Dallas ISD welcomed students back to school on Tuesday – but fewer than last year.
The state’s 2nd largest school district started the fall semester with about 132,000 students, down from about 134,300 last year.
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, visiting blue ribbon Hexter Elementary School in East Dallas, said federal policies are partly to blame.
“Certainly, some policies regarding immigration have had an impact,” she said. “We think this year we're probably going to level off. We won't know until a few days from now.”
Some of the enrollment decline could also be attributed to Dallas ISD students now attending the dozens of charter schools in the region. Other students could also be taking advantage of the state’s new Education Savings Accounts. More than 2,800 students in the district qualified for public money that helps pay for private schools, according to the latest data from the state Comptroller’s Office.
Helping boost enrollment this year is Dallas ISD’s new, free pre-kindergarten program. Elizalde hopes some parents with 3- and 4-year-olds might choose the district or return to it.
“We are certainly hoping that things like our universal pre-K will also begin to attract some parents that have maybe been paying for pre-school,” she said. “They can now send them to us and get a certified teacher in an amazing school anywhere in Dallas ISD.”
Administration officials said 11,000 students are now enrolled in pre-K, several hundred more than recent years when only certain families were eligible to attend for free. Final numbers are still being calculated.
As for the district’s overall “B” rating, as assessed last year by the Texas Education Agency, Elizalde is optimistic it will rise slightly this year.
"We're going to see some high schools move into an A-rated campus…ratings that we haven't seen,” she told reporters Tuesday. "But I'm going to hold my tongue till I see those final numbers, because I certainly wouldn't want to have to talk that back.”
New ratings could be out by the week’s end.
Elizalde was excited, as well, to be back in the newly rebuilt and modernized Hexter Elementary with its students. The new campus opened in January with 40% more capacity and upgrades valued at $30 million, according to Elizalde.
“There certainly is nothing like the very first day of school,” she said. “You have to have butterflies in your stomach for it to really be the first day of school.”
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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