DeSoto Independent School District


DeSoto Independent School District is a school district based in DeSoto, Texas. The district covers most of DeSoto, the Dallas County portion of Glenn Heights, and a section of Ovilla in Dallas County, as well as a small portion of Cedar Hill.
In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.

History

In 2005 Alton Frailey, superintendent of the district, said that the affluence within some students in the district lead to apathy regarding school performance. Frailey said that many African American parents from the previous generation had tried very hard to improve their socioeconomic status, but some of their children may believe that they will easily attain what they wish in life, or believe that education is not a priority. With a current enrollment just over 9,000 students, DeSoto ISD is a small, suburban district 15 miles south of Dallas in north Texas. The 23-square-mile district serves students in DeSoto, Glenn Heights, and Ovilla with 12 campuses and 2,015 total of staff and employees.

Schools

;High Schools
;Middle Schools
;Elementary Schools
The district approved a plan to realign grades served at each school, which took effect at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year. The plan affects all schools in the district that serve students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight. The main changes include:
DeSoto ISD student demographic figures as of the 2005-2006 school year:

Enrollment

In 1997 over half of the DeSoto ISD students were non-Hispanic white. From that year until 2016 the number of non-Hispanic white students declined declined by 91% to 2016, when 3% of the students were non-Hispanic white. Eric Nicholson of the Dallas Observer wrote that because of the "relatively small" sizes of southern Dallas County school districts, the demographic changes were relatively more severe compared to districts in other parts of the county.
From 1997 to 2016 the number of students on free or reduced lunches, a way of designating someone as low income, increased by 400%.
Eric Nicholson of the Dallas Observer wrote that because of the "relatively small" sizes of southern Dallas County school districts, the demographic changes were relatively more severe compared to districts in other parts of the county.

School uniforms

In the 2005-2006 school year, DeSoto ISD began a mandatory school uniform policy at all of its schools.