Author: The Hub

Eight students in the Dallas Independent School District have earned their way to the finals of the annual Gardere Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. The following students will compete in the final round of the competition, to be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15, at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., Dallas, TX 75201. The event is free and open to the public. •    Kywin Brown, fifth grade, Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary •    Jayden Jackson, fifth grade, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary •    Donna Guevara, fifth grade, John Neely Bryan Elementary •    Guadalupe Zamora, fifth grade, Arcadia Park Elementary •    Marco Mares,…

A variety of additional supports and resources will be provided to Dallas Independent School District campuses identified by the Texas Education Agency as Public Education Grant (PEG) schools for the 2016-2017 school year. TEA plans to release the list to the public on Monday. TEA defines a Public Education Grant, or PEG school, as a campus designated as an improvement required campus once in the previous three years (2013, 2014, 2015) or one that recorded an aggregated passing rate of less than or equal to 50 percent on any subject-area STAAR or TAKS assessment (including end-of-course assessments) for any two…

Ask Terry Stotts about his job as the construction and technology teacher at the Multiple Career Magnet High School, and his eyes light up. Stotts could spend hours talking about all the reasons he loves his job teaching practical skills to students with special needs in Dallas ISD. But, by far, his favorite part of the job comes in December when his students give away the rocking horses they spent the first part of the year building by hand. This year was no different, and Stotts smiled wide as his students gave away their rocking horses on Dec. 11 to…

Huddled around their desks inside a classroom at Townview Center, Mrs. Ping Zhuge’s students are deciding whether to provide a loan so a 21-year-old nursing student in Cambodia can pay his college tuition. Or, the students’ discuss, maybe they should instead provide a loan to a Kenyan farmer so she can buy the lights and inputs needed to plant six acres? Then again, there is also 24-year-old in the Gaza Strip who is requesting a loan to buy a solar system for heating water for the family house. Maybe they should give a loan to him instead? The students are…

Dallas ISD elementary students are looking to bag a prize in a new competition that encourages recycling. The It’s A Bag’s Life Recycling Challenge gives students a change to learn about the 3Rs—reduce, reuse and recycle—and enjoy a competition to see which campus can collect the most plastic bags and wraps per student. The contest kicked off Dec. 10 and ends April 22, Earth Day. Every participating school will get a prize, and the school with the most bags collected will win a park bench made from recycled plastic bags. Mayor Mike Rawlings and representatives from local business partners— Kroger’s,…

Billy Earl Dade Middle School on Dec. 10 received a $25,000 equipment donation from Uncommon Athlete, which is a partnership between the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and Rachel’s Challenge. Uncommon Athlete aims to use the power and platform of sports to change lives and reshape communities. In addition to presenting equipment such as helmets, bats, baseballs, and football gear, Cody Hodges, who played college football at Texas Tech University and speaks for Rachel’s Challenge, urged the Dade athletes to act with integrity and be role models.                                        . Uncommon Athlete also donated a grand total of $50,000 in sports equipment to…

Seven hundred bright-eyed, beaming fourth and fifth graders representing 42 of Dallas Independent School District’s elementary schools convened at Skyline High School to participate in the Saturday, Dec 5 UIL Fall A+ Academic Meet. Between contests, students challenged each other to matches in chess, dominos and Uno to hone their quick-thinking skills and relax between events. Events of the day included academic competitions in Chess, Listening, Number Sense, Social Studies, Dictionary Skills, Maps, Graphs and Charts, Ready Writing and Spelling. Below are the top three competitors from each area of competition: Chess 4th Grade: John Cook, Victor H. Hexter ES…

Dallas ISD está creando escuelas nuevas de transformación que ofrecen un plan de estudios académico especializado parecido al de las escuelas magnet. A diferencia de las escuelas magnet, las escuelas de transformación no tienen requisitos académicos de admisión — la inscripción está abierta a todos los estudiantes del distrito, sin importar su aptitud académica. Se proporcionará transporte a los estudiantes. Los empleados de Dallas ISD, los padres y la comunidad en general pueden aclarar sus dudas y aprender más sobre las escuelas de transformación de Dallas ISD al asistir a una serie de reuniones donde se ofrecerá más información. A…

Teaching a room full of 3-year olds is challenging on many levels, and one of Dallas ISD’s best is rising to the challenge every day. Tara Broadus, a preK teacher at J. J. Rhoads Learning Center, was recently named Dallas ISD’s 2015 Teacher of the Year in the Elementary Category. Her career as a teacher is rooted in a family full of educators, including her father, grandmother and aunts and uncles. Her mother worked in adult education as well. But the 1989 gradate of Lincoln High School didn’t immediately choose that path in college. “My initial major was journalism,” she…

Searching for a career opportunity where you can make a lasting impact on youth, with the bonus of summers off, winter break and spring break? Consider Dallas ISD and the Compass program. The Compass Alternative Certification Teacher Academy provides degreed professionals and recent college graduates with a non-traditional avenue to become a teacher in Dallas ISD. With nearly 160,000 students in 228 schools, teaching in the district provides a unique opportunity to make a difference in our community. The Compass program prepares you to lead a classroom, even if you never have before. Accepted candidates participate in an intensive summer…