Dallas ISD police have a poor record of local safety though.
Last school year there were multiple accusations against an elementary teacher at Geneva Heights of sexual assault. The district allowed him to leave to another ISD this year and families remain angry over the decision.
Similarly, Dallas ISD was unable to keep firearms off campus last year. Several years ago a 3rd grader brought a handgun onto school grounds.
First day of school for Dallas Independent School District is here so drivers should expect a slower commute and the need to slow down.
Saturday, the City of Dallas put on a Back to School Fest providing free supplies to Dallas students.
Dallas ISD has partner on multiple supply drives this year. The focus on recovering from COVID19 learning loss is evident.
Backpack Policy
Dallas ISD will require clear backpacks for all students in K – 12th grade for the 2023-2024 academic year. This requirement will not apply to pre-K students.
Students also have the option of carrying a mesh backpack, however clear ones are preferred.
Students may carry a small, nonclear pouch in their backpack to hold personal items, such as cellphones, money, and hygiene products.
To support families, each student will be provided a durable clear backpack at no cost. Parents may also purchase the preferred clear backpack, or the acceptable mesh backpack, for their students.
First Day Of School Driving
Drivers are specifically reminded to slow down.
Last year almost 250 tickets were issues for speeding in a school zone. Similar enforcement is expected this year also.
Back To School Fest is happening tomorrow to provide students with school supplies before school starts Monday.
Supplies will be given out on a first come, first served basis, and students must be in attendance to receive items. Items include backpacks, notebooks, binders, rulers, headphones, pencils, pens and much more.
The school supply drive is being held at Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 2922 MLK Jr. Blvd. Dallas, TX 75212.
Additionally, clear backpacks will be required of students again in 2023 – 2024.
Dallas ISD will require clear backpacks for all students in K – 12th grade for the 2023-2024 school year. This requirement will not apply to pre-K students.
Students also have the option of carrying a mesh backpack, however clear ones are preferred.
Students may carry a small, nonclear pouch in their backpack to hold personal items, such as cellphones, money, and hygiene products.
To support families, each student will be provided a durable clear backpack at no cost. Parents may also purchase the preferred clear backpack, or the acceptable mesh backpack, for their students.
The district will hold a Back to School Registration Event to get your child registered for the new school year!
The event takes place this Saturday, August 5, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM at Ellis Davis Field House. The field house is located at 9191 S. Polk Street.
Parents will receive in-person assistance with registration, for students enrolling in pre-K through 12th grade. Students registering onsite for K – 12th grade will receive free school supplies, backpacks and other services, while supplies last.
Please come prepared with the following documents to complete your child’s enrollment:
Birth certificate (new students)
Parent/guardian photo ID
Proof of address
Immunization record
Social Security card (optional)
Parents of pre-K students will also need to provide documentation to determine eligibility for pre-K (as applicable):
Proof of income
Medicaid/SNAP/TANF benefits letter
Foster care paperwork
Military paperwork
Star of Texas paperwork
Back To School Prep: Backpacks
Dallas ISD will require clear backpacks for all students in K – 12th grade for the 2023-2024 school year. This requirement will not apply to pre-K students.
Students also have the option of carrying a mesh backpack, however clear ones are preferred.
Students may carry a small, nonclear pouch in their backpack to hold personal items, such as cellphones, money, and hygiene products.
To support families, each student will be provided a durable clear backpack at no cost. Parents may also purchase the preferred clear backpack, or the acceptable mesh backpack, for their students.
School reopens in two weeks for Dallas Independent School District and many area programs. The start date is August 14.
There will be 174 days of instruction. This includes 85 days in the fall semester and 89 in the spring.
Winter break will take place December 25, 2023 through January 9, 2024.
Additionally, students will receive a full week out of school for Thanksgiving, November 20 – 24, 2023.
Spring break is scheduled for March 11 – 15, 2024.
The final day of school is scheduled for May 24, 2024.
Among changes expected this year, ALL students are required to have clear backpacks. This comes despite continued gun related events on campus with clear backpacks last year.
This requirement does not apply to pre-K students.
Thomas Jefferson shooting rocked the school’s Walnut Hill neighborhood. just one day after two students were shot in Arlington.
On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire on a student in the parking lot of Thomas Jefferson High School. The shooting came minutes after school dismissal. Thomas Jefferson High School is in northwest Dallas.
