Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD 

I am excited to be nearing the end of the year, and great things are happening in our public schools. Below is your update on Dallas ISD and District 1.

Dallas ISD Updates

Principal of the Year finalist: Congratulations Beverly Mullins Ford, principal at Anne Frank Elementary School, for being named a finalist for Dallas ISD’s Principal of the Year. Mullins Ford served at Anne Frank for 26 years, including the last seven years as principal. Under her leadership, Anne Frank earned multiple distinctions from the Texas Education Agency, a gold ribbon school recognition, and consistent breakthrough campus status, with a focus on achieving an A rating. Also honored as a 2023-2024 Master Principal, she continues to inspire educators, engage families, and shape young people’s lives. Thank you for your incredible work.

Budget Meetings: In March, Dallas ISD held a series of community meetings to provide updates on the current budget and preliminary plans for the next fiscal year. Thank you to all who attended the community meeting in District 1 at Career Institute North. Additional budget details will be presented to the board in the coming months, with the goal of approving the 2025-2026 budget at the May meeting.

Dallas ISD priority setting update: At our meeting in March, the Board of Trustees and superintendent continued conversations to establish priorities for the next five years. Improvements were made to middle school, college and career readiness goals, and the constraints, though there is still more work to do. The district is also exploring adding a metric on “habits of the mind,” like digital literacy, emotional intelligence, and communication, to ensure students are well prepared in these areas when they graduate, which was a consistent request from our community meetings on goal setting.

District 1 Updates

Here are highlights from our District 1 schools. 

  • W.T. White High School welcomes new coach: D1 is excited to welcome  Bryson Lewis as the next athletic coordinator and head football coach for W.T. White. I’m particularly excited about his commitment to growing athletics throughout the W.T. White feeder pattern. 
  • Thomas Jefferson High School shines at WomenLEAD: Five amazing young women from Thomas Jefferson competed at the WomenLEAD speech competition, presenting 3 to 5 minute speeches. The students placed second, fourth, fifth, and two honorable mentions. Congratulations!
  • W.T. White band earns UIL Division 1 rating: Under the leadership of W.T. White alum and first-year director Ismael Mendoza, the school’s concert band earned a UIL Division 1 rating.
  • Jerry R. Junkins Elementary School student presents at GT fair: Congratulations to Montserrat C., an amazing young student at Jerry R. Junkins Elementary School, who was one of only 30 students in the district to display her work at the GT creativity fair.
  • Thomas C. Marsh Preparatory Academy wins sweepstakes at UIL: The Marsh Matador Band won the highest score at the UIL competition. 
  • W.T. White Girls track wins district: The Lady Longhorns varsity track team are district champs. Congratulations to these impressive athletes.

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. 

Best,

Lance Currie