Cuando Gustavo Zaragoza, maestro en el Instituto de Profesiones del Este, era estudiante recién llegado al país, no se imaginaba que algún día trabajaría en la educación. Gracias a su labor como maestro, ahora se puede identificar con sus estudiantes y empoderarlos, así como lo empoderaron sus maestros a él. Zaragoza, originario de México, no sabía inglés cuando llegó al distrito, y dijo haberse sentido intimidado en ocasiones, pero fue en sus clases de inglés como segundo idioma, o ESL, donde se sintió seguro. Dice que hoy está comprometido con crear ese tipo de entorno para sus estudiantes, en donde…
Author: Priscilla Rice
Shundanae Pierce, a master teacher at Elisha M. Pease Elementary School first began her journey with the district as a student at Nancy J. Cochran Elementary School. When she was in college, she knew she wanted to complete her student teaching with Dallas ISD, where she has been teaching for the last 17 years. What drew you to education? My elementary years played a pivotal role in this decision. I enjoyed going to school and had great relationships with my teachers. I’ve loved kids since my days of working in a daycare during my summers in high school. I was…
Camille Muñoz, a P-TECH teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, has been working in education since 2004, with the past 13 years in Dallas ISD. She is from Dallas, and spent the first six years of her teaching career working for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas at two private schools. She said she quickly realized that she wanted to impact more students and decided to make the move to Dallas ISD and public education. Muñoz was recently recognized as one of Dallas ISD’s Master Teachers. Get to know more about her background and passion for student success. What drew you to…
Every morning, on screens throughout David G. Burnet Elementary School students can see a live newscast that includes announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance via Zoom presented by their classmates. The newscast is a project that started during the pandemic and has grown into a daily staple at the school. During COVID, Sophia Zolezzi, math instructional coordinator at the school, found a creative way for students to still give their morning announcements and Pledge of Allegiance despite being in a virtual setting at that time. “I was looking for a way for us to still feel a sense of community,…
When Gustavo Zaragoza, a teacher at Career Institute East, was a student and a newcomer to the country, he never imagined going into the education field. Through his work as a teacher, he is now able to identify with his students and empower them, as teachers once did for him. Having grown up in Mexico, and not knowing the language when he first arrived in the district, he said he felt intimidated at times, and that it was in his ESL classes that he felt safe. He says he’s committed to create that type of environment for his students, where…
Sandra Urton, a teacher at Wilmer Hutchins Elementary School, first came to work as a teacher when she heard of the district’s need for bilingual educators. Urton saw this as an opportunity to make a positive impact for youth in the community. Now in her 15th year teaching in the district, she had previously taught two years in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, at the Universidad Tecnológica de Cancún, as well as in a middle school and at a language school. Where are you from and how did you end up at Dallas ISD? I am from Mexico City.…
Al caminar por los pasillos de Sylvia Mendez CREW Leadership Academy, se puede encontrar un colorido mural de mosaico hecho por los estudiantes con el mensaje de “Cuatro casas, un EQUIPO”, del cual se sienten muy orgullosos las clases de arte de la maestra Mary Vongvivitpatana. Inspirada por el sistema Ron Clark, Sylvia Mendez es una de las escuelas de Dallas ISD que tiene implementado el sistema de casas. Vongvivitpatana dice que el proyecto del mural de mosaico, que se realizó a lo largo de varias semanas, inspiró unidad y creó un sentido de comunidad entre los estudiantes. El mosaico,…
Walking through the hallways at Sylvia Mendez CREW Leadership Academy, you will find a colorful student-made mural mosaic with the message of “Four Houses, one CREW,” which students in Mary Vongvivitpatana’s art classes take pride in. Inspired by the Ron Clark System, Sylvia Mendez is one of the Dallas ISD schools that has the house system in place. Vongvivitpatana says the mosaic mural project, which took several weeks, inspired unity and built a sense of community for the students. The mosaic, composed of tiny squares that were shrunk to about an inch, is what the students worked on to create…
Al entrar al salón de banda de Rodney Dittmar en Seagoville High School se encontrará con unos estudiantes totalmente dedicados a descubrir y perfeccionar sus talentos musicales como compositores, letristas, ingenieros de sonido y músicos, desarrollando a la vez todo tipo de habilidades que los prepararán para encontrar su voz como artistas. Seagoville High School es la única escuela del distrito, y solo una de tres en el país, en recibir el subsidio Hometown to Hometown, el cual provee $45,000 en instrumentos y entrenamiento a través de la Save the Music Foundation. Dittmar, quien es el encargado del Departamento de…
Walking into Rodney Dittmar’s Modern Band classroom at Seagoville High School, you will find his students fully engaged in their work—discovering and honing their musical talents as composers, songwriters, sound engineers, musicians—and developing all types of skills that will prepare them to find their voices as artists. In fact, they are the only school in the district, and only one of three in the nation to receive the Hometown to Hometown grant, which provided $45,000 worth of instruments and training through the Save the Music Foundation. Dittmar, who is the Fine Arts Department chair for the school, applied for the…