Author: The Hub

A variety of studies on the topic conclude that students that enter kindergarten able to read and learn on grade level are more equipped for success and less likely to fall behind their peers. The district’s proposed $1.6 billion bond program, to be considered by voters on Nov. 3, includes plans for additional prekindergarten classroom space. At this time, such plans include four new campuses that will include additional prekindergarten classroom areas along with more preK classrooms at a minimum of three other campuses. More specifically, those proposed spaces would be built in neighborhoods where the need is greatest among…

Earlier this month, Arthur Kramer Elementary fourth-graders worked with volunteers from the United Way to build outdoor vegetable gardens with the goal of encouraging healthy eating habits, environmental awareness and responsibility. Two other Dallas ISD schools – Robert T. Hill Middle School and Victor H. Hexter Elementary School – were also part of the Day of Caring effort. The event was one of several included in the United Way’s sixth-annual PepsiCo Day of Caring—the largest corporate United Way volunteer event planned in North Texas. Through the effort, 1,000 volunteers will contribute more than 4,000 hours of service including painting and…

Ann Richards Middle School played host to a recent magnet fair at which students and families gathered to learn about opportunities and programs available at district magnet schools. The event helped prepare students for Dallas ISD’s magnet registration period, which opens in January. Fourteen magnet schools went to Richards to inform parents and students about the range of district educational options available to students. The following schools participated in the event: F. Kimball Math and Science Magnet Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet Barack Obama Male Leadership G. Pinkston Law Magnet Seagoville Environmental Science Magnet Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing…

In this episode of Ed Talk with Bob Bravo, Dr. Bravo, Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership, speaks with Brian Lusk, the Executive Director of the H. Grady Spruce High School feeder pattern, and John Quincy Adams Elementary Principal Nancy Bernardino. The conversation explains how Learning Objectives (LOs) aim to focus a class on what a teacher wants students to learn in a lesson, while Demonstrations of Learning (DOLs) help teachers check if students understand the lesson. The podcast also talks about how a teacher can determine if they have written an appropriate LO and DOL and explains the resources available…

The Keys to Success/Las Llaves del Exito is a free one-day college fair for families presented by DCCCD, Dallas ISD and Mountain View College. The event will provide students with the keys they need to succeed in higher education, including information about how to navigate the system so that they can attend a college or university. The event focuses on students in grades 6–12 and their parents. A screening of the documentary “First Generation” will be shown at 10:30 am at the Performance Hall. The award-winning documentary, narrated by Golden Globe nominee Blair Underwood, tells the story of four high school students…

Ernie Banks was honored on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Dallas ISD’s Booker T. Washington High School, where he graduated in 1950. Three years later, Banks would begin playing baseball for the Chicago Cubs, starting a highly successful 19-year career in the game. Banks passed away Jan. 23, 2015, at age 83. Members of the Banks family and the Booker T. Washington Alumni Association attended the ceremony, along with Trustee Bernadette Nutall, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, state Rep. Eric Johnson– who hosted the event – and state Rep. Morgan Meyer. Johnson presented a memorial resolution honoring Banks from the Texas House of…

Eduardo Mata Montessori opened last school year as the first Montessori school of choice in Dallas ISD. As a school of choice, the campus is also the first Montessori program in the district to accept all students without a screening process. The school serves students age three years through third grade, and it will add a grade level each year. Dual language classes are offered at both the primary and elementary levels. The Montessori philosophy centers on the belief that children want to learn, and the classrooms provide the tools and guidance to facilitate their educational growth. At its heart, a…

Students in the Dallas Independent School District made significant gains in fourth-grade math in the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. Dallas’ gains outpaced those of the nation’s public schools and placed the district among the only three districts to see gains compared to 2013 results in that subject. Results for fourth- and eighth-grade reading held steady compared to the 2013 assessment. The results for the sampling of eighth-grade students who participated in the math assessment in 2015 registered a decline. This is the third time that Dallas ISD has participated in the Trial Urban…

To acquire everything the growing band at Dallas ISD’s Adamson High School needs to be considered a quality program, director Chris Green and staff members estimated it would take $270,000. Green is one of 15 finalists for a $100,000 grant, which he says would make great strides for the program. Read a NeighborsGo article on the band program and its needs here. Vote for Green’s proposal by Oct. 31 at thankamericasteachers.com.

Every week, the Hub’s AlumNow feature checks in with a district grad to see what they are up to now. This week marks the 13th edition of AlumNow. Here is a recap of the AlumNow features that have run to date: Darnna Banks, a theater arts student at Booker T. Washington High School, always loved science, but she never knew that her dream of being a doctor would take her so many miles from home; SEM grad Thomas Jung helped found a technology startup that uses sensors and learning algorithms to assist first responders and athletes; Carter grad Terrence Maiden has helped…