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Thursday, December 29, 2011

A 2011 Education Front Review: DISD's progress | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

A 2011 Education Front Review: DISD's progress | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com:

A 2011 Education Front Review: DISD's progress

The third priority of the Education Front this year was tracking the progress of the Dallas school district. There are too many parts of that story to look back upon, so here are a few examples of the year in DISD:

The big headline was Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's departure. His exit was front page news, but the subplot was the frustration he felt with some of the board's trustees. Just too many split votes on big issues.

Hinojosa had a point, which is why the real issue facing DISD is finding a stronger set of reformers to serve on the school board. That's why next year's school trustee elections matter immensely.

But there's also been progress on the board, some of it after Hinojosa's exit. A nucleus of board members, including President Lew Blackburn, have voted for impressive changes that could help students. For example,