Author: The Hub

If a room is filled with 30 children with autism, Theresa Shattuck, Dallas ISD autism program supervisor, is quick to point out that the room is filled with 30 unique individuals who have their own personalities and talents. With April being National Autism Awareness Month, Shattuck said the conversation is moving from understanding the research and basics on autism to increasing appreciation for the skills that people with autism bring to the community. “You can’t just pigeonhole people with autism,” she said. “Each person has so much to offer, no matter the diagnosis.” Dallas ISD has more than 1,000 students…

After retiring from Dallas ISD—having worked as an English Language Arts instructional coach and teacher— in 2013, Valerie Wright-Fleming soon began volunteering for the district one year later. Wright-Fleming learned through her church that R. C. Burleson Elementary was in need of volunteers to read to students for Dr. Suess’ birthday and has been volunteering ever since. As a retired educator, Wright-Fleming engages primarily with fourth-grade students and helps with their writing. Sharing the joy with students who have achieved a goal they have been striving toward and helping the teachers make student success a reality are what make volunteering a…

The National Center for Urban School Transformation has named four Dallas ISD schools as ranking among the highest performing 24 urban schools in the country. Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School, John Q. Adams Elementary School, Walnut Hill Elementary School, and John J. Pershing Elementary School are recipients of the 2015 National Excellence in Urban Education Award. The schools will be formally recognized at the Excellence in Urban Education National Symposium being held May 21–22 at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Dallas. Dr. Lynne Perez, associate director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST), said NCUST started its award program in…

After completing the Distinguished Teacher Review application process, Erin Elliott, a kindergarten teacher at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, caught up with The Hub about her experience. The Hub originally talked with Elliott in December as she entered the DTR application process. To view that original interview, click here.

Como parte de la Iniciativa de Excelencia Docente, el distrito se ha comprometido a identificar, respaldar y remunerar a los docentes eficientes. Pero exactamente, ¿Cómo se identifica a un docente eficiente? Los maestros son evaluados por su desempeño en el salón de clases, los resultados del aprovechamiento de los estudiantes y los resultados de la encuesta de percepción del estudiante, que será administrada el próximo mes. Esto es lo que usted debe saber sobre la encuesta. ¿Qué es la encuesta de percepción del estudiante?
La encuesta de percepción del estudiante es una encuesta respaldada por investigaciones, que será administrada a los…

Vanessa Sánchez, a fourth-grade student at Martin Weiss Elementary, took home first place in the National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE) Bilingual Essay contest for grades 3–5. Students who participated in the contest had to be enrolled in a bilingual classroom, have a B average or better, and a 90-percent attendance record. Essays were submitted in English and judged on development of the theme, originality, content and clarity of expression, grammar and mechanics. Sánchez and her family were invited to be honored at the NABE Awards Luncheon held March 6, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Below is Sánchez’ essay: I am Proud…

Gatorade and USA Today High School Sports recently announced that Admon Gilder, a student at James Madison High School, is its 2014–15 Gatorade Texas Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Gilder is the first athlete in his school’s history to be chosen for the award that recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court. “It means a lot to have been named for this honor,” Gilder said. “It’s a big accolade that not many players and athletes get a chance to experience. I’ve been working so…

A Design Your World event for 4th- and 5th-grade girls was conducted Saturday, March 28, at Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School. The event was coordinated by the Dallas chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, SMU and the Dallas ISD STEM Department. Hands-on activities featured demonstrations of mechanical energy, computer science, biomedical, chemical engineering, aerospace and electrical engineering.

For its “Class Act of the Week,” CW33 selected Jamie Lerman, a junior at Booker T. Washington High School, whose design will be featured on gift wrap packages in this year’s Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. The Christmas Book will be sent to more than 250,000 people. To view the CW33 report, click here

As the Teacher Excellence Initiative continues to become the standard for the way Dallas ISD evaluates how effective a teacher is, one key piece in understanding a teacher’s effectiveness are the students in their classrooms. Fifteen percent of a teacher’s annual evaluation will be derived from their student perception surveys, which are being administered to students in grades 3–12 during the week of April 6–10. In the above video, district teachers weigh in with their opinions on how the survey, which contains grade-appropriate questions, will impact the way in which they are evaluated under TEI. Eric Hale, a teacher at David…