Points of Pride
Dolphin Terrace Elementary School was redesigned and reimaged in 2018. Construction on the new campus began in February 2020. The original camp was built in 1960 and was an elementary and middle school to serve the YISD community in the Northeast. We have had only five principals since its opening. Mrs. Lorraine Martinez, the current principal, has been at the helm since May 2015. We currently serve kindergarten through 5th grade of approximately 500 students who then feed into Parkland Middle School for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. We are also a combo school and are connected to Parkland Pre-K, which services the Northeast area. The new campus was ready to be moved in October 2022. Teachers, parents, students, and the community were able to tour the new school and instantly fell in love. Dolphin Terrace is better equipped and able to reach more students, strengthen knowledge, create problem solvers, and prepare students for the future.
Our elementary campus volunteer program has been named one of the top 10 in the district since 2008 for most participation. All parents are encouraged to participate in our volunteer program, walk with us on Fast Feet Friday and attend school events. Each year, our community donates food, blankets, toiletries, school supplies, games, toys, and clothing to help our families.
Our instructional focus is to develop critical thinking skills and use them in mastering an integrated curriculum suitable for the 21st century. We implement technology through various learning games, applications, and programs to include the use of Google Chromebooks and all their capabilities. In addition, programs such as Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, Fundations, Wilson Language, Esperanza, Daily 5, Accelerated Reader, Texas Fitness, Eduphoria, Texas State Curriculum Standards, and textbook adoptions are implemented throughout the day in a whole group, and/or a targeted small group setting.
Students are encouraged to participate in after-school clubs, robotics, extended-day school, and other activities. Our school is proud to recognize our students weekly with “Dolphin of the Week”, grade-level attendance challenges, Fast Feet Fridays, grade level competitions, AR levels/points, and honor roll incentives to name a few. Our AR Nights on Mondays, semester parent nights, evening festivals, yearly health fair, Marathon Kids, Jump Rope for Heart, band and orchestra concerts, robotic competitions, eSports, STEM/STEAM programs, sports clubs, computer programing/coding, UIL competitions, TIE TIME, and Saturday camps are highlights of our campus that help bring our community together.
In 2019, the Ysleta ISD community voted to continue looking toward the future for our students and our district by passing a new bond. Dolphin Terrace will be one of the many beneficiaries of the bond through the construction of a new campus. Our school will be at the forefront of educational settings to meet the needs of our students of today and the future. We are excited about what our school will bring to our community for the next sixty years. As we have moved into our new campus, we are still under construction. We are in the next phase of not only building a new school but also of building a strong future.
In 2022, Dolphin Terrace was awarded an "A" rating by the Texas Education Agency. Dolphin Terrace scored an overall 95/100, with high scores in Student Progress and Closing the Gaps.
Our Roots Run Deep! SEL @Dolphin Terrace