Author: The Hub

Career certifications skyrocketing, a donation to help fund school field trips, and a Cowboys player serving as a Principal for a Day were among this week’s highlights. Watch the above video, or read below, to learn more! Career certifications skyrocket Recently released data shows that the number of career certifications received by Dallas ISD students through the CTE program has increased by more than 3,500 percent since 2009-2010. (Learn more) Eagle Scout project beautifies Franklin Middle Gio, an eighth-grader at Franklin Middle School, used his Eagle Scout Project to paint and beautify parts of his school. (Read this) Outdoor garden and…

Conn’s HomePlus has donated a new Samsung washer and dryer set to Roger Q. Mills Elementary, and staff, students and parents are thrilled. Conn’s HomePlus, a furniture and specialty home goods retailer, celebrated the donation on Oct. 20 with a fun and interactive laundry lesson to teach students a lifelong skill. The students also participated in a fast-paced laundry relay race. “This donation will ensure our students have a resource to clean clothes,” Mills Principal Tonya Clark said. “We want our students to be able to come to school not worried about their clothes and whether or not their clothes are…

Thanks to the Dallas-based Essilor and Essilor Vision Foundation, hundreds of Dallas ISD students had their vision examined by local optometrists and eye care professionals free of charge. The students also received free glasses. All of the students were pre-screened by school nurses, who determined they may need glasses. Essilor hosted the event during World Sight Day, a global happening that focuses attention on blindness and vision impairment. World Sight Day occurs the second Thursday of October. Watch the above video to learn more.

As part of World Sight Day, more than 400 students from Dallas ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD received free eye exams and glasses from Essilor Vision Foundation. The participating students had been pre-screened by their nurse for poor vision. The Dallas Morning News has the full story here. Photo courtesy Dallas Morning News. 

The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) and Hold On To Your Music, is sponsoring the first-ever City-Wide Read and Performance this fall for approximately 12,500 fifth graders, as well as students from several of the city’s Jewish schools. Students will read The Children of Willesden Lane, a true story of inspiration and perseverance in a time of war, and attend a musical performance by the author, Grammy-nominated classical pianist Mona Golabek. The Children of Willesden Lane tells the story of Golabek’s mother, Lisa Jura, a 14-year-old Jewish musical prodigy…

The Dallas Morning News recently visited Dallas ISD’s Victor H. Hexter Elementary School to find out what students think about the U.S. presidential race. Watch the video here.

Mark Twain Leadership Vanguard scored a visit from Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr as part of Principal for a Day. Carr, whose mother was an educator, toured the school and talked with teachers and staff on Monday morning. Carr is the founder of the Carr Cares Foundation, which promotes literacy and physical health. More than 200 business and community leaders led schools across the district as part of Principal for a Day. Dallas Regional Chamber and Capital One help sponsor the great annual event.

Representatives from Elrod’s Cost Plus Supermarket, which has multiple locations in the DFW area, presented a check for $21,107 to Dallas ISD’s Field Trip Fund on Wednesday. Elrod’s representatives presented the check at Gilbert Cuellar Sr. Elementary’s “Muffins with Moms” event. Elrod’s started the Field Trip Fund so schools could send more students on educational field trips to locations such as the arboretum and zoo. The Field Trip Fund finances transportation to and from the field trip destinations. Cuellar Elementary Principal Dr. Sheryl Wilson said the donation would greatly benefit students. “There is so much to learn and see and…

At their October meeting, members of the Dallas ISD Teen School Board elected officers for the 2016-2017 year. The officers are: Alex Poscente, President, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Ontario Brown, Vice President, Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy Glenda Meyer, Secretary, Moisés E. Molina High School Kyra Ughulu, Service Project Chairperson, Seagoville High School The Teen Board is a student advisory group comprising the presidents of each high school’s junior and senior classes. The students meet monthly to discuss the issues and concerns of their schoolmates and present them to the superintendent and trustees.…

REAL School Gardens and Vizient recently teamed up to install a new outdoor garden/classroom at Stephen C. Foster Elementary. REAL School Gardens aims to create learning gardens that grow successful students. Meanwhile, Vizient, Inc., based in Irving, is the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, serving academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, and community hospitals, among others. REAL School Gardens and Vizient had previously teamed up to beautify DeGoyler Elementary. Photos courtesy Bethany Erickson.