Author: The Hub

KPMG recently sponsored a Read to Succeed Book Fair at Onesimo Hernandez Elementary School. Each student had the opportunity to choose five books and enjoy some word games and snacks. Also, KPMG partners and staff members visited upper grade classrooms to talk about how important math is in their jobs. This book fair was in addition to many other gifts provided by KPMG this school year. KPMG has donated books for all students at 15 schools, distributed 5,000 at the district’s Read to Me event on March 4, and committed to an additional $35,000 for books to be distributed to all students enrolled in…

Spend the next 92 seconds catching up on many of the great things that happened across the district this week! Sweet success Robert T. Hill Middle School won first place in the annual Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Cookie Box Creations Competition with its replica of Amelia Earhart’s flight. (See their creation) Longhorn Leadership Forum The W.T. White High School Student Council hosted a leadership forum that gave more than 40 elementary and middle school students from the feeder pattern an inside look at everything the school has to offer. (Learn more) State champions Congratulations to Madison High School’s boys basketball team for…

Trustees voted yesterday to consolidate several schools as part of an effort to better support students and staff, bring premiere educational experiences to families in the area, and most effectively use district resources. Under the plan, beginning in fall 2017, students who now attend Amelia Earhart Learning Center will go to Martinez Elementary School, and students attending Carver Learning Center will go to C.F. Carr Elementary School. Meanwhile, the Dallas Environmental Science Academy (DESA) will be housed in the current Earhart building. In addition to better supporting students and staff, the consolidations will create the opportunity for a new Pinkston…

The STAAR test is next week, so here are few things parents can do to best set their students up for success. Download a copy of the District testing Schedule found at www.dallasisd.org/calendars to know when your children will be taking their STAAR tests. Ensure that your children have their uniforms or clothing and their school bags ready the night before to avoid being late to class. Encourage your children by telling them they will do well on the exam. Practice reading at home—at least 15 minutes every night. Children who are well-rested and have had a nutritious breakfast will…

In hopes of encouraging more families to realize the benefits of prekindergarten for their children, trustees voted Thursday to expand tuition-supported pre-K classes to 14 additional campuses next year. The vote follows a one-year pilot of the tuition-based program at five schools and expands to 19 the number of campuses offering the tuition option for families who do not meet the requirements for free pre-K. The list of the 19 campuses and more details about the tuition-based program are available on the district’s Early Learning web page. The board also approved a tuition rate of $525 per month per child,…

Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services is – according to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) – among the Best of the Bunch. The TDA awarded the department a Best of the Bunch Award for its participation in the 2016 Local Products Challenge. “By serving Texas agricultural projects as part of school meals and offering students an opportunity to learn about agriculture and locally grown food, the nutrition professionals in your district have taken the extra steps necessary to introduce students to local food and help them make smart nutritional choices,” said TDA Commissioner Sid Miller in a letter…

Delores White teaches a hospitality class for juniors at Dallas ISD’s Justin F. Kimball High School, and also runs the school’s four-year Academy of Hospitality and Tourism. “We’ve been here for 10 years,” she said. “But we didn’t actually start thriving until, let’s say, four years ago.” Under her direction, the program has earned “distinguished” status from the National Academy Foundation. She says this program helped restore pride in Kimball. That’s after the state ranked the school academically unacceptable for five out of six years. “We were academically underperforming,” she said. “Because of this academy, we raised the bar.” The students are getting…

Gracias a un foro de liderazgo organizado por el consejo estudiantil de W.T. White High School, más de 40 estudiantes tuvieron la oportunidad de visitar su futura escuela. En el evento se reunieron estudiantes de nueve primarias y dos secundarias del patrón de asistencia escolar de W.T. White High School. Los estudiantes participaron en sesiones de trabajo sobre liderazgo y cómo fomentar el espíritu escolar, antes de presentar sus trabajos a todo el grupo. Después de almorzar y de hacer un recorrido por la escuela, los estudiantes de la preparatoria hablaron sobre los diferentes clubes, deportes, bellas artes y otras…

Madison High School seniors Desmond Scott, JeMichael Bowens, and Patrick Terry have played basketball together for years, logging so much time as teammates that each player usually knows in advance what their friends will do on the court. The practice and camaraderie paid off: Madison won the UIL 3A State Basketball tournament in San Antonio earlier this month. The players were freshman on the basketball team when Madison last won state in 2013. Terry and Bowens have been close friends and played basketball together since second-grade, and Scott has played with them since junior high. “We’ve pushed each other and…

Sometimes, hands just have to dance. Nico Baixas, a performer in Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS-Cabinet of Curiosities, took his flexible, expressive fingers to Herbert Marcus Elementary School on Thursday in front of deaf and hearing-impaired students. His show was not only entertaining, but his moves showed another way of how hands can be used to communicate beyond sign language. “You can use your hands to do big things, strong things,” Baixas said. “But you can also use your hands to do little things, like painting.” The contrast also works to describe the difference between the small, tabletop performance at Marcus to the…