Dallas ISD Partnership & Volunteer Services is excited to partner with and offer our families and schools All Pro Dads, a program focused on strengthening relationships between dads and children.  Research shows that the involvement of dads and father figures can positively impact student engagement and academic progress.

To help, Partnership and Volunteer Services is inviting schools to adopt the All-Pro Dad program, a proven model for successfully recruiting fathers and male mentors to support students. Launched in 1987 with the help of Coach Tony Dungy, the national program is based on a sports draft model that combines father-son, mentor-student bonding activities with training and positive reinforcement of the importance of male involvement in the lives of all students.

The Dallas ISD Book Buddies volunteer tutor program is structured for students in grades 1, 2, and 3. Tutoring sessions focus on strengthening students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary. Short, focused tutoring sessions are more effective than longer sessions, especially for our youngest learners. The most effective tutoring sessions should have the following characteristics:

• Move quickly through a variety of activities.
• Reinforce a few specific skills and concepts.
• Allow opportunities for students to experience success.

To ensure the most beneficial tutoring experience, volunteers should be able to commit to at least a full semester and ideally a full school year.

Partnership and Volunteer Services equips schools with everything needed to launch a successful online program.

The Common Cents-Dallas Program is a student-driven coin collection effort designed to raise money for charity and nonprofit organizations while encouraging good citizenship and social responsibility. For the 2021-2022 school year, Common Cents is partnering with Student Engagement and Counseling Services to offer the program as an opportunity to teach the essential components of Social Emotional Learning and focus giving efforts toward COVID-19 relief.

Participating schools:

• Designate a staff member to coordinate school fundraisers and oversee the student team (group of four to six students).
• Choose a nonprofit and develop fundraising plans.
• Implement strategies through which students learn leadership skills, teamwork and philanthropy.
• Present celebration checks to their chosen nonprofit.

Learn More about the Common Cents Program

The annual MLK Oratory Competition was designed by the law firm Gardere Wynne Sewell and is now a part of the since-merged Foley & Lardner LLP to recognize and encourage the writing and oratory skills of elementary students.  In addition, it serves as a celebration of cultural diversity and opportunity to spotlight talented Dallas ISD students as they learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The competition was established in Dallas in 1993 to commemorate the life of Dr. King. 

Past winners and participants delivered their speeches to numerous local and national organizations, including an annual appearance at the Dallas Bar Association. They have also appeared on local and national television programs including CBS’ “The Early Show”, KTVT Channel 11, KDFW Fox 4 News, “Oprah,” “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Principal for a Day (PFAD) is a project of the Dallas Independent School District, in partnership with the Dallas Regional Chamber and Capital One, that brings community leaders into schools across the district. The program is designed to:

• Increase awareness and understanding among individuals in the private sector of the strengths and challenges of schools in Dallas ISD
• Demonstrate the private sector's commitment to ensuring a quality public education for all students, and
• Form ongoing partnerships between individuals/businesses and Dallas ISD.

Business and civic leaders who wish to share their knowledge with school staff while learning more about our public schools can experience a normal school day in a Dallas school.

Previous participants in Dallas' Principal for a Day include Texas Senator Royce West; U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions; fashion designer Anthony Mark Hankins; and television personalities Clarice Tinsley, Gloria Campos, and Rene Syler. Program participants in other cities have included David Dinkins, Michael Douglas, the late John F. Kennedy Jr., Ed Koch, and former Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

Principal for A Day (PFAD) Information

Since 2000, our North Texas community has teamed up with the Superintendent’s Scholarship Golf Tournament to provide links to a better life for Dallas ISD students. More than $3,213,000 in scholarships has been distributed to outstanding high school seniors – many of whom represent the first generation of their families to pursue college. This year, as families stretch to pay rising tuition costs to keep their outstanding students on course, Dallas ISD students need you on their team more than ever. Please chip in to support the dreams of the Class of 2024.

Superintendent’s Scholarship Golf Tournament Information