5 struggling Dallas ISD schools facing shutdown

DALLAS - At least three and maybe as many as five low-performing Dallas public school will be shut down next year.

The Dallas Independent School District school board voted to close the Thomas Edison Learning Center, J.W. Ray Learning Center and John F. Kennedy Learning Center, which have repeatedly failed to meet state standards.

Two other schools – C.F. Carr Elementary and Titche Elementary – could stay open if test scores improve this year.

The affected students will move to other schools. But parents worry some students will struggle even more if they’re forced to move.

Parents and community leaders filled most of the auditorium at Lincoln High School Thursday night to share their opinions with school board members.

“Identify those students that are gonna need that extra help at Carr and Edison. It needs to be done now or yesterday because just to pray and hope they do better in June is not working. It’s not gonna work. It’s not good for our community,” said Ronnie Mestas, who opposed closing the schools.

“It have no issue with leaving Titche open if it gets off the IR list. What I do have an issue with is the difference between on what’s going on with Titche and what will happen with J.W. Ray,” said Joyce Foreman, a Dallas ISD school board member.

If all five campuses close, it will impact 2,500 students. Students at Edison would be moved into an unused wing of Pinkston High School.

The alternative was that the state could step in replace the school board and superintendent.

Many of the speakers told the school board they should be held accountable for not providing the resources and letting the schools to getting to the point of no return.