Author: The Hub

Lew Blackburn, Michael Hinojosa, Mike Rawlings, Bryan Carter and Todd Williams co-authored the following Op-Ed that first appeared in the Dallas Morning News. Recent polling data shows that Dallas voters recognize public education as the city’s number one issue, outdistancing the next biggest issue facing us more than two to one. Businesses want and need a more educated workforce. Parents want their children to be prepared for successful careers. If we want a healthier Dallas, we have to start with our schools. There is recent good news that demands both our attention and our wise investment. Since 2010, Dallas ISD…

When the touring show “Beatles vs. Stones – A Musical Shoot Out” comes to the Arlington Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts String Quartet will join the professional musicians on stage to add some orchestral texture to the evening. The show pits Rolling Stones tribute band Jumping Jack Flash against rival Brit boys Abbey Road in an all-out musical showdown for rock dominance. The string quartet will perform seven songs with the bands. Booker T. Washington High students Messiah Ahmed (Violin I), Diana Zavala (Violin II), Damian Garcia…

The Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program gives Dallas ISD high school juniors and seniors real world experience in a professional field. The Hub is spotlighting some of these Dallas ISD students participating in the program. Today, meet Deanna Harper, a student at Carter High School who is an intern with Dallas ISD’s Instructional Support Services. What is your role as an intern? I work with Instructional Support Services in planning and preparing for professional development Ttraining for teachers. This consists of making posters, door prizes, and using my creativity to develop more useful materials for the sessions. During professional development. I assist with…

Dallas ISD tiene muchas historias que contar sobre alumnos destacados del 12avo grado del 2016. Conoce a Melissa, una de los tes alumnos del 12avo grado de Hillcrest High School en ganar la prestigiosa beca de Sulentic Family Foundation Scholarship.

Students stepping up to help families impacted by tragedy, growing excitement for Dallas ISD’s new single-gender schools, and a reduction in the number of semester exams are just some of the big news items in this edition of This Week in Dallas ISD. Watch the above video—or read below—to learn more! Supporting principals More than 40 Dallas ISD departments are helping prepare principals for a successful school year. Here’s how. Stepping up to help Students from Lakewood Elementary set up lemonade stands to raise money for the families of police officers killed in the July 7 shooting. (Read this) Chief…

Dallas ISD hosted a high-energy information fair last week to help prepare principals for a successful school year. Nearly 40 Dallas ISD departments hosted booths at the fair to provide information about their services to the principals. Macario Hernandez, who will begin his first year as principal at Trinidad Garza Early College High School, said he is excited to use the resources available. “This is the first training that we are able to see so many departments from all over the district that we are actually able to tap into,” he said. “I’m excited to be able to utilize the…

Two Dallas ISD elementary schools, Martin Weiss School of Leadership and Jack Lowe Elementary School, have been selected from hundreds of schools across the country to receive a grant from Leader.org. The grant, which awarded both schools with more than $42,000 each, will enable Weiss and Lowe in implementing The Leader in Me whole-school transformation process for developing 21st century leadership skills in K-12 students. This unique opportunity will teach students the leadership habits they will need to be successful in college, careers, and daily life. “We are so proud to be implementing The Leader in Me process in our…

There are lots of exciting things going in the Dallas ISD Summer Achievers Academy, a tuition-free, full-day summer enrichment camp for district students. Students are spending their days in two parts—the morning is dedicated to classroom instruction, which also doubles as a training ground for new teachers entering the district through Teach for America and Dallas ISD’s Alternative Certification Program, Compass. Afternoons are dedicated to social emotional enrichment facilitated by Big Thought, a Dallas-area non-profit. Teachers and students spend the day engaged in high-energy, interactive activities aimed at helping Dallas ISD campers grow as students and people. Dallas ISD’s Summer…

Seventy Dallas ISD seniors are receiving special assistance selecting, applying for and securing financial aid for college thanks to a collective of organizations that have formed the Texas Higher Education Initiative. St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, 12 Texas colleges and universities, and four area school districts created the initiative to streamline the college admissions process for first-generation students interested in attending Texas colleges. On a recent Saturday morning, the initiative partners invited ninety area high school students to talk with college admissions officers, learn how to write winning college essays and to get help navigating the higher education financial aid system.…

Dallas ISD will reduce the number of semester exams, otherwise known as Assessments of Course Performance (ACPs), by more than 30 percent in the upcoming school year. The majority of the cuts in testing will happen in elementary schools, where all second semester ACPs have been eliminated and first semester exams are limited to Reading and Math plus Grade 5 Science and Grade 4 Language Arts. “Reducing the number of assessments will allow for more valuable time for teaching and learning inside the classroom,” said Stephanie Elizalde, chief of school leadership. For example, a third-grader last year took ACPs for language…