Author: The Hub

Lilliana Navarro is entering her second year as a volunteer at Harry C. Withers Elementary, which is where her son goes to kindergarten. Navarro said she desires to learn the environment in which her son learns. Balancing her life as a working mother who works nights and volunteers a few times a week, Navarro is also the president of the Latin Advisory Committee at Withers.  She said volunteering at her son’s school is priceless.

At last night’s regular board meeting, trustees approved the reopening of the James W. Fannin school site as a new Choice School. Reopening the site as a Choice School is a part of the district’s plan to launch a total of 35 new Choice Schools by the year 2020. Fannin closed in 2012. The district is set to open the Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy, which will be a new high school at the site located at 4800 Ross Ave. Beginning in August 2015, IDEA will start with approximately 100 ninth-graders, adding one grade each subsequent school year up to 12th grade…

Twenty-two students at Stephen C. Foster Elementary School are riding high after receiving donated bikes on April 23. Steven Foster of Foster-Fathom, a leadership training and team-building company based in Dallas, donated the bikes to the students. The donated bikes go along with the school’s “Ride Your Way to College!” theme. In the 15 days leading up to the bicycle giveaway, each member of the school staff nominated a student every day who demonstrated a positive character trait that was the focus of that day. School leadership then drew 15 names from the students who were nominated to determine which…

At Leonides Gonzalez Cigarroa Elementary School, volunteer Danae Gutierrez is considered a superstar. Gutierrez motivates fellow parents to become involved in the school, leads the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, and is even organizing a community event for school students. “She puts her heart into everything: working with kids, parents, and school staff,” said Nancy Brinkley, a counselor at the school. Gutierrez was a recipient of the Volunteer Impact Award for School Support at a ceremony held in April. Watch the above video to learn more about Gutierrez’ great work.

Woodrow Wilson students who are performing in this the school’s spring musical, “Annie,” brought their talents this week to WFAA News 8 Daybreak. The cast performed “Hard Knock Life” on the morning show. Click here to see the on-air performance.

Following the April 23 release of preliminary STAAR Reading test results from fifth- and eighth-grade district students, Superintendent Mike Miles said he was encouraged by data that showed student growth in both grades. “While they represent only two of the 21 exams our students will take this year, they are a good start, especially as they are only the first administration of these two exams,” Miles said. Below is a chart showing what percentage of eighth-grade Dallas ISD students passed the STAAR Reading test this year compared to what percentage of seventh-grade students passed the test last year. And here is…

As part of National Volunteer Month, we are recognizing those who do great work in helping out at different schools within the district. Here is a letter Claudia Alvarez, a student at Ebby Halliday Elementary, wrote to Oak Grove Baptista Church, which has members that volunteer at the school.

Seniors representing every comprehensive and magnet high school in Dallas ISD were recognized for academic excellence and received a share of $155,000 in scholarships at the 2015 Superintendent’s Scholarship Reception held Tuesday, April 21, at Emmett Conrad High School. Superintendent Mike Miles, members of the board of trustees, and the district’s Counselor of the Year, Yolanda Velasquez Cortes, congratulated the scholars and encouraged them to continue their commitment to education as they leave for college. The students were selected by their school scholarship committees to receive $2,500 scholarships based on academic achievement, community service, and recommendations. Go here for the list of…

The results of Dallas ISD students from the first administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests mirrored statewide increases in reading for 5th grade students and decreases in 8th grade reading scores. According to preliminary results released today by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the overall percentage of Dallas ISD 5th grade students that passed the exam this year increased by two percentage points. The net gain is nearly two percentage points over last year, approximately the same as Texas 5th grade students overall. The percentage of 8th grade students who passed the Reading test on the…

Los maestros del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dallas tendrán la posibilidad de ganar un salario más alto a un ritmo más rápido bajo la nueva escala de sueldos del distrito. En el año escolar 2015-16, el salario base inicial para los nuevos maestros del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dallas será de $50,000. Como referencia, los nuevos maestros previamente tenían un salario inicial de $47,382. Mientras tanto, los maestros con más de dos años de experiencia docente tendrán la posibilidad de ganar un salario base de $58,000, con el potencial de ganar hasta $90,000 en los próximos años. Al excluir cualquier…