Author: The Hub

Turn trash into crafts! Kids can paint empty egg cartons his or her favorite color and store small items such as beads or neat rocks. Paper or Styrofoam egg cartons can be used to hold paint for art projects, too. Or plant your very own miniature garden! Use each well to plant seeds that grow flowers or herbs.

This week, 150 Dallas ISD teachers will attend a professional development training at Southern Methodist University’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education. Dallas ISD covered each teacher’s $3,000 tuition to attend the three-week-long intensive training, which is designed to help teachers based on their Teacher Excellence Initiative effectiveness rating. The teachers in attendance at the SMU Teacher Academy will be introduced to curriculum focused on increasing classroom effectiveness and improving classroom instructional practice within cohorts based on each educator’s TEI teacher effectiveness level. “The idea is that this is differentiated support for teachers that takes them from where they are, what…

In the calm before the storm that is back-to-school, parents are encouraged to resolve student immunizations as early as possible to avoid the inevitable back-to-school rush in clinics, doctor’s offices and medical facilities throughout the city. Students enrolling in Dallas ISD for the first time must provide evidence of required immunizations. Official records from a physician or health clinic, which provide documentation of current immunizations, are required. All immunizations should be completed by the first date of attendance. The law requires that students be fully vaccinated against specified diseases. A 30-day provisional enrollment is available to students transferring from one Texas school…

In her 24 years working for Dallas ISD, Jane Didear has facilitated more than 450 partnerships with businesses, nonprofits and civic groups that support the district’s students and staff. On Aug. 31, Didear will go from working in the district’s Volunteer and Partnerships office to volunteering herself, as it’s her last official day with the district. Didear is retiring after working in multiple departments and receiving many accolades. Among her many accolades, Didear has received PTA life membership awards from both the Texas and National PTA, the Junior Achievement Champion Award, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of…

Brad Mayfield, a social studies teacher at William B. Travis Academy, was one of 30 educators from across the nation selected to attend C-SPAN’s 2015 Summer Educators’ Conference held in Washington, DC. Mayfield competed with applicants from across the country to secure a place at the conference. It helps educators discover how to integrate C-SPAN’s programs and C-SPAN Classroom’s free web-based primary source materials into classroom activities to create engaging learning experiences for students. The conference brings together middle school teachers who specialize in social studies and/or technology. Throughout the event participants learn more about C-SPAN, its online archive of…

Stephanie L. Young thought that one day she might be a teacher. However, her ambitions, which were encouraged by a favorite teacher and a central staffer, took her far beyond the classroom. Today, Young is the Associate Director of Communications at the White House, and in her short career, she has landed in some very impressive places. AlumNow, which is a Hub feature that checks in with district alumni to see where they are now, recently caught up with Young recently to see what she’s been doing since graduating from the School of Education and Social Services (known now as Rosie Sorrells School of Education…

Same-sex spouses of Dallas ISD employees are now eligible for health, dental, vision, and life insurance under the district’s benefits plan. The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas extended its spousal benefits eligibility following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 26 to legalize same-sex marriage. A district employee can add a same-sex spouse to their benefits plan during the annual benefits enrollment period, which happens August 1–31.

Approximately 243,230 meals were served to children 18 and younger during the month of June as part of the Summer Food Service Program. Select Dallas ISD schools participate in the free meal program along with churches, recreation centers, and other activity sites throughout the city. The Summer Food Service Program was created to ensure that children in low-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations when they do not have the benefit of school breakfasts and lunches. “Hunger does not take a break over the summer, and neither do we,” said Lesia Gray, who coordinates Dallas…

Juan Quesada, a teacher at Jill Stone Elementary School and a Distinguished Teacher candidate in the Dallas Independent School District, was among several teachers to participate in the NASA LiftOff Summer Institute at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to a press release, NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium sponsored the program. Teachers from across the nation were selected to participate and increase their knowledge of space education through this professional development summer institute. LiftOff is a collaborative effort of Texas Space Grant Consortium members and affiliates. Teachers apply for LiftOff and are selected competitively. The workshops are organized around…

A locally owned grocery store is raising money to help fund educational field trips for Dallas ISD students this upcoming school year. Elrod’s Cost Plus Supermarket, which has six locations in the DFW area, set up its Dallas ISD Field Trip Fund after a teacher from W.A. Blair Elementary School contacted them. The teacher asked Elrod’s about potentially donating hot dogs for a fundraiser at the school. After talking with the teacher, Julia Johnson, Elrod’s marketing manager, said the family owned grocery chain decided to go a step further and set up a donation fund to help finance Dallas ISD…