Tim Ciesco

Dallas Independent School District Begins New School Year With Momentum

Dallas ISD school bus information is available online and in the district's new, free smartphone app

The Dallas Independent School District is kicking off the new school year on a note of encouragement.

The district showed signs of improvement in its latest rating from the Texas Education Agency, which was just released ahead of the first day of school.

Dallas ISD received an overall grade of "B" — which is the same letter grade it received a year ago.

However, its numerical score used to calculate that grade improved five points, from 81 to 86.

"We're headed on the right trajectory," Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said in an NBC 5 Today interview Monday morning. "We want to get closer to 90, if not 90 by next year."

Individually, more than half of the district's 232 schools earned an "A" or "B" grade. 

Eight schools received a "requires improvement" grade, which is double the number of schools in that category from a year ago.

District officials said they spent the summer working with administrators at those schools in hopes they'd be better prepared to turn things around this year.

Hinojosa also highlighted the district's new app, which helps parents keep track of school bus locations. The program was piloted last year with special needs students and was expanded to see a full roll-out for the 2018-2019 school year, Hinojosa said.

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