Author: News and Information

Shareefah Nadfir Mason, an eighth-grade U.S. History teacher at Boude Storey Middle School, has earned The Tom and Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award from The Sons of the American Revolution. She received the award and a $300 prize during a ceremony on Jan. 10 at the Presbyterian Village North Retirement Center.   The Tom and Betty Lawrence American History Teacher Award recognizes an individual whose outstanding instruction on the era of the Revolutionary War demonstrates exceptional accomplishments in the classroom. The winner receives a trip to Freedoms Foundation Summer Teacher Graduate Workshop at Valley Forge, Penn.

Jennifer Hooker, a drill team instructor and freshmen biology teacher at W.T. White High School, says the Dallas Independent School District’s new evaluation system, the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), is a model more and more teachers are now able to understand. “We have received, I would say at least here, a lot of information about it – almost as they get it seems from our TEI point people,” Hooker said. On Jan. 20, the first of several planned question and answer sessions was held at W.T. White. Hooker says there’s a lot to be gained from having the district’s top…

As the result of an unauthorized leak of a confidential draft document created within the Office of Internal Audit, allegations against Chief of Human Capital Management Carmen Darville and members of her team appeared in the media this week. A determination of whether those allegations warrant an investigation has not yet been made by the Chief of Internal Audit. In response to the draft memo, Carmen issued the following statement: “First, it troubles me, as it would anyone, that these allegations have been put out in the media prior to the launch of any formal internal investigation. I am proud…

As part of Destination 2020, the district’s strategic plan to raise achievement, the Imagine 2020 initiative provides an additional layer of support to campuses that are expected to accelerate their level of achievement. Since its implementation, more than two years ago, the program has already seen great success in raising that level of academic achievement in feeder patterns, who for years, had been struggling to meet standard requirements. The Dallas Morning News found stories of that success around the district. Read the positive gains and feedback both students and school administrators give in the article below. LINK: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150124-extra-teachers-tutors-pay-off-for-schools-in-dallas-isds-imagine-2020.ece

Six Dallas ISD teams have advanced to the state University Interscholastic League (UIL) Cross-Examination Debate Competition after emerging victorious in district-level competition on Jan. 22, at the Hulcy campus. The UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Competition is March 20-21 at The University of Texas in Austin. The advancing schools and their respective districts are listed below: UIL District 11-5A Woodrow Wilson High School: First and second place UIL District 13-5A Samuell High School: First place Seagoville High School: Second place UIL District 11-4A Pinkston High School: First place Roosevelt High School: Second place The UIL Cross-Examination Debate District Competition for 6A…

Students from the School of Science and Engineering at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center fought to a third-place finish in the Metroplex Mathematics Contest on Jan. 17.  Approximately 18 students from the School of Science and Engineering, or SEM, competed against students from six other public or private schools in Dallas. This was the second year SEM students competed in the contest. Students competed in tests ranging from geometry to calculus. If students had not completed the course, they participated in the closed division contest for that subject. Otherwise, students competed in the open division for a given subject.…

The elevator music greets you as you walk into the door and for a brief moment you forget that you’re at a Dallas ISD high school. The idea of banking can seem foreign for some high school students. However, at Emmett J. Conrad High School, banking is becoming a part of everyday life. The school’s Academy of Finance recently opened the Bank of Conrad in the heart of the school where everyone can take advantage of the services offered. Complete with elevator music, neatly dressed academy student attendants, and a customer sign-in area, the Bank of Conrad welcomes many students…

Money cents matters. Even for a high school student who is learning, for the first time, how to balance a check book, or gaining a better understanding of what credit scores mean. Students at Emmett J. Conrad High School now have the opportunity to take charge of their finances at their campus’ newly established financial institution, known as the Bank of Conrad. Check out how these students are using a new kind of currency called Conrad Cash in the link below. LINK: http://keranews.org/post/conrad-high-school-students-bank-saving-and-managing-money

Students at Arcadia Park Elementary cheered, smiled and added excitement to a celebration of the Dallas Independent School District evening supper program held on Jan. 21 at their school. See photos from the event here. Joined by the Dallas Mavericks mascots, Mavs Man and Champ, as well as the basketball team’s cheerleaders and a host of local dignitaries, the Arcadia Park drum line and student body helped announce the latest milestone for the program. This school year, students at 136 Dallas ISD campuses now have the opportunity to enjoy healthy, high-quality grab-and-go meals that ensure no student goes home hungry. That…

More than 400 employees of Trend Micro Inc., volunteered their time, resources and services on Jan. 20, to benefit five schools in the Dallas Independent School District located in the southern region of the city. Volunteers restored and enhanced portions of five Dallas ISD campuses including cafeterias, gymnasiums, libraries and classrooms. In addition to their on-site efforts, Trend Micro will be making a $25,000 contribution to Dallas ISD, to be divided among the following five schools: Stevens Park Elementary School Quintanilla Middle School Dallas Environmental Science Academy (DESA) George Washington Carver Elementary School C.F. Carr Elementary See photos from Carver and DESA here.…