May 12, 2006 5:14 pm US/Central
DISD's Hinojosa: One Year Later
by Steve Pickett
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Dallas schools superintendent Michael Hinojosa has been on the job for one year now.
He is a son of the system. A product of Dallas public schools who is now paid to chart the course for 160 thousand children.
After one year of his four-year contract, Michael Hinojosa can brag about having Newsweek magazine's "best high school" in America in his district. But he also says it's not enough.
"That needs to be systemic," said Hinojosa. "All over the district, and some people won't believe us until we've done it all over the district."
Improving academic achievement to a level of excellence is outlined in Hinojosa's five year plan.
But one major factor was not included in that plan: a flood of new school district students. One group came from Hurricane Katrina, the other from the closed Wilmer-Hutchins school district. "Having the unplanned catastrophes regarding the hurricanes and adding another school district were certainly the biggest challenges."
And there are more problems. The DISD still has a dismal graduation rate. 30 percent of ninth graders don't graduate within four years. Elementary age children are still struggling on state tests. They are just two areas of focus for Hinojosa's second year. He said, "We have to start with the young people and focus on the future, but at the same time we have an obligation to the children already in the system that are behind. People aren't going to believe what I say. It's what I do. I'm committed to do this over the long haul."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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