Author: The Hub

A Dallas ISD alum recently donated more than $400,000 worth of curriculum that she spent her career developing to help students succeed in school and life. Carla Crutsinger, who graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1958, went on to found Brainworks in 1981, which develops books and curriculum to help children of all ages accelerate their learning. The books are based on extensive research on how students best learn and communicate. As she looked to retire after decades running Brainworks, Crutsinger read an article about an in-house suspension program at a Dallas ISD school. The article made her think…

STAAR is the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, which are tests designed to measure how well students have mastered the knowledge and skills for each grade level. Dallas ISD offers a variety of resources to inform parents about the upcoming tests. The recent STAAR Live Forum, hosted by the district’s Office of Family and Community Engagement, featured detailed  answers to these and other questions: What is STAAR? What skills do STAAR tests measure? Which students are required to take the tests? How can a parent determine how a child performed on STAAR? Parents and staff from across the…

From playing on the basketball court at Bryan Adams High School to negotiating world title fights, Adrian Clark, Class of 2004, has found his niche inside the world of professional boxing. This young entrepreneur wasted no time jabbing his way to a successful career as a sports agent, and today, he has scored fights on HBO, Showtime, Fox Sports, ESPN and NBC Sports. AlumNow, The Hub feature that profiles Dallas ISD alumni, caught up with Clark just days before his February 27 book signing at Barnes and Nobles to promote A Guide for Young Entrepreneurs, the book he recently authored.…

African Americans have had immeasurable impact and contributed to the quality, progress and access of education to all races and creeds within the Dallas Independent School District and community. Read about some of our schools’ namesakes and their historical contributions to Dallas ISD. Paul L. Dunbar: Having served as his high school’s newspaper editor and writer of the school song, Paul Lawrence Dunbar was his school’s only African American in his graduating class. A published poet of two major collections, Dunbar was also an acclaimed “poet laureate” of the African-American race prior to his death.

Dr. Janice Lombardi, principal of Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School, was named a finalist for the  H-E-B Excellence in Education Award on Tuesday, Feb. 16. She was surprised with a check for $1,000, while her school received $2,500. “This is a way to say we see you, we recognize what you’re doing, we want to thank you for what you’re doing,” said Jill Reynolds, public affairs manager for H-E-B. “Not only recognizing them, but putting a monetary award in their pocket and encouraging them to keep doing what they’re doing.” “It’s really hard to make an old principal cry,…

The other can be almost anyone: that person who looks different or talks differently, or wears a headscarf, or isn’t popular. Any of these can be reasons to be isolated and teased especially in middle school. On Friday, Feb. 12, middle school students across the district were encouraged to look beyond surface differences and embrace those they might consider different. It was No One Eats Alone Day, and at Ann Richards Middle School, students took action to make sure everyone was welcomed to the table at lunch.

The volume and types of state-mandated tests for public school students, along with how the results are used, has been a hot button topic not only in Texas but across the U.S. in recent years. The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is giving educators, parents and business leaders the opportunity to provide input into what assessments and accountability measures will look like in 2017 and beyond. To help inform the members of the Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability, the SBOE is hosting a series of community conversations across the state. On Feb. 17 at El Centro…

The fifth grade was a memorable year for Estephanie Rodriguez. She had just moved to Dallas from Mexico and started school, not understanding a single word of English. It would have been very easy to feel out of place and discouraged, but her teacher seemed determined to give Estephanie a vibrant learning experience. “I still remember my fifth-grade teacher; she inspired me so much,” Estephanie said, remembering how so many lessons felt more like games, activities and songs with new words but familiar tunes. “She didn’t speak Spanish to us, but the way she taught me, I never felt different…

Families who attend this Saturday’s African American Read-in are in for a feast of literature, music, and dance. The agenda features an African drum and dance ensemble, student dance groups, a jazz band and a Reader’s Walk showcasing students sharing poems and passages from their favorite books. This all takes place this Saturday, Feb. 20, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1819 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The event theme is Reading is The Wave of Life. The celebration is free and open to the community. Author Cheryl Wills will share with students her love for reading and writing.  Wills’ book,…

The Accelerating Campus Excellence plan brings several components together for the seven schools in the program to boost student success and create a strong sense of community. Combining strong school leadership, effective teachers and high expectations for students and staff is doing what it is designed to do. The ACE program, formulated in March 2015, began with seven schools desginated by the Texas Education Agency as Improvement Required. Those schools are Annie Webb Blanton Elementary, Billy Earl Dade Middle School, Thomas Edison Middle Learning Center, Roger Q. Mills Elementary, Elisha M. Pease Elementary, Umphrey Lee Elementary and Sarah Zumwalt Middle…