Author: The Hub

The League of Women Voters and LULAC are recruiting volunteers in the community to explain the importance of the voting process to Dallas ISD students. Both organizations are visiting schools during lunch and history or government classes to encourage students to register vote. The main objective is for students to understand that elected officials make big decisions and they listen to the people who vote. The deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 11, in order to be registered in time to vote Nov. 8. More than 100 students registered to vote earlier this month at Skyline High School during one such visit. Volunteers will…

An official from the USDA got a firsthand look at food and culinary programs at two Dallas ISD schools on Thursday, Sept. 15. Audrey Rowe, who oversees School Nutrition programs for the federal organization, visited Wilmer-Hutchins High School to eat breakfast with students and get a taste of the breakfast smoothie program. The second stop was at the Balch Springs Young Women’s STEAM Academy, where Rowe sampled vegetable quesadillas, salsa and drinks prepared by students in the Lifetime Nutrition and Wellness Class. The corn salsa used this month’s Harvest of the Month – fresh sweet corn from J&B Farms in…

NBC 5 has the story on how donorschoose.org is connecting teachers with donors who want to help. The story, which you can watch here, focuses on an eighth-grade A.V.I.D. classroom at W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy. A.V.I.D., which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college readiness program that helps accelerate student learning. “What I like about this class is that it prepares me for college and it really shows me about leadership,” said Sierra Lauera, a student in the A.V.I.D. class Mrs. Hatcher, the A.V.I.D. teacher, is using donorschoose.org to help get supplies for her classroom. Go here…

Delaney Shiu, a student at Hillcrest High School and editor of the Hillcrest Hurricane, the school’s student-run newspaper, wrote this article. For the past eight years at Hillcrest High School, the senior class has participated in a tradition known as senior retreat, two days where seniors don’t go to classes and participate in a number of amusing activities. The activities vary but this year, the days consisted of community service, listening to speakers, swimming, and attending various breakout sessions designed to help students prepare for life after graduation. The first day of the retreat, Aug. 24, students boarded buses and…

Efforts are currently under way to find the approximately 7,600 students designated as “no-shows,” or students in Dallas ISD’s system who have yet to show up for classes this school year. Dubbed “Operation Comeback,” the coordinated effort to find and return the students is in its sixth year. As part of Operation Comeback, district staff are operating a phone bank this week to call no-show students and their parents. Through the process, students who have moved out of the district are also identified and taken off the list.

The National Safety Council, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, presented Dallas ISD this week with the 2016 Our Driving Concern Texas Employer Traffic Safety Award. Dallas ISD’s safety driving program provides comprehensive screening, training and materials for drivers in the district. “Texas is a leader among states in many areas, but sadly it has the highest rate of fatal car crashes,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “These employers are working to protect their employees and reverse this trend. We are thrilled to recognize their work.” The 2016 honorees were selected through an…

More than 40 students at Dallas ISD’s Boude Storey Middle School and John Neely Bryan Elementary School will be able to focus a little better in class thanks to donated eyeglasses they received on Monday, Sept. 12. The donated glasses were made possible by a partnership between the Essilor Vision Foundation and Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities. Students from both schools received free vision screenings at an Aug. 17 back-to-school event where they also received donated school uniforms, free haircuts, free dental care and food to take home. At Boude Storey, students receiving their glasses were a mix of those who had worn…

The Junior League of Dallas celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Grants for Innovative Teaching program Sept. 7 by awarding 54 grants totaling $93,000 to Dallas ISD educators. The grant program funds innovative school and classroom projects proposed by district teachers and administrators. This year, four librarians received funding for literacy-related activities, which is a great advantage to students said Gay Patrick, director of Library and Media Services. “The library is a bigger classroom,” Patrick said. “Junior League grants awarded to librarians allow students across grade levels and cultures to learn and share together, bringing a wealth of experiences and…

CW 33 did a great profile on Justin Cain, the senior at Woodrow Wilson High School who had an unbelievable punt return. But as CW 33 states, it’s the whole person Cain is off the field that makes him the Class Act of the Week. Go here to see the full CW 33 story.

As soon as the chime rings, kindergarteners in Ms. Martinez’s class at Dan D. Rogers Elementary School close their eyes and take a long, deep breath. The deep breathing exercises are part of the school’s focus on social and emotional learning (SEL), a growing priority across Dallas ISD. And for Dan D. Rogers Elementary Principal Lisa Lovato, the benefits are clear: students learn better when they feel better. “Focusing on social and emotional learning helps us develop the whole child,” Lovato said. “And by focusing on the whole child, we are setting our students up for success.” Dallas ISD’s Psychological and…