Author: The Hub

African Americans have had immeasurable impact and contributed to the quality, progress and access of education to all races and creeds within the Dallas Independent School District and community. Read about some of our schools’ namesakes and their historical contributions to Dallas ISD. Booker T. Washington: Booker T. Washington taught himself to read after long days of working in a coal mine and salt furnace in West Virginia. A graduate of Hampton Institute in West Virginia, Washington would later return to his alma mater to teach classes there.  In 1881, he created the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. Before he…

As part of an effort to meet the district goal of every student engaging in a co-curricular or extra-curricular activity, the Dallas ISD Student Activities Department, Special Education Department and STEM Department hosted the district’s first ever Special Needs Robotics Scrimmage. Sunset High School, W.H. Gaston Middle School, the Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs, Billy Earl Dade Middle School and J.L. Long Middle School each had a team compete in the event held Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the H.B. Bell Building. The teams faced off with their VEX IQ robots, aiming to complete as many tasks as they…

As progress on Dallas ISD’s $1.6 billion bond program moves forward, the participation of minority and women owned businesses is a major priority in awarding contracts for the dozens of campus additions, renovations and new school construction projects. In fact, the district’s board of trustees has set two goals to target the effort – 35 percent M/WBE participation in bond funded professional services, such as program management, architectural design, and land surveys, and 30 percent participation in actual construction projects. To achieve the goals, the staff charged with accomplishing M/WBE participation wants to spread the message that the door is…

Eight campuses have advanced to the next round in the NCAA’s Read to the Final Four® contest for Dallas Independent School District third-graders. The bracket style tournament mimics the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament schedule, with schools advancing based on how many minutes students read outside school hours. Since November, third-graders from across the district have been counting the number of minutes they read each day. The Elite 8 advanced from the Sweet 16 round. Each Elite 8 campus will receive $500 for the school library, a pizza party for the top classroom, a gift card for the top teacher,…

Dallas ISD’s special programs and schools received more than 13,000 applications during the application period that closed Jan. 31. Students had about two months to apply to attend a Dallas ISD magnet school, transformation school, Two-Way Dual Language program, or collegiate academy. Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership Stephanie Elizalde said the number of applications shows a high demand for the district’s special programs and schools. “Dallas ISD is committed to providing a best-fit education for all students, whether that is at one of our neighborhood schools or special programs,” Elizalde said. “Regardless of a student’s interest or abilities, Dallas…

Students at Dallas ISD’s John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center who cannot afford uniforms will benefit from a recent donation to the school. In January, Soccorro Dinsmore, who owns several Levine’s department stores, donated $600 worth of uniform shirts and pants. The gift was coordinated by the district’s Volunteer and Partnership Services. The Patton Academic Center serves 132 students who arrive as over-age and lacking in school credits in comparison to their grade-level peers. Through a high-quality, customized educational experience, students take accelerated courses to catch up and complete their diplomas.

Robert Folsom, a Sunset High School graduate who went on to be mayor of Dallas and have a tremendous impact on the city, died last month. The Dallas Morning News ran an in-depth obituary on Folsom that notes his many accomplishments, including helping bring the NBA and NHL to Dallas. Go here to read the full DMN obituary on Folsom.

Spend the next 137 seconds catching up on many of the great things that happened across the district this week! Watch this video, or read below, to learn more. Teen Board See how a Dallas ISD Teen Board service project helped about 200 high school students think about what they want to do after high school. (Learn more) Food in Fashion Dallas ISD trustees teamed up with district culinary students for this sizzling event. (Read this) Money matters Highland Meadows Elementary students are much more financially savvy thanks to a visit from the Junior Achievement Young Executive Society. (Watch this) Special…

Martin Weiss Elementary School became a School of Leadership in Fall 2016 by implementing “The Leader in Me” curriculum, which aims to develop students’ intellectual, moral, social and emotional skills to prepare them to be leaders in a global society. “The Leader in Me covers Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and we call them ‘the seven habits of happy kids here,’ ” said Principal Shundra Brown. “On top of that, they have internships their fifth-grade year where they get to hold real jobs around the campus.” In addition, the school’s location in the community makes it easy to connect students…

What do you get when you mix a prize-winning orator, book giveaways, music and dance performances, and students reading aloud from their favorite books? The answer is fun and education. The annual African American Read-In will offer all of the above this Saturday, Feb. 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for kids of all ages who love reading and books. Free and open to the entire community, the read-in will culminate with students selecting free books for their home library. The location for this Black History Month celebration of African American literature and literacy is Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1819 MLK…