Author: The Hub

Five members of the Thomas Jefferson High School family were honored on Friday, March 31, at the TJ Alumni Association’s annual awards ceremony. Four of the honorees are distinguished graduates: H. Russell “Rusty” Brutsche; Michael Carter; Craig Melde and Audrey Pinkerton. Another honoree is longtime staff member and parent volunteer Annette Elliott. Brutsche, Class of 1963, founded a company that changed the face and sound of live rock-and-roll concerts. Interested in building things but also having a love of music, he started his career as an engineer designing laser systems at Texas Instruments. Later, he devoted his professional efforts to…

Dr. Ben Carson, the new U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, visited Dallas and Fort Worth this week as part of his listening tour to research housing issues across the country. On Thursday, he stopped by the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at the Mercy Street Athletic Complex to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a youth baseball game. He also met and posed for photos with the Pinkston and Wilmer-Hutchins high school baseball teams, which were slated to play a game at the complex as well.

It’s not every day that an elephant shows up at your school. But that’s exactly what happened on Thursday, March 30, at Dallas ISD’s Dan D. Rogers Elementary School. Well, sort of. Ellie the Elephant is a realistic-looking, animatronic robot elephant that talks. Ellie tells a story about being captured in the wild, abused and forced to work in the circus. The program aims to teach empathy to schoolchildren about how animals are sometimes treated in captivity. Her story ends happily, as she is rescued and sent to live in an animal sanctuary. This year, Ellie has spoken to 25,000…

A little help can go a long way in making a significant difference in a student’s life. That was the message at the March 29 kickoff event for the Stars on the Rise Scholarship Program, which is organized by the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GDHCC) and helps make college possible for deserving students. The kickoff event emphasized how Dallas ISD employees and outside community members can donate a small amount to the scholarship fund and still make a significant impact on a recipient’s life. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa recalled at the kickoff event how, as a student at Sunset…

LOVE in Motion delivered treats to all staff at 15 schools this month. The goal of LOVE in motion is to remind district employees on a continual basis that there are many people in the community who highly appreciate and value the ongoing work of educators. Appreciation gifts that were distributed included a bag with a full-size candy bar, a scratch off lottery ticket and a handwritten note thanking staff for the arduous work with Dallas students. These appreciation efforts have proven to help lift staff morale, which overflows to school campuses excelling on different levels – proof that a touch…

¡Faltan menos de dos meses para las ceremonias de graduación! Abajo pueden ver el horario de las ceremonias de graduación para las preparatorias del Dallas ISD. Las ceremonias que se realizarán en el Alfred J. Loos Sports Complex y en Ellis Davis Field House se transmitirán en vivo por internet en el siguiente enlace Commencement Streaming. Hillcrest High School  Ceremonia:  Jueves, 25/may/2017, 7:30 PM  Lugar:  McFarlin Auditorium James Madison High School  Ceremonia:  Viernes, 26/may/2017, 7:00 PM  Lugar:  Ellis Davis School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center  Ceremonia:  Viernes, 26/may/2017, 7:00 PM  Lugar:  Black Academy of Arts…

Helena isn’t only a great student, she’s a great teacher. The Woodrow Wilson High School junior teaches a computer coding class once a week at Mt. Auburn Elementary School. Her teaching revolves around a website she is developing, findvolunteerships.com, to help fellow high school students find community service projects. “It’s really beneficial for kids to learn coding from a young age, especially with the curriculum we’ve come up with to teach the students,” she said.  “Because coding is something that’s so important in the present and the future, I think it will be a required curriculum in the coming years.” She…

Art students at Thomas Jefferson High School recently completed a project they will probably never forget. The Memory Project has art students render portraits of often forgotten orphans from struggling countries. After Laura Hanel, the school’s visual arts instructor, contacted the Memory Project, the class received images of 20 Bolivian children. The students then drew portraits of the 20 children. Cynthia Miró, another art teacher at the school, has also joined in and her class has almost completed portraits of 40 other children. “I witnessed my students grow fond of how their art could impact the life of another human…

Dr. Shelia Brown is the 2016-2017 Magnet/School Choice Principal of the Year. She is the principal of the Rosie M. Collins Sorrells School of Education and Social Services at Townview Center. Brown grew up living in project housing in Arkansas, but would walk every day to her grandparents’ house in a middle-class African-American neighborhood. “I virtually lived in two worlds,” Brown said. “But each world taught me to do your very best, regardless of the situation. And I think that’s what made me impact the lives of so many children.” In her early career, as a teacher and later assistant principal,…

The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) has awarded Dallas Independent School District its Meritorious Budget Award (MBA) for excellence in budget presentation during the 2016–2017 budget year. The MBA promotes and recognizes excellence in school budget presentation and enhances school business officials’ skills in developing, analyzing and presenting a school system budget. After a rigorous review by professional auditors, the award is conferred only on school districts that have met or exceeded the program’s stringent criteria. Dallas ISD also earned the MBA distinction for its budget presentation for 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.