Author: News and Information

On Feb. 12, more than 100 dads attended a Bring a Dad to School event at Skyline High School. The Dallas Morning News details how, just three years ago, only 15 dads showed up to the event. The story profiles a push led in part by the Skyline Dads Club to raise awareness on the need for positive male role models. Read the full story here.

NBC DFW on Tuesday spotlighted an innovative district program that helps parents better prepare to work with their students at home. The news report details how the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program sends coaches to the homes of at-risk children between the ages of 3 and 5. The coaches then train the parents on how to teach their children in subjects such as reading and basic math. For the full report from NBC DFW, click here.

Joe Broadnax, a Bryan Adams student, lost his mother and grandmother over the past three years. In signing his national letter of intent to enroll in and play football at TCU, he fulfilled a promise he had made to his mother to go to college. Read the full story from Bleacher Report here.

It’s Wednesday afternoon, and scholars of subjects such as DNA, animal rights and immigration are gathered in the library at Anne Frank Elementary. These scholars share their knowledge on such topics as the harm caused by animal cruelty and importance of the central nervous system. And, in this case, the scholars are Anne Frank Elementary students who became experts on their subjects through the annual GT Research Fair. “I’m always impressed with what the students learn and come up with,” said Jeni Baldwin, Gifted & Talented teacher at Anne Frank Elementary. The GT Research Fair allows Anne Frank Elementary students to choose…

The Dallas Independent School District has announced that Karry L. Chapman will serve as interim chief of Human Capital Management, effective Feb. 17, 2015. Chapman has 16 years of leadership experience in human resources for school districts in North Texas. Most recently, she came out of retirement to be the interim assistant superintendent for administration and human resources in Irving ISD from 2011-14. Prior to Irving, she was the assistant superintendent for human resources in Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, preceded by serving as executive director for human resources in DeSoto ISD and personnel coordinator in Grand Prairie ISD. She was a classroom…

Three students at Booker T. Washington High School For The Performing And Visual Arts have been named finalists for $2,500 National Merit Scholarships. The Booker T. Washington finalists, who are among 15,000 students nationwide to achieve the status, include: Simon C. Cohen Sarah J. Klein Byron J. Otis SEE ALSO: Performing Arts students receive top honors According to the National Merit® Scholarship Program, students advance to finalist standing by meeting a variety of standards including having a record of consistently very high academic performance in grades 9 through 12 and in any college course work taken, and receiving an endorsement…

The George W. Bush Institute recently released its 2015 Mayors’ Report Card on Education which shows Dallas ISD students performed better than expected when compared to other districts with similar levels of poverty based on data from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) National Report Card. Ninty percent of Dallas ISD students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and according to the report, were expected to make a score of approximately 920 on the combined NAEP student achievement report. In actuality, Dallas ISD African-American students scored 934 and Hispanic students scored 968. This score is derived from the…

Community members both young and old, as well as families, will come together to celebrate literacy and African-American literature during the annual African-American Read-In, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1819 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75215. The read-in will feature a variety of reading activities, storytelling, food and music. There also will be giveaways for participating students. Bernadette Nutall, Dallas ISD District 9 Trustee, and the Cornerstone Community Development Corp will sponsor the read-in. The event also supports the Dallas ISD African-American Success Initiative.

The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees will discuss a plan for the future of the district’s facilities at its briefing on Thursday, Feb. 12. While trustees will be briefed on the first draft of a long term, comprehensive program and facilities plan, they will be asked to consider taking the first steps on a “Bridge Plan” designed to address the district’s most pressing and immediate needs. The Bridge Plan aims to provide additional classroom space to serve more pre-K students, add more public school choice campuses to give parents more options for their children and build new facilities or renovate…

The idea to tackle facilities needs within Dallas ISD is being launched, and it’s a plan like no other devised before. Chief of Transformation and Innovation, Mike Koprowski, says the strategy is a starting point and is written to meet specific programmatic needs to help students maximize their potential. The draft plan shows an investment in three areas that relate to the district’s strategic plan, known as Destination 2020.Those key areas are early childhood education, school choice and career tech education.