Areas offers quality schools from early to higher education

The backbone to any great community, like Duncanville, is its level of education.

Duncanville isn't known as the "City of Champions" for nothing.

Preparing children to succeed in a global society is the goal of the dedicated professional within the Duncanville Independent School District.

It is considered a privilege to educate young minds and inspire them to stellar academic achievements.

Covering about 30 square miles, Duncanville ISD offers a diverse school community focused on academic achievement. By embracing change and progress, Duncanville schools represent the ideal environment for families who value education.

Duncanville ISD is comprised of eighteen campuses. Nine elementary schools, two of which were constructed in 2003, provide students with a strong educational foundation to prepare them for further studies. Three intermediate schools and two middle schools carry young people through the beginning of their secondary school years in preparation for grades 9-12.

The district currently offers a separate Ninth Grade Center for freshmen and Duncanville High School for grades 10-12.

Experiencing growth in student enrollment and the need for refurbished facilities, the Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees gained the community's support for a $166 million bond program in October 2001, which is nearing completion. The bond program includes two new elementary schools that were completed in 2003, renovation of all current school buildings, and a total redevelopment of the high school campus including a new academic wing and athletic arena that were both completed in 2004.

Additionally, the ninth-grade students will move to the high school campus in 2005, allowing for the current Ninth Grade Center to be redeveloped into a third middle school.

Duncanville ISD students continue to be academically competitive with their peers across the state and the nation. Out of 130 TAKS scores, Duncanville ISD outperformed the state in 75 areas and tied the state average in 17 other areas.

The Advanced Placement Program at Duncanville High School, considered a premiere initiative, offers over 20 courses. Forty-two Duncanville High School students, an increase of nine students over the previous year, were named AP Scholars by the College Board in 2003 in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Examinations.

SAT scores have also increased for two consecutive years and a total of 40 points. In 2003 the district's composite 1,001 SAT score was the best in Best Southwest. Two students were named National Merit Semifinalists in 2004 by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Ten of Duncanville lSD's campuses have received academic designations as Recognized or Exemplary Schools from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Since 1998, the district has increased the number of campuses honored by TEA from two to 10, adding additional campuses each year.

Other outstanding academic programs offered by the district are: GATE: Gifted and Talented Education Foreign Studies Program Destination Imagination (elementary academic competition) Academic Decathlon Bilingual and ESL (English as a Second Language) Programs Special Education Extracurricular programs enhance the district's instructional environment and provide students with limitless choices to pursue their interests.

Quality leadership and the dedicated performance of students have brought 17 athletic state championships to the district since 1975. The most recent athletic state championship was earned in 2003 by the girl's basketball team. Other state championships include three state marching band titles, one of which was the Grand Champion Award in the UIL Class 5A Marching Competition in 2002, and two Texas Music Education Association (TMEA) State Honor Band awards since 1998.

Private Schools
Duncanville also offers several private schools for students from preschool to 12th grade.
Institutions such as Merrywood School, Masters Academy, ChristWay Academy, First United Methodist Preschool and Talenton provide quality learning environments for parents interested in specialized or religious education.

Higher Education
Duncanville is in an ideal place for students of all ages to pursue a higher education.
Just minutes away are Cedar Valley College, Mountain View College, Northwood University and the University of North Texas - Dallas Campus.

Cedar Valley College, located at 3030 N. Dallas Ave. in Lancaster, offers 13 program including accounting, criminal justice and patient care technology. the college awards arts and sciences, applied science, college university and transfer associate degrees.

Mountain View College, located on W. Illinois Avenue in Dallas, serves 10,000 credit students and 9,000 for further education.

Located at 114 W. FM 1382 in Cedar Hill, Northwood University serves 1,200 students. It offers two-year and four-year associate of arts and bachelor of business administration degrees.

The UNT Dallas Campus, located at 8915 S. Hampton Road, offers four-year degree program as well as graduate studies in counseling and student services, information science and library science.

The Dallas campus also confers certification and endorsements including alternative dispute resolution, diversity, information processing technology teaching and technology applications. The campus houses three computerized classrooms, which allow for computer-aided instruction. It also offers video conference classes.

Less than 30 minutes away from Duncanville are the University of Dallas, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University.