Dallas ISD Is Expected to Lose Thousands of Students in a Decade, But These Ones Are Choosing to Stay

Standing in the library among shelves of young adult books, David Goltl lowered his voice to a whisper as if he was about to say a bad word. They call this "the bad school," he said. He's talking about Robert T. Hill Middle School -- the East Dallas campus near White Rock Lake on Easton Road where his son, Miles, entered eighth-grade this fall. It's become a pattern for parents afraid of hallway fights and lax instruction to avoid the school during their children's awkward adolescent years in favor of magnet, charter and private schools. And one of Hill's most vocal armies of parental naysayers has been less than a mile away at Victor H. Hexter Elementary -- a Blue Ribbon school real estate agents use as a selling point in home listings. Several years ago, only a fraction of Hexter students continued on to the neighborhood middle school. But recent Dallas ISD data shows the trend of Hexter parents saying "no" to Hill is steadily turning. This school year, almost half of Hexter families continued to Hill compared to a third four years earlier.The revolution comes as Dallas ISD opens choice schools left and right, vying to hold tight some of the thousands of families expected to flee to charter and private schools in the next decade.  Continue reading...