Education in Dallas facts for kids
Dallas, Texas, is a big city with many places to learn! It has lots of universities, colleges, schools, and libraries for students of all ages.
Colleges and Universities
Dallas is a major learning hub in the South Central United States. The city itself has many universities, colleges, and trade schools. Some big universities are also in nearby towns. For example, the University of Texas at Dallas is in Richardson. The University of Dallas is in Irving. Dallas Christian College is in Farmers Branch.
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private university. This means it's not run by the government. It's located in University Park, a town surrounded by Dallas. SMU was started in 1911 by the Southern Methodist Church. Today, about 6,500 students are studying for their first degree. Many more are studying law, theology, or advanced degrees. SMU is also home to the Cox School of Business.
Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is another private university. It's in the Mountain Creek area of southwest Dallas. DBU moved to Dallas in 1965. Now, over 5,500 students attend this school.
The University of North Texas at Dallas is a public university. This means it gets money from the government. It's being built in south Dallas. This will be the first public university right inside Dallas city limits.
Paul Quinn College is a private college with a special history. It is a historically Black college. This means it was founded to educate Black students. It moved to Dallas in 1993 from Waco. A Dallas businessman, Comer Cottrell, bought the campus and gave it to Paul Quinn College. About 3,000 students attend this school.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School is a top medical school. It's part of a very large medical center in Dallas. This school is very hard to get into. It accepts about 200 new students each year. Many students also study for advanced medical degrees here.
Schools
The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) covers most of the city. It is one of the largest school districts in the United States. It runs on its own, separate from the city government. Over 161,000 students go to DISD schools.
DISD has special schools called magnet schools. These schools focus on certain subjects. For example, the School for the Talented & Gifted was named the #1 school in the U.S. by Newsweek in 2006 and 2007. The Science and Engineering Magnet school was also ranked very high.
Dallas also has parts that are in other school districts. These include Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Duncanville, and Richardson. This means some kids living in Dallas might go to schools in a different district.
For example, some parts of North Dallas are in the Richardson ISD. One area is north of Interstate 635. Another part is in Lake Highlands, east of White Rock Creek.
A group called Dallas County Schools helps school districts in Dallas County. They provide things like transportation for students.
The Dallas County Community College District also runs a special high school. It's called the Richland Collegiate High School.
Libraries
The city of Dallas has a great library system. It's called the Dallas Public Library. This system started thanks to the Dallas Federation of Women's Clubs. A woman named Mrs. Henry Exall helped raise money. She got a grant from a rich man named Andrew Carnegie. This money helped build the first library branch in 1901.
Today, the Dallas Public Library has 25 branches all over the city. The main library is the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. It's a big 8-story building in downtown Dallas. There's even a special children's library called Bookmarks in the Northpark Mall.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center also has its own library. It has two locations on its north and south campuses. This library has many books and thousands of online journals for medical students and researchers.
Weekend Learning
The Japanese School of Dallas is a special weekend school. It helps Japanese children and Japanese Americans learn about their culture and language. They hold classes at Ted Polk Middle School in Carrollton.
