A school shooting earlier this month at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas ISD has prompted renewed scrutiny over the school system’s efforts to keep students safe on campus.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a 17-year-old student managed to bring a gun onto campus despite the presence of metal detectors and Dallas ISD’s clear backpack policy. He allegedly shot another student in the upper thigh. Luckily, no fatalities were reported.
“I went to Hutch. I was scared for my life every day. Everyday,” campus alum Tobi Collins said, per CBS News Texas. “Every day until I graduated and I walked across the stage.”
Previous polling conducted by DX suggested that stakeholders in the area believe the school district suffers from mismanagement.
In addition to the purported lack of safety at some campuses in the district and Dallas ISD’s difficulty complying with a state law requiring an armed security guard at every school, student achievement outcomes have also dogged the troubled school district.
According to the Texas Education Agency’s accountability report for the campus, only 24% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams during the 2021-2022 school year, far below the districtwide average of 41%. Additionally, almost 25% of graduating seniors earned a diploma in four years despite the hard work of the school’s dedicated educators.
Student information for that school year indicates that some 98% of the 998 students enrolled at the campus were “economically disadvantaged,” with 50.9% logged as African American and 46.5% logged as Hispanic.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School is located in Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson’s education district, which is largely situated in southern Dallas and includes parts of the Oak Lawn area, West Dallas, the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins, and parts of eastern and southern Oak Cliff.
Johnson was named Bad Apple of Q4 in 2023 because of the 8,160 students he abandoned at schools in his education district with alarming student achievement outcomes, as reported by DX.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School scored 68 out of 100 for its student achievement outcome accountability grade.