March 2025

The Kemper Foundation is accepting applications for the 2025 Read Conmigo School Impact Grant through March 9.   

The Kemper Foundation awards up to 22 Read Conmigo School Impact grants of $10,000 each with the goal of supporting school and program wide dual-language initiatives. Applications must be submitted by the principal on behalf of their school. 

Grant funds are awarded for the benefit of the students, and funds should remain within the school, regardless of changes in principal leadership. 

Eligibility requirements:  

• Must be a Title 1 elementary school serving bilingual students. 

• Must have an established dual-language program with at least one year of implementation. 

Funds may be used for school resources and technology improvements, instructional support and professional development, and community and cultural engagement. 

Examples include: 

• Developing or acquiring dual-language curriculum and instructional materials 

• Expanding existing dual-language programs

• Providing bilingual educator training, workshops, and conference attendance 

• Hosting schoolwide bilingual events, such as assemblies, literacy fairs, and cultural celebrations 

• Supporting family engagement initiatives in dual-language education 

• Funding dual-language arts, dance, music, and theater programs 

For a detailed list of non-eligible uses of the grant funds and grant requirements for principals who are awarded funds and to apply for the grants, visit the grants page. 

The open transfer period for the new District Support Initiative campuses has opened, and teachers, counselors, and media specialists/literacy media specialists who meet the guidelines and are interested in working at those schools can seek and accept a position at those schools.

Eligible employees must apply online using their EAD login at www.dallasisd.org/careers using the internal openings link. Employees must apply to be eligible to participate. The current principal’s approval is not required during the open transfer period; however, the best practice is to inform the current principal of the desire to transfer.

To be eligible for an open transfer, employees must meet the following criteria:

• Hold a valid Texas Teacher Certificate or hold a valid District of Innovation Certification Exemption in the requested subject-area vacancy and meet TEA/SBEC Certification Standards for the position
• Must not be entering their fourth year of an Alternative Certification Program
• Must not be identified for non-renewal at the end of the current school year due to performance and/or misconduct

To see the list of campuses in the Pathway to Excellence, Strategic Support Schools, and Strategically Staffed High Schools programs and learn more about the supports and stipends provided, visit www.dallasisd.org/dsi. 

The deadline for principals to submit a recommendation for the open transfer period for PTE/SSS/SSHS campuses is June 1, 2025.

The open transfer period for all other campuses begins March 24, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on April 25, 2025. 

Human Capital Management will accept principal recommendations via TMS for schools, including those in the Pathway to Excellence, Strategic Support Schools, and Strategically Staffed High Schools programs. 

Human Capital Management will email notifications of approval/denial throughout the open transfer period. These notifications will be sent to the employee and the current and receiving principals. Transfers are only final once the Letter of Assignment email notification has been sent from Human Capital Management. All notifications will be completed by May 2 and June 9 for PTE/SSS/SSHS campuses. After the open transfer window closes, all transfers must follow the administrative transfer guidelines.

An accidental fire this summer damaged the kitchen Skyline High School uses to teach life skills to students who receive special education services, and while repair work was being completed, Assistant Principal Sonja Nix had to get creative to find a way to help her teachers impart those skills without a kitchen.

She found the answer in virtual reality.

With the use of computer programs that Nix and the SPED teachers have repurposed and goggles that have been obtained from other programs that were no longer using them students in Vashti Mbah’s class are following recipes, cutting and measuring ingredients, mixing them and cooking, just like they would in a real kitchen.

“We partner with the culinary arts pathway to use their kitchen, but if the students have a catering event coming up, we can’t use it,” she said. “But we have to keep teaching these skills. This is a great way to do it. The students have really taken to it.”

Cooking is not the only life skill where virtual reality is used to teach. Students in Caroline Gichangi’s functional life skills class get to drive using computers and programs that have been repurposed from other areas in the high school thanks to Nix’s efforts. And while they are not likely to be driving a car in reality, the programs are reinforcing other lessons and teaching them social skills.

“Kids are so used to interacting with phones and technology that this makes it so much easier,” Gichangi said. “Even those who don’t have reading skills can interact and advance to have a functional life. As they interact with each other.”

The students in her class show their obvious enjoyment while using the computer programs, which has helped them be more open and acquire greater communication skills, she said.

Nix, who is the assistant principal over special education and discipline, was working on her doctoral program going through an educational technology course when she had the idea that technology—specifically augmented virtual reality—could be helpful in special education classes. Skyline, Dallas ISD’s largest high school, has more than 300 students receiving special education services and about 80 of them are in functional skills classrooms. As far as Nix knows, Skyline is the first program to use virtual reality with SPED students in this way.

Unfortunately, this technology is not normally part of life skills classes so there was no budget for it . Because it was needed at the moment, Nix begged and borrowed from other programs that were not using the computers, goggles, programs, etc., and got the students to try them out.

“The kids found a bunch of apps we didn’t know we had but we need to update the modules,” Nix said. “We have been incorporating the technology into the lesson plans. It has been a great success. They are acquiring 21st century skills.”

Nix hopes that the success shown this year can lead to more support for technology upgrades—both equipment and software—so more students in functional skills classes can benefit from them. She also hopes that other high school life skills classes will see how virtual reality can help students and adopt it, as well. 

“I would like to visit other campuses and talk to them about how this has made a difference for our students, and how they can replicate it,” Nix said. “We are taking the district’s mission to educate all students for success seriously.”  

Crystal Alexander, a manager in the Mathematics Department, has always been inspired by women who have broken barriers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and since becoming a math teacher with Dallas ISD, she has been inspiring the next generation of trailblazers. 

One of the ways she has done this is through the annual Dallas ISD STEM Expo—the largest STEM expo in Texas. After 11 years of managing the event, Alexander believes it is one of her greatest projects, exposing over 3,000 students each year to exploration and design within technology.

She believes these events are crucial to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

“In today’s world, success isn’t just about intelligence or skill, it’s about knowing where to find opportunities and having the confidence to pursue them,” Alexander said.

A Dallas native and graduate of the Business and Management Center, the name of the business magnet at the time, Alexander said her passion for the Dallas community stems from her family and her mother.

“My interest in STEM was sparked by my childhood curiosity—breaking things and trying to fix them before my mom got home. I had an early instinct to repair, troubleshoot and put things back together,” Alexander said. She approaches her career with a problem-solving mindset.

Her mother instilled in her a love of learning, which Alexander has carried from early education through her 24 years with Dallas ISD.

Alexander began her career as a math teacher at Emmett J. Conrad High School, where she partnered with Texas A&M University to develop a project-based learning STEM curriculum. After four years, she became the school’s math instructional coach, and eventually moved to a districtwide role as STEM manager within the Mathematics Department.  

In 2023, Alexander briefly took on the role of interim director of the Math Department, using knowledge from her Master of Science in School Counseling from Lamar University to lead and motivate the team supporting the district’s more than 130,000 students. 

Alexander, who holds a bachelor’s degree in math and biology from Jarvis College, uses her background to develop curriculum and organize large scale events, including the district’s STEM Expo and the math academies.

“What excites me most is seeing students engage with math and STEM in ways that change their perspective on what’s possible—whether it’s a student discovering a love for coding, a teacher gaining confidence in delivering math lessons, or a family realizing new opportunities for their child’s future,” she said.

Alexander has partnered with global and local companies, creating community STEM events with Microsoft, the Dallas Millennial Club, American Airlines, the Dallas Arboretum, Klyde Warren Park and numerous other organizations.

“I appreciate that the district has provided space for innovation and collaboration, allowing me to develop initiatives that truly make a difference,” Alexander said.

 In addition to her work in the district, Alexander is on the advisory board of the Kids on the Move for Success in Atlanta, Ga.,  guiding the organization’s STEM programming. 

She also serves on the Education and Research Committee and the Black Heritage Committee at the Dallas Arboretum. She said these experiences have allowed her to contribute to cultural celebration and educational development.

In her own career, Alexander hopes to continue advocating for equity, ensuring young girls see themselves in STEM careers. However, her greatest motivation is her mother, whom she remembers as a mentor and support system.

“I carry my mother’s influence with me every day, especially in my role as a math and STEM educator. She instilled in me a deep sense of vigilance in helping others,” Alexander said.

Beyond education, Alexander is a dedicated advocate for the Alzheimer’s cause, a passion she developed after her mother’s diagnosis in 2014 and passing in 2018.

“I’m very active in promoting the cause, sharing information and participating in research. So many people my age are dealing with their parents who are transitioning into that stage,” Alexander said.

After losing her mother, Alexander has expanded her purpose to advocacy, researching ways to help others prepare for life changes.  She prioritizes wellness, recognizing that our bodies change over time and require intentional care.

In her work in STEM, Alexander is inspired not only by her mother but also by the women who have broken barriers in mathematics and STEM, despite it being a male dominated field.

 “Women like Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson are important because their work at NASA helped change history,” Alexander said. “Dr. Evelyn Boyd inspires me because she is one of the first Black women to earn a PhD in mathematics.”

“For me, women’s history is about recognizing the challenges women face in leadership positions within education,” Alexander said.