It Took a While, But Dallas ISD Will Introduce Its Over-Age High School Come Fall

Five weeks ago the fate of Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's proposed over-age high school was in question, as trustee Bernadette Nutall took the $2-mil proposal from the fast track to the benches for a little look-see. But trustees finally gave it the okee-doke, and this morning the district sends more details concerning the John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center, so named for the late Dallas-born educator and located at Nolan Estes Plaza on South R.L. Thornton Freeway.

As expected the district expects to enroll this fall some 500 students who might otherwise have left DISD sans diploma. To qualify, the district has set up the following criteria: Students must be age 17 or older and have fewer than three credits; 18 or older and have fewer than nine credits; 19 or older and have fewer than 15 credits; or 20 and older period. Says the release, "The school will offer flexible student schedules, small class sizes, assisted self-paced instruction, individualized tutoring, internships, and dual-credit courses."

Its principal will be Wiley Brazier, who, from the looks of it, was till now the assistant principal at Lewisville ISD's night school. Says Brazier in the district's announcement this morning, "Students who are older than most of the students in their grade are at higher risk of dropping out of school. This program will allow us to address older students' academic and career needs to help them be successful in school and after graduation."