Author: The Hub

Connecting you to the personalities, places and perspectives of Dallas ISD

Dallas ISD Goes To College Week, which is happening Nov. 16–20, is part of a district effort to motivate all seniors to apply to at least one college. With the push to have seniors apply to college, it’s important to note that qualifying students can have their college application fee waived if they meet certain criteria. Each college has its own college application fee waiver, so it’s important for a student to check with the college they are applying to learn more. The most commonly accepted fee waivers are the College Board, ACT and NACAC waivers. Each fee waiver has…

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Great things are happening in Dallas ISD schools every day. Show and Tell is a weekly feature on The Hub that rounds up some of the news happening across the district into one place. If you have any story ideas for Show and Tell, email thehub@dallasisd.org. Hockaday students, staff volunteer across feeder to support literacy Hockaday students and teachers arrived on campuses throughout the Thomas Jeffeson High School feeder last Thursday to support literacy projects at four elementary schools—Saldivar, Knight, Burnet, and Field. Hockaday is one of several private partners in the P3 Network, in which all TJ Feeder elementary schools participate.…

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Skyline High School alum Levatta Dean Levels (1982) knows firsthand the power of great teachers who invest in their students’ lives, pushing them to excel and expecting them to achieve. Levels, assistant superintendent at the DeSoto Independent School District, recalls caring teachers who helped give her the tools needed to succeed and a school that prepared her for a world of diversity. AlumNow, the Hub feature that profiles Dallas ISD alumni, checked in with Levels for an update. What are you doing now? [I am] Assistant Superintendent for DeSoto Independent School District. Briefly list a few of your career and/or…

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This Week in Dallas ISD is a new Hub feature that previews upcoming events happening across the district. Have something to add? Shoot an email to thehub@dallasisd.org. Wednesday, Nov. 18 Parkland is hosting a flu shot event for homeless Dallas ISD students. The event is scheduled for 6:45–8:15 a.m. at the John Leslie Patton Jr. Academic Center, 3313 S. Beckley Ave. A community meeting is planned to discuss proposed attendance boundary changes. Schools to be discussed include Ben Milam, Sam Houston, Esperanza “Hope” Medrano and Martin Luther King Jr., elementary schools. The event will be 6 to 7 p.m. at Ben Milam Elementary School,…

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The ravanhattha, an instrument played by the bhopas of Rajasthan as they sing and tell the stories of a deity, is best classified as a/an: Idiophone Membranophone Aerophone Electrophone Chordophone That was just one of many questions posed to high school students from 24 district campuses as they competed in the Super Quiz at the Dallas ISD District Academic Decathlon competition on Nov. 14 at Seagoville High School. The theme focused on India, with students engaged in friendly competition testing their knowledge in music, art, economics, math, language arts, science and social science. Schools competed in three divisions—small, medium or…

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Anticipation was high for students at the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy who will perform for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to Dallas on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Principal Nakia Douglas explained the school’s jazz band and choir received a special invitation to perform during Clinton’s visit to Mountain View College, where hundreds are expected to attend. “I was totally surprised and excited by the call,” said Douglas. “But I’m more excited for some of the brothers from Barack Obama who will have an opportunity to see one of the greatest minds of our country, and hear…

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Florence Middle School in Pleasant Grove is partnering with the community to offer a free Thanksgiving meal next week to its students and their families. The “Feed the Grove” Thanksgiving meal is happening Nov. 23 from 6–8 p.m. in Florence Middle School’s cafeteria, 1625 N. Masters Dr. Florence Middle School Assistant Principal Sabrina Hodge said the school wanted to reach out and help those who might be alone or unable to prepare a meal for the holidays. The meal will include smoked turkey, green beans, rolls, tea, and more. “I know sometimes students in our community don’t have the opportunity…

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The approved Dallas ISD bond program will provide new schools, facility improvements across the district, and support for growing programs. Click here for an interactive map detailing the proposed projects. The $1.6 billion bond program is also not expected to raise tax rates. To find out why the bond isn’t expected to raise tax rates, The Hub asked the Dallas ISD finance department to learn more. In short, the projected stable tax rate for the proposed bond is based on four factors: The growth in the district’s tax base The reduction of the district’s existing debt Historically low interest rates…

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A special event this month spotlighted and celebrated the work taking place to transform some of Dallas ISD’s most challenging schools under the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) program. The seven ACE schools are benefitting from being staffed by proven principals and effective teachers in a framework that allows them to focus on students’ needs. The event on Nov. 12 was at Billy Earl Dade Middle School, and recognized the hard work of the staff at Dade, Thomas Edison and Sarah Zumwalt middle schools; and Annie Webb Blanton, Roger Q. Mills, Elisha M. Pease and Umphrey Lee elementary schools. “With the…

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