Author: The Hub

Members of Dallas ISD’s early learning team, staff, and volunteers took to the streets on Friday to let people know in person about available pre-K opportunities in the district. The teams went door-to-door in the Dallas neighborhoods with the lowest pre-K enrollment. The staff and volunteers told residents about the critical importance of high quality pre-K, and shared how a parent could register their 3- or 4-year-old. “We want to ensure the families in these neighborhoods know the great things we are doing and that we can be a partner with them for their child,” said Derek Little, assistant superintendent of Early…

Magellan Healthcare, Dallas ISD’s mental health provider, has some helpful advice on how parents can reduce anxiety for them and their child. Share positive stories If a child expresses hesitancy about the upcoming year, he or she may get reassurance from one of the many age-appropriate books showing children overcoming their fears. Also, describe for your child how you once felt scared when starting something new. Explain how most children have these feelings, yet everything turns out fine. Promote resilience When saying goodbye to a young child each day, use a fun phrase or gesture you can share. Repeated use of…

With the first day of school less than 12 days away, events such as the New Teacher Academy and Mayor’s Back to School Fair are laying the groundwork for a successful school year. A look inside those events, and much more, are included in this week’s roundup of great district news. Watch the above video—or read below—to learn more! Student athletes score college scholarships Recently released data shows that Dallas ISD’s 2016 high school graduates earned an impressive amount of academic-athletic scholarships. See the amount of scholarships here. Mayor’s Back to School Fair Thousands of students and family members showed…

As a professional basketball player, Nancy Lieberman’s jersey number was 10. On Thursday, Aug. 11, she visited Dallas ISD’s Robert T. Hill Middle School to ask students to commit to working at least 10 hours of community service during the next year. In return, each student received one of about 300 new backpacks from Nancy Lieberman Charities. Perhaps more important, Lieberman committed her ongoing support to the school. “We’re not a one-and-done program,” she said. “I will come back to this school.” Lieberman’s professional resumé leaves no doubt that she is one of the most successful American basketball players of all…

The Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program has given 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 Daniel Akwei, a student at Thomas Jefferson High School who is an intern with Dallas ISD’s Communications Department. What is your role as an intern? As an intern with the Dallas ISD Communications Department, I mostly organize articles, news, and do research for the annual reports of schools. I also help create content for Dallas ISD’s social media pages. What do you hope to accomplish through the internship?…

Dallas ISD high school football kicks off later this month with competitive games all over the city. For those interested in following the action, here are the schedules for this year’s football games: Click here for the varsity football schedule; Click here for sub-varsity football schedule; Click here for the middle school football schedule. Games are subject to change, and any such changes will be posted to the Dallas ISD Athletics page calendar.

Twenty soon-to-be 6th graders packed into the Dallas City of Learning Mobile Tech XPerience, the super cool retrofitted RV filled with laptop computers, 3D printers, and Lego sumo robotics. It’s DCoL Tech Day at Billy Earl Dade Middle School and we have a healthy crowd of 145 kids. It’s a good thing the MTXP is air conditioned, as August 4 in Dallas is always a scorcher. But it was the churning of ideas, the sizzling vibrations of learning opportunities that truly generated the heat during the 6-hour day. Armed with a bank of 40 DCoL laptops, these students found a…

Pinkston High School’s band will represent the State of Texas in the 2017 National Memorial Day Parade. Congressman Michael Burgess nominated the band after seeing their Veterans Day performance where they placed third out of nearly 100 bands. Osley Cook, the band’s director, says he is thrilled for the opportunity for his students. When he began his director position seven years ago, the band had five members who could hardly read music. Major college band programs in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Georgia are now recruiting the school’s talented band members. While the students love to play for their…

It’s a summer morning at Arthur Kramer Elementary School, and more than 30 kids have their noses pressed close to colorful books as they read out loud. Ask the students if they like to read, and every hand will shoot up. The students are part of Kramer Elementary’s Lit Camp, which aims to reduce the loss of learning that sometimes happens over the summer. Caitlin Mehra, the school’s reading coach, and Natalie Sharp and Christina Ruiz, teachers at Kramer, lead the camp through engaging, exciting reading activities. “The camp is very intentional and targeted to improve these students’ reading skills,…

Recently released data shows that Dallas ISD’s 2016 high school graduates earned nearly $7 million in academic-athletic scholarships. Schools all over the nation offered academic-athletic scholarships to the recently graduated senior student-athletes. “The high amount of scholarships is a testament to the fact that educational-based athletics is aligned to student-athletes future success and the importance of involvement by both athletics and academics,” Assistant Athletic Director Annette Scogin said. Scogin added that the Dallas ISD Athletic Department and coaches, in collaboration with parents and the community, strongly support the data showing the positive impact education-based athletics programs have on students. The…