Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde was joined by Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall and two Mavericks superstars on Monday to greet students for the first day of school at Adelle Turner Elementary School, one of the 41 schools on the district’s intersession calendar.
Also on hand, along with Mavs Dorian Finney-Smith and Rolando Blackman, was Dallas ISD District 6 Trustee Joyce Foreman, as the group dedicated a brand new, state-of-the-art basketball court to Adelle Turner.
“The best way to start off the year is with high energy and really getting kids excited about their learning, and of course, the gym,” Dr. Elizalde said.
The Mavericks adopted Adelle Turner Elementary in 2021 as part of their Mavs Take ACTION! Plan, whose mission is to “address racial inequalities, promote social justice and drive change within Dallas/Fort Worth.”
“Everyone knows the reputation of the Dallas Mavericks of giving to our community, but when you see them in your school, it says that the students are important. It’s actions, not just words, and it changes our kids’ lives,” Elizalde said.
“It’s such a tight correlation of us moving away from competition and moving toward cooperation and collaboration, and the Dallas Mavericks and sports are symbolic of what happens when you bring a team together,” the superintendent said.
The intersession calendar, which extends the school year to start at the beginning of August and end in late June, was created in an effort to give students the opportunity to learn in smaller, more personalized groups, and teachers more time for planning.
Next Monday, August 15, is Dallas ISD’s first day of school for campuses that follow the district’s base calendar, and it will conclude all three of the district’s “first days” of school. For more information on the district’s three calendars, visit About Dallas ISD / District Calendars.
