Author: The Hub

The South Oak Cliff High School community came together again this holiday season to grant Christmas wishes to 72 elementary students from eight Dallas ISD schools. The Bear-y, Merry Christmas Party in a Winter Wonderland is an annual tradition that sees students and some staff at South Oak Cliff High School adopt elementary students and buy and collect presents on their Christmas wish list. Each elementary school in the South Oak Cliff feeder pattern was invited to nominate 10 deserving students to have their wish list come true. From bicycles and tablets to basketballs and games, the elementary students often…

Students at the Multiple Careers Magnet have been busy at work making reindeers, rocking horses, and other handmade crafts to donate as excellent Christmas presents. Neighborsgo has the details here. Photo courtesy Neighborsgo

Dallas Independent School District officials today congratulated Trustee Mike Morath on his appointment by Governor Greg Abbott as the new Texas Education Commissioner. Morath will replace Michael Williams, who announced his resignation earlier this fall. Morath has served on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees since 2011 and was elected to a second term in 2014. He represents District 2, which covers sections of North Dallas and Near East Dallas. District reforms he supported during his tenure included: helping to implement the new Teacher Excellence Initiative, making Dallas ISD the first major school system in Texas to pay teachers based…

Ask researchers how to best solve thorny problems like finding safe alternatives to fossil fuels and curing devastating illnesses, and chances are they will respond that we need more scientific study and more gifted minds searching for solutions. Challenging students to test their skills in math and science is one way Dallas ISD is preparing more students to enter careers in these areas. As early as elementary school, a growing number of students are attending weekend meets featuring tough math and science tests offered by the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association and coordinated by the district’s Student Activities department.…

The Hub last week announced the four winners of the 2015 Principal of the Year award. As a reminder, the winners are: Julie Singleton, H.I. Holland Elementary School; Tracie Washington, Billy Earl Dade Middle School; Nakia Douglas, Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy; Tanya Shelton, Richard Lagow Elementary. Watch the above video for an inside look at the award ceremony recognizing the outstanding Dallas ISD principals.

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,…