The assailant shot one student in the arm. That student was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Dallas ISD Police are taking the lead on investigating the shooting. Dallas ISD Police are receiving assistance from Dallas Police. The school district police force has limited experience in violent crime investigation.
The police did not describe a motive for the shooter.
Thomas Jefferson High School will have no school today. Additionally, nearby Walnut Hill Elementary School will have no classes.
Thomas Jefferson Shooting Sees Increased Security
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said counselors are available for staff and students when they return to class on Thursday.
A spokesman could not answer why a clear backpack policy had no effect on school safety. The clear backpacks policy has been troublesome for parents all year. Multiple groups explained prior to the school year start why they do not work.
In a summer article, USA Today quoted security experts saying this was “theater.” They went on to say that this “funnels resources away from more effective approaches.”
On Thursday, Dallas ISD announced its schools will reopen Friday, but with a two-hour delay. This decision came despite weather reports saying melting ice would refreeze overnight.
Arlington ISD, Duncanville ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Irving ISD, and Mansfield ISD all chose to cancel school. So did Dallas ISD, but not until this morning. This left frustrated parents looking for last minute child care options.
Decision Points: Opened Or Closed
Chief of Operations David Bates told local media they inspected its 250 school campuses. These inspections were both internal and external at both schools and other district buildings and drove the decision on schools bring opened or closed.
Bates said, “We have some minor pipes that have ruptured. A lot of them have been outside the buildings or on top of the building that we’re able to mitigate right now. Nothing major.”
The February freeze which has continued as the month begins saw several accidents this morning and a working house fire in northeast Dallas.
Who protects the children is being asked by Dallas Independent School parents. Parents at two schools – Geneva Heights and Lipscomb Elemenatry – are angry.
Dallas Police Department officials have had limited comment so far. The issue comes after accusations of sexual contact with students by a teacher. Some of the student victims identified are as young as four.
The schools in question are Geneva Heights Elementary and Lipscomb Elementary.
At those schools parents report their children stating a teacher made sexual contact.
More than one student told both Dallas ISD and Dallas Police they were touched sexually by a teacher.
These accounts started in early November. As early as November 2, Dr. Sandoval received a report from parents about the teacher.
Parents were not informed until November 18 at Geneva Heights. Parents did not learn about the incidents until November 28 at Lipscomb.
Parent town halls organized for for daytime hours still had a “very big group” at Geneva Heights. Present at that meeting with City Council Member Adam Bazaldua.
There were roughly fifty parents at Lipscomb at their Friday afternoon session. Many sid there were “lots of confused parents” since Dallas ISD was not telling them anything.
The Teacher
The man who teaches at both schools accused of grooming children as young as four may return soon. School officials would not deny that he could be back on campus at the conclusion of the inquiry.
Three parents say the teacher in question is Daniel Rosendahl. Rosendahl has been in Dallas ISD for at least two years and appears to have taught in Lewisville ISD before that. He did not respond when we reached him via cellular.
Dallas ISD officials would not respond to request for comment in administration. Additionally, neither principal, Ms. Lane or Dr. Sandoval, would respond.
Rosendahl’s certification lists him as a 6 – 12th grade Spanish teacher. It raises the question why was he at any elementary school.
The lack of charges has led to one family removing their child from campus already.
Additionally, Dallas ISD knew of accusations against Rosendahl for weeks before acting. As usual they waited until parents started working together corroborating one another’s accounts.
The grooming reported by parents includes providing gifts to “favorite” children. Confirmation of this account came from a school employee.
In one case a student asked Rosendahl why he started teaching at Lipscomb Elementary. She had been a student at Geneva Heights before.
His answer was that he “loved her so much.” In this case he was referring to a young elementary school aged student.
Parents say he also gave nicknames to certain students as a secret code for their “friendship.”
One exasperated parent said “no one will give us justice.” This parent went on to say this is why people take the law into their own hands.
One exasperated parent said “no one will give us justice.”
Another described the situation like the Uvalde school shooting. “The police and district are protecting themselves, not the children.”
Asking Again: Who Protects The Children?
Dallas ISD has had this problem before.
