Author: The Hub

Christopher Green, a band teacher at W.H. Adamson High School, got a big surprise on Tuesday, Sept. 15, during an assembly secretly arranged for him at the school. Green is one of 15 national finalists in the Farmers Insurance Dream Big Teacher Challenge. The winner of the challenge will receive a $100,000 education grant. In the contest, Green submitted a proposal, which landed him in the finals. Now he will be asked to create a compelling video of how he would use the $100,000 prize. Videos will be posted on www.thankamericasteachers.com, where viewers may vote for their favorite to determine the…

The Dallas Morning News profiles Kimberly Stangarone, a Dallas ISD police officer who learned sign language to be able to communicate with deaf students. Click here to read the full story. Photo courtesy Dallas Morning News

NBC reported on the district’s efforts to call students who have not yet shown up to school. The effort, dubbed “Operation Comeback,” aims to find out why students haven’t shown up to school. Click here for the full report.

Dallas ISD has appointed a new chief of staff. WFAA reports how Dr. Cynthia Wilson, who served as superintendent in South Carolina, will be Dallas ISD’s chief of staff starting Oct 1. Click here to view the full story.

A crucial part of launching any district initiative is communicating to stakeholders about how a program will affect them. The Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) defines, supports and rewards excellent teaching. With TEI, Dallas ISD has sought to both inform and gather feedback from stakeholders, including teachers, principals, parents, students and the community, in a variety of ways. Feedback and teacher input A critical part of the TEI design process was teacher and principal input. Identified teachers became “TEI experts” who have had early and continual input into the shaping the system. The experts became important sources of information about TEI…

Three hundred million square feet of retail—that’s a lot of space. It’s also, roughly, the total amount of real estate that Terrence Maiden, David W. Carter High School alum (1996), has been responsible for developing or leasing during his career. Still under the age of 40, Maiden has only scratched the surface. For Hub readers, Maiden’s face may look familiar and for good reason. AlumNow, a Hub feature that checks in with district alumni to see where they are now, recently profiled his twin brother, Tim. We thought it only fair to check in with Terrence for an update on his very impressive path…

Skyline High School sophomore Emily Raney is moving up to the big leagues. The young entrepreneur who designs and crafts handmade jewelry using metal and beads is on her way to New York City for the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. The sole Dallas ISD representative, Raney will pitch the plans for her business, Alloy Interp., before a panel of judges in the national competition featuring 35 other young entrepreneurs from across the U.S. The goal: to win a $25,000 scholarship to fund her business or education. The Skyline family is behind Emily all…

The Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees has named Dr. Michael Hinojosa as the lone finalist for superintendent of schools. The appointment followed a called meeting of the Trustees today at the Dallas ISD administration building. The Trustees will now wait 21 days as required by law before making the appointment final. Hinojosa will continue serving as interim superintendent of Dallas ISD during that time. “Our board is pleased to have Dr. Hinojosa back in a permanent capacity. In just a brief time since his return, he has proven to be the steady and experienced hand needed to guide…

Break out the (virtual) cupcakes: the Hub, which is the district’s online newsroom, today celebrates its one-year anniversary. For those who are curious, here is what the traffic to the Hub looked like in its first year: The Hub aims to spotlight the great things happening inside the district’s 226 schools. To do that, the Hub needs help in finding out about the great work teachers, students, and school leadership are doing at every campus. If you know of something happening in the district that deserves attention, send an email to thehub@dallasisd.org. Also, keep a…

Webster’s dictionary defines distinguished as notable, as renowned, famous, celebrated, prominent, or eminent. Under Dallas ISD’s ground-breaking Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI), being distinguished requires exceptional teaching skill and expertise that makes a powerful impact on student learning. According to Lindsay Coshatt, who spearheads TEI, the Distinguished Teacher Review (DTR) is the district’s process of identifying the top 20 percent of highly effective teachers who excel not just in the classroom but as campus leaders; they are teachers who demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning, pursue and share information with colleagues and contribute to the profession. Specifically, TEI defines a distinguished teacher…