Trustee Spotlight: Bernadette Nutall

Trustee Bernadette Nutall represents District 9, and she shares how community support in her district is helping students soar.

Below is an excerpt from her monthly column, which appears in the Dallas Weekly.

Community generosity is fueling success at District 9 schools

It’s shaping up to be another exciting year in District 9, with community organizations stepping up in an amazing way to support our students.

To mention a few examples:

o    A partnership between tech giant NEC and the Young Women’s Preparatory Network led to the donation of a second computer lab to Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School.

o    The global publisher of children’s literature, Scholastic, donated a library makeover complete with three books for every child and a visit by Clifford the Big Red Dog to Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center.

o    The international nonprofit Jiv Daya Foundation distributed sets of classroom