In 2012, a student was sexually assaulted on campus at Harry Stone Montessori in South Dallas. At the time, Board of Trustees Chairman Lew Blackburn swept the issue under the rug. He was able to so with the help of then DISD Police Chief Craig Miller.
Since then there have been credible accusations against a soccer coach also. He worked for North Dallas High School and also was able to escape without charges. His case too had many accusers.
As so often happens when criminals are not prosecuted they repeat their behavior. It begs the question who protects the children?
Dallas Police Non-Response
Dallas Police has been under fire for over a year for slow response times. DPD has chosen to focus on their hot areas, btu crime across Dallas is soaring.
Dallas Independent School District also spends tax dollars on its own police force. Theyy did not pursue this case at all and deferred to Dallas Police.
In 2020, Dallas Police botched the investigation into reported serial killer Jeremy Harris. Denton Police did later arrest Harris. He was then extraditewd to Collin County for charges there.
244 School Zone tickets hit drivers driving too fast in school zones in the first two weeks of Dallas ISD calendar year.
(1/2)Traffic conducted the back-to-school enforcement initiative over the past 2 weeks. 244 total citations were written during the initiative, which encompassed school zones throughout the city. #BackToSchoolpic.twitter.com/twnDd0u9iB
Back to school does not always remind adults to drive with care and caution around schools.
Despite the increased patrols some drivers are not getting the message per one local news report.
“We know the area well,” Hillary Taylor said. “Love the area. Love the neighborhood” referring to their home near Mockingbird Elementary.
However, similar to the Dallas Police Department, Taylor has started to see a rise in people speeding down her road the past few weeks. For Taylor, she said her road is in a unique situation because it’s the first street drivers can cut through to avoid school zones.
This is worrisome for her because she said there are a lot of families with young children oftentimes playing outside, whether it’s during the school year or not.
“It’s not great,” Taylor said. “Especially when you have littles. I mean, we’re out in the front yard and cars are just whipping through.”
Taylor said there are also many students walking to and from school during the day.
“It really just comes down to people being aware and courteous,” Taylor said. “I mean, these are kids. People just totally miss school zones.”
244 School Zone Tickets – One Step In Wider Safety Plan
Beyond the school zone speed enforcement, the district is mandating clear backpacks for older students. There is poor evidence clear backpacks will solve district violence issues.
“Clear bookbags are a well intended but relatively ineffective measure,” said Michael Dorn. Dorn is a former police officer and Executive Director of Safe Haven International.
Dallas ISD has not released the results of its parent survey on clear backpacks. They did say they will issue a single backpack to students and will not replace it if it becomes damaged.
Maxie Johnson goes back to school and carries on a live broadcast without student permission. This is not the first time the Dallas Independent School District Trustee took to the air for self promotion.
Dallas ISD’s website says “Media should refrain from contacting Dallas ISD students, teachers or staff without FIRST receiving approval from our media team, and is asked not visit campuses prior to receiving approval.”
Dallas ISD Strategic Communication was contacted five times for comment about Johnson’s broadcast and policy rules surrounding it.
The new superintendent, Stephanie Elizalde, could not be reached for comment. Johnson did attend her first public meeting in June 2022 with the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN).
NGAN’s “CEO minister” Dominique Alexander has previously been convicted of felony assault against a child. It is unclear his relationship with the Dallas schools, but Johnson has similar problems.
It makes his lack of attention to safety details important for some parents.
Maxie Johnson Goes Back To School
While Johnson is the elected representative for his district it is also unclear how tightly school officlas monitor his behavior.
Johnson’s son was killed in 2019 and his daughter was arrested for Capital Murder.
Johnson’s son was shot in August 2019 per police and media reports at the time.
Christopher Whitfield Johnson graduated from South Oak Cliff High School in 2015.
He was 21 years old when he died in east Oak Cliff.
Police found his body lying in the middle of the street in the 3600 block of Utah Avenue at about 1:30AM. He had been shot in the chest.
Police sources state Johnson attempted to rob another person who exercised lethal force to protect himself.
Teilor Johnson, then 19, is the daughter of Dallas ISD trustee Maxie Johnson, is charged with capital murder in the death of Quincy Wyatt.
LaKevain Grant was also arrested. Affidavits say that in exchange for $600 Grant and Johnson lured Wyatt to a location where he was kidnapped.
Wyatt’s body was later found with gunshot wound and burned.
