away, and not much time before that ol’ game of “Bring…
Countless times, Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander has said: The district has no plans to raze W.H. Adamson High School, due for an expansion sooner than later. But the district also doesn’t want the historic Oak Cliff school designated as a city landmark — which, after tonight’s meeting…
At this late date, there are enough caveats accompanying U.S. News and World Report’s annual college rankings that no one would confuse this with science. Buried within the fine print, this is how the magazine answers the why-even-bother question: “You wouldn’t go out and buy a computer or a car…
Not sure I get all the hype over Texas this year. I know the Big 12 media picked Oklahoma to win the South, but Texas is ranked No. 4 by Sports Illustrated and – uh-oh – on the cover this week. Last time I checked UT lost a quarterback named…
