Author: The Hub

Thanks to an after-school program from the Boys and Girls Club, fourth-grade students at the Paul Dunbar Learning Center are learning to play the violin, cello and viola. SMU music students are leading the classes that also teach students the basics of orchestra, rhythm, and history of music. WFAA 8 has the full story here.

A record number of Dallas ISD schools have received a statewide award that recognizes great work happening in school counseling programs. Twenty-six Dallas ISD schools this month received a Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas (CREST) Award. The Texas School Counselor Association sponsors the CREST Award, which allows counselors to demonstrate the work they do helping students. “The CREST Award is about recognizing the success that school counselors have on their campuses,” Dallas ISD Counseling Services Director Dr. Sylvia Lopez said. “We are proud, but not surprised, that a record number of our schools are CREST Award winners this…

It looks like they’ve done it again! A. Maceo Smith theater arts teacher Scot Pankey has again led the school’s talented students, teachers and staff in a sure-to-be-viral choreographed video. This time, the video is to Andy Grammar’s “Good to Be Alive.” Last year’s viral hit “Uptown Funk” registered more than 13 million hits, and a special Facebook post from the song creator himself, Bruno Mars. Check out NBC 5 story on the latest video here.

As a student at Dallas ISD’s Law Magnet in 2004, Stephanie McGary was on a path to a possible law career. However, fast forward to 2016, and the school has a new name—Judge Barefoot Sanders Magnet Center for Public Service: Government, Law and Law Enforcement—and McGary is in on an entirely different path as a counselor who helps young students facing some real life challenges. AlumNow, The Hub feature that profiles district alumni, caught up with McGary, who is realizing her real purpose by helping children and their families. What are you doing now? I am a licensed professional counselor…

“I graduated high school June 1943 and got drafted in the army two weeks later,” says 93-year old Gaylord Robert Atkinson, a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. “I was only 18-years old,” adds Atkinson, pointing out to a classroom full of Leadership Cadet Corp students at Thomas C. Marsh Preparatory Academy. “And not much older than you guys are now.” Atkinson addressed some of the approximately 300-plus members of Marsh’s Leadership Cadet Corp after talking with Corporal Miriam Gaytan, who leads the corps, at one of the school’s popular Military Museum open houses. Gaytan thought that Atkinson’s time serving in the…

Joyce Foreman, a long-time champion for educational equality for all students, is serving her first term on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees representing District 6, which includes Southwest Dallas. Trustee Foreman has spent much of her life as a community leader dedicating countless hours to serving on a number of advisory boards for the Dallas Independent School District and for other entities. For more information about Trustee Foreman and a list of schools in her district, visit the Board of Trustees page on the district website. Throughout School Board Recognition Month, Dallas ISD is joining other districts in honoring…

Walk down a hallway in Kimball High School and you will notice dozens of pairs of blue jeans hanging from the ceiling above the lockers. Stand by the hanging blue jeans for a few minutes and you will probably see a student or staff member look up and ask: “Why are there blue jeans hanging from the ceiling?” This question is exactly what students in Kimball High School’s Distinguished Academy of Hospitality and Tourism want to hear, as it means their guerrilla marketing campaign to draw attention to Teens for Jeans, which collects donated jeans to give to homeless youth,…

The Dallas Morning News reports that Children at Risk, a Texas-based nonprofit, has ranked Dallas ISD in the top five of Texas school districts with more than 50,000 students in feeding its students. Dallas Morning News notes that Dallas ISD so far this year has served 9.3 million breakfasts and 7.5 million lunches. Click here to read the full story from Dallas Morning News. Photo courtesy Dallas Morning News.

The legacy of a former Dallas Independent School District trailblazer will be honored with a new Credit Union of Texas scholarship for district educators The William H. Cotton Scholarship will be awarded to one Dallas ISD educator or administrator pursuing an education-related post-baccalaureate degree or certification. The scholarship is named for Cotton, who served the community through Dallas ISD for 43 years, most notably as assistant superintendent for management services. Applications may be obtained from the Credit Union of Texas. Completed applications must be postmarked and returned to the credit union by Feb. 26, 2016. Eligibility requirements must be met;…

Students from multiple clusters in Skyline High School have come together on a project to beautify Ferris Park in Downtown Dallas. With the help of teachers and community partners such as Make Art With Purpose, The Beck Group, and Osburn Commercial Concrete, Skyline students in the architecture cluster designed mosaic benches for the park. Skyline students from the construction cluster then built the mosaic and concrete benches based on the design. Students will install the benches in the park in spring. “I think this project is really inspirational to students,” said Mrs. Hanfeld, an interior design teacher at Skyline. “It’s…