DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Students in Dallas ISD started the 2024-2025 school year Monday. The district says enrollment this year is about 140,000.
"We are ready for our students. We are excited to receive them with open arms," says Lourdes Morales, the principal at Pershing Elementary School.
Outside the school,. the drum line and cheerleaders from Hillcrest High School, about a mile away, gathered as teachers greeted students and gave high-fives.
"That makes my heart very warm," one mom said, "Everyone here, it makes me very excited to just be part of this school."
"This is a great school, all the staff is very helpful, and they make everyone feel so safe," a dad said.
Morales says they wanted to create an environment kids would look forward to seeing.
"This is their year. Every year is their year, but this is their year to continue learning, growing and facing all the challenges we might face together," she says. "My students are the best in Dallas ISD. They're resilient, they're great, they're focused, and they are the most caring human beings."
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde looked in on classrooms at Pershing Monday morning.
"We saw three classrooms, and these three teachers have been here seven years to 20 years at Pershing," she says. "I think that says a lot about our leadership and the ability of Dallas ISD to have a positive culture where teachers and support staff want to serve the students."
Elizalde says 90% of students at Pershing pass state assessments, 60% are at or above grade level, and 30% are at the highest level of performance.
Morales, the principal, says enrollment is increasing, so students are seeing new teachers. She says those teachers represent a "diverse population" served by the school.
"We have teachers from France, teachers from Russia, teachers from Mexico, teachers from here," she says. "Diversity is going to help them learn more, focus more and appreciate our differences."
Elizalde says the beginning of the new school year is also a chance to bring attention to school funding. The Texas legislature has not increased per-student funding since 2019, but the Texas Association of School Boards says inflation has increased costs 19% over the same period.
"We need everyone's help to fund schools first," she says. "Let's just focus on ensuring this session we fund public schools so we can continue to do the great work."
Despite the need for increased funding, Elizalde says Dallas ISD has reduced turnover among teachers.
"That means we've had far fewer new teachers join our district, which is good for kids," she says. "What that says is we have stability, we have consistency. The learning curve is much smaller when that happens."
Elizalde says Dallas ISD had 70 open teacher positions Monday, saying that was the lowest number since the district started tracking the number.
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