María “Lupe” Vargas García fue estudiante en W.E. Greiner Middle School Exploratory Arts Academy, y tras una serie de acontecimientos regresó para tomar el puesto como directora de orquesta. Descubrió que en la escuela había instrumentos que podrían utilizarse para formar un programa de mariachis, así que cuando se lo comentó al director, él le dio autorización para poner en marcha el programa después de clases. “Sabía que muchos estudiantes en la escuela eran latinos, así que pensé que esto funcionaría muy bien”, dijo García. “Creí que vendrían unos 10 o 15 niños. El primer día se presentaron alrededor de…
Author: Priscilla Rice
It was a full circle moment for Maria “Lupe” Vargas Garcia, when she first came to teach at W.E. Greiner Middle School Exploratory Arts Academy to be the orchestra director—she had attended the school as a student. When she found instruments at the school that could potentially be used to start a mariachi student program, she approached her principal about the idea and received the green light to start an afterschool program. “I just figured there’s a lot of Latinos in the school and thought this would catch on really well here,” Garcia said. “I expected about 10 to 15…
Jazmin Mier, instructional coordinator in the World Languages Department, is a citizen of the world. She has visited over 30 countries and uses this knowledge to help teachers in the district. So when she saw that the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth was offering an opportunity for 12 educators to participate in a United Arab Emirates Educator study tour this past spring, she jumped at the chance to go. Mier and 11 other educators from around the country visited the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai March 11-18 to make connections between classrooms in the Emirates and the United…
It’s been said that a place without art is a place without an identity. That’s not the case for Moisés E. Molina High School where artwork, images, murals, and 3D sculptures can normally be seen throughout the school. Visual arts teachers like Melissa James and Miriam Montaño Perez have made these displays possible with the aim of helping students develop a strong sense of identity. The visual arts program at Molina High School is so successful that students recently took home 18 regional medals at the Texas High School Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE). This weekend, three of the students’…
Para la familia Willis, Dallas ISD es su hogar, ya que un total de cinco miembros de la familia inmediata trabajan para el distrito y comparten una larga historia con el distrito. Carla y Christopher Willis Sr. se conocieron en 1977 cuando ambos eran estudiantes en Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Carla era estudiante de primer año y Christopher Sr. era estudiante de segundo año. Christopher era estudiante de música de tiempo completo, y Carla estudiaba baile, mientras asistía a South Oak Cliff High School. Han estado casados 38 años. Su hija, ChrisSharrah Yancy,…
For the Willis family, Dallas ISD is home, as a total of five of their immediate family members work for the district and all share a long history with the district. Carla and Christopher Willis Sr. met in 1977 when they were both students at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Carla was a freshman and Christopher Sr. was a sophomore. Christopher was a fulltime student, studying music, and Carla was in the dance cluster, while also attending South Oak Cliff High School. They have been married 38 years. Their daughter, ChrisSharrah Yancy, is an…
Su pasión por comunicarse con los demás en distintos idiomas colocó a Nourddine Boufekrane, maestro de Lengua y Cultura Francesa en Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy, en el camino que lo llevó a dedicarse a la enseñanza. El árabe, uno de los idiomas natales de Boufekrane, está entre los cinco idiomas con más hablantes del distrito, pues más de 300 estudiantes vienen de familias cuya primera lengua es el árabe. Los demás idiomas que habla son el bereber, el francés, el hebreo, el español, el inglés y el suajili. También se puede comunicar en urdu e hindi, entre otros.…
A passion for communicating with others in different languages set Nourddine Boufekrane, a teacher of French language and culture at Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy, on a journey that led him to dedicate his life to teaching. Arabic, one of Boufefrane’s native languages, is among the top five languages in the district, with over 300 students who come from homes where the first language is Arabic. Other languages that he speaks include Berber, French, Hebrew, Spanish, English, and Swahili. He can also communicate in Urdu and Hindi, among other languages. Boufekrane believes that months, such as Arab American Heritage…
Dallas ISD ofrece programas que fomentan que las niñas estudien para entrar en los campos de las ciencias, matemáticas y tecnología, y Rebecca Sánchez, directora de Servicios Comerciales de Informática del distrito, espera que se empodere a cada vez más mujeres para que se profesionalicen en estas carreras. “Es notable cómo cambia cada año, pero debe haber más mujeres en la comunidad técnica y científica, y me encanta verla crecer”, dijo Sánchez. “Ya que el distrito tiene programas como STEAM y STEM, es muy alentador e inspirador ver el interés de los estudiantes y ojalá trabajen en esos campos en…
Dallas ISD offers programs that promote girls entering the fields of science, math, and technology, and Rebecca Sanchez, director of IT Business Services for the district, hopes they will empower more and more women to pursue careers in these fields. “It’s remarkable how it’s changing every year, but there needs to be more women in the technical and scientific community, and I love to see it grow,” she said. “With the district having programs like STEAM and STEM, it’s very encouraging and inspiring to see students interested and hopefully working in these fields in the future.” Her advice for women…