Four Dallas High Schools Threatened with Closure

This story was from an article in the Dallas Morning News. You can read it here:.

To sum the story up, four DISD high schools: Kimball, Seagoville, Pinkston, and Roosevelt, have received the state's lowest rating possible of academically unacceptable for the past four years. If they don't improve their rating this year, the Texas Education Agency has threatened to shut the schools down. DISD has come up with alternative plans to keep the schools open that would turn the schools into magnet schools. Up to 75% of the staff could be let go, and 50% of the students would be sent elsewhere.

I know this blog is typically a blog on the latest or interesting topics in criminal law, but I thought it was worth spending a few minutes on this topic. The struggles DISD are facing are unfortunately not unique to Dallas. I would venture a guess that a high percentage of major U.S. cities are facing these same problems with their school districts. To me, the answer obviously isn't simple. There are just too many problems converging and the dam just can't hold up. You have the problem of completely inept leadership at the administration level. Michael Hinojosa has been a complete failure as a superintendent, the proof being that for the past two years he has not been given a contract extension at his annual evaluation. That ineptness from the top flows down and permeates every level of administration in the DISD. I'm not saying there aren't good administrators in the DISD, but the inept ones most likely outnumber the good ones. This attitude is present in the classroom as well; there are simply too many teachers working in the DISD that are there to collect their paycheck.

The second issue that is at the forefront with these schools is poverty and the plight of the inner city. Simply throwing money at these four schools will not solve the biggest problem the schools face in my opinion. A huge percentage of these students come from single person households, where mom or dad has to work two, three or four jobs just to put some food on the table. Many of the students themselves are parents. The pressure to join gangs, sell drugs and live the "thug" life is everywhere. What is the answer to this? I know there is a percentage of kids in DISD that want to do well in school so that they can get out and make a better life for themselves. Is the answer to simply concentrate on these students, which I think the magnet school program is designed to do, or is the goal to try and reach every student even if many don't want to be reached. I simply don't know. Hopefully these schools can improve, but recent history isn't on their side. For the students' sake, I hope DISD can handle this without their usual ineptitude and figure out a way to improve these and all the schools in the DISD.