A “Board Business” summary is published on the district website following regular school board meetings convened by the Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees. School board members hosted a regular board meeting on February 14, 2022. A video recording of the meeting will be available on the district website under Board of Trustees section.
Top-Achieving Fine Arts Students Recognized for Statewide Honors
Musicians in Duncanville ISD regularly compete at the highest level of their fields, and this year is no different. When all-state musician honors were recently announced, multiple Duncanville High School students were named.
Six students in the Duncanville High School Band qualified for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Clinic and Convention. For the Duncanville High School Choral Department, five students and an alternate were named as all-state honorees. The TMEA All-State Clinic and Convention is scheduled for February 9-12 in San Antonio.
Students who advance to TMEA All-State represent the top 3% of high school musicians in Texas.
All-State Band honorees include:
Josilyn Mendoza - Eb Clarinet
Anry Ramirez-Garcia – Trumpet
Joshua Retiz – Trumpet
Dylan Sims - Tenor Trombone
Karla Torres – Euphonium
Bryan Chacon – Percussion
All-State Choir honorees include:
Lyric Lyons - 3rd Chair, Mixed Choir
Jeffrey Berry Jr. - 2nd Chair, Mixed Choir
Juan Rios Jr. - 3rd Chair, Mixed Choir
Zion Fuqua - 2nd Chair, Mixed Choir
Marisol Hernandez - 3rd Chair, Treble Choir
Board Congratulates Duncanville High School Teachers for Advanced Placement Award
Duncanville High School hosted an awards ceremony to celebrate standout performances in advanced placement. In addition to students being recognized, two AP teachers received special the Advanced Placement Educator of Excellence Award – Midiam Espinoza and Lindsey Escobar.
Ms. Espinosa was responsible for the AP Spanish Literature and Culture course for the first time in the middle of teaching during a pandemic. Not only did she have to learn how to teach new content, but how to teach virtually, as well as in-person and virtually simultaneously. With the Spanish Literature and Composition exam she saw 58.3% of her students score a 3 or higher. This exceeded the state average by 3.2%.
Ms. Escobar is not only an AP teacher but she’s also a phenomenal cross country coaches. She had 41 AP Spanish Language and Composition students take the exam with an overall percentage of 87.8% scoring a 3 or higher. Ms. Escobar also saw 68.3% score a 4 or higher. She exceeded the state average by 15.5% and the global average by 7.9%.
District’s ‘Made with Pride in Duncanville’ Honorees Announced for February
Each month, Duncanville ISD honors a student, staff member and teacher who go above and beyond. They are chosen from nominations submitted by coworkers, classmates or community members. These individuals reflect the excellence and pride of our district and they are “Made with Pride in Duncanville.”
The February honorees include Brandenburg Intermediate Schools 6th grade student Alaysia Rhodes Harris, STEAM Academy at Kennemer Middle School teacher Myronda Mays and staff member Tanisha Wilbon, a custodian at Duncanville High School.
Click here to learn more about the honorees and the reasons they were chosen.
Superintendent’s Report
During the school board meeting, Duncanville ISD Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith provided his regular report of recent district events. He opened his report by sharing his experience speaking during opening ceremonies of the Texas Association of Black School Educators’ Conference and presenting at the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Midwinter Conference a few weeks ago.
At the TASA conference, the Duncanville High School choir had educators in the convention hall emotional as they performed a medley of uplifting songs and showcased their talent.
At the Duncanville High School Advanced Placement Awards Ceremony, 15 high-achieving students were honored in a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 13. Honorees had their names added to the AP Wall of Fame along Main Street in DHS. Some students also received $100 checks for their AP scores through our partnership with National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) and Texas Instruments. In total, $2,700 was awarded to students. To qualify for the NMSI award and the cash prize, students had to score 3 or higher on one or more AP exams in the content areas of Science, Mathematics, English or Computer Science. In addition, the AP Scholar Award was presented for students who scored 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams, and the and AP Scholar Award with Honors was presented to students who scored 3 or higher on six more exams.
This year’s Athletic Hall of Honor was one of the most well-attended events we’ve had in quite some time. Inductees included, Ariel Atkins (women’s basketball), LaJeanna Howard (women’s basketball), Kevin Ozee (former athletic director), Glenda Goldman Douglass (women’s basketball) and Stephanie Glover Wilson (women’s soccer). A common theme among the honorees was giving credit to Duncanville school for paving the way for their success.
Additional Agenda Items
The board agenda items can be found here.
Approved minutes from the regular board meeting held January 10, 2022, and January 19, 2022
Approved budget amendments
Approved financial reports
Approved Memorandum of Understanding Partnership between Duncanville ISD and Commit Dallas
Approved Purchase of Mobile Devices
Approved Sale of Property
Approved Purchase of Furniture for DHS to be used in Common Areas
Approved Issuance of 2022 Series Bonds to Refund Multiple Bonds
Discussed Budget Development Timeline and Overview for 2022-2023 Budget
Discussed Planning Process for District of Innovation Renewal
Discussed Status Update of Renovation of Former Acton Elementary School to Teaching and Learning Center (TLC)
Discussed Education Leadership Development Partnership
Discussed GEAR Up Grant
Discussed Elementary School Choice Initiative
Discussed Strategic Plan Mid-Year Update
Discussed COVID-19 Update