Trustee Lance Currie: Spring break 2025 is here in District 1

Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD

Spring break is here! I hope everyone enjoys the time off before returning to finish the year strong. Here is your update on Dallas ISD and District 1.

Dallas ISD Updates

Dallas ISD priority setting update: The Board of Trustees and Superintendent Elizalde continues to have deep discussions about our district’s priorities for the next five years. The priorities discussed included a focus on English and math, college, career, and military readiness, state accountability, student experience, teacher experience, equitable resources, and financial literacy.

We made good progress, there is still more work to do.

College and career readiness: Goals reflect our district’s values, and when setting a standard for college and career readiness, we must consider what true readiness means. The current draft relies on the state’s accountability definition, which frequently changes and includes measures that may not fully demonstrate preparedness. For instance, taking a college prep course could qualify a student as “ready.” I advocate for a more rigorous standard, such as SAT or ACT success, to ensure students are genuinely prepared for their next steps.

Financial literacy: Students who participated in our community forums on goal setting resoundingly asked for more education on financial literacy, and we should listen. I will advocate to ensure this subject remains a high priority.

All students’ success: Our current goals focus on getting students ready to “meet” state standards, narrowing our focus to those close to crossing that line. But it is also important to help students grow across the spectrum, including helping students meet both the “approaches” and “masters” standards. Our new proposed goals broaden the focus to students across the spectrum.

Bond task force: As Dallas ISD works to finish construction from our last bond in 2020, it’s time to explore the need for a new bond in the coming years. When Dallas ISD passed its $3.5 billion bond in 2020 (without raising the tax rate), it still had $6 billion in deferred maintenance. Currently, Dallas ISD is undergoing a comprehensive land use study and will use the results, as well as community feedback, to determine whether we should consider another bond.

Dallas ISD community budget meetings: We are working hard on the 2025-2026 budget. Join us at one of our upcoming community meetings to learn more about the process and how you can advocate for your kids. To learn more about upcoming meetings, visit the Dallas ISD website.

District 1 Updates

Dak Prescott & W.T. White High School flag football: On Saturday, March 1, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, crashed media day for W.T. White’s flag football team Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
E. D. Walker Middle School orchestra rating: The E.D. Walker Middle School orchestra earned a “Superior” rating in all categories for the first time in 11 years. Congrats to their director, Ms. Diana Zavala!
Marcus Leadership Academy celebrates Read Across America: Thank you to the volunteers at Marcus who participated in Read Across America by reading to our students.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve our students. If you have questions, thoughts, or want to talk about how we can work together to make Dallas ISD the best school district, just email me at LanceCurrie@dallasisd.org.