Dallas ISD recently put a spotlight on the relocation of its Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, which moved to the H.B. Bell Building at 2909 North Buckner Blvd. this school year.
The school is called Barbara Mann’s Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP), and it is a K-12 campus for Dallas ISD students with behavioral issues that have, for whatever reason, led them to be enrolled in the program rather than attending their neighborhood school.
“The goal is to provide students with a safe and secure environment that allows them to work on whatever behaviors got them here. We address those issues and help students understand how to make positive choices,” said Johnna Weaver, principal of Barbara Mann’s DAEP, per the district’s blog. “It’s about giving students an opportunity to refocus.”
“It’s a newer facility, so I think the environment is healthier. When I walk in this building it’s fresher and cleaner,” Weaver added.
Prior to the move, students enrolled in DAEP were educated at Nolan Estes Plaza in southern Dallas.
There used to be two DAEP sites, one for middle school students and one for high school students. Because of the relatively small number of students that attended those campuses during the 2021-2022 school year, the Texas Education Agency did not maintain their student achievement outcomes.
However, across the district, only 41% of Dallas ISD students, on average, managed to score at grade level on their STAAR exams that school year, according to a TEA accountability report. Additionally, nearly 20% of its graduating Class of 2022 failed to earn a diploma in four years despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated educators.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas ISD and a number of other public school systems sued to block the release of more recent accountability reports, claiming adjustments to TEA’s grading criteria would make their campuses appear worse than they really are.
