We rightly spend a lot of time on this page praising Dallas ISD for important reforms and innovative programs that have given parents at every economic level greater confidence that their children can get the best possible education in our public school system.
Reforms like the pay-for-performance Teacher Excellence Initiative and programs that have seen school choice expanded throughout the district deserve that praise.
But the reality is that, even as DISD has been reinvigorated as a school system, most of its students largely poor and minority are not excelling academically. And far too many are underperforming. As we celebrate the successes for a relatively small number of students, we have to recognize that the district and all of us who support it still have a lot of work to do to bring those left behind up to speed.
A local library gave Amanda Gorman her big break. Help Dallas find the next star poet
Before 22-year-old Amanda Gorman dazzled a battered nation with a poignant poem at the Biden inauguration, before former presidents and first ladies sought her for pictures and before newspapers and TV shows lined up for interviews, she was a teen writing poems for a local competition at the Los Angeles Public Library. Gorman, who grapples with a speech impediment, had to be coaxed into entering the contest by a mentor.
She was unforgettable. Gorman was crowned LA Youth Poet Laureate in 2014, then National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017. The title earned Gorman an invitation to perform at the Library of Congress, where she caught the eye of future first lady Jill Biden, who recommended her for the inaugural stage.
Hundreds line up at southern Dallas pop-up site to register for COVID-19 vaccine
Temporary vaccine registration sites are the latest idea to reach residents in the city’s most vulnerable communities
People 65 and older or at least 16 with underlying medical conditions wait to register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment outside of Jerry s Supermarket on West Jefferson Boulevard in Dallas on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Juan Figueroa/ The Dallas Morning News)(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Maria Gonzalez wants to get the COVID-19 vaccine so she can hug people again, but she isn’t comfortable using a computer.
So when the 74-year-old heard on TV that she could get help signing up for the vaccine, she didn’t hesitate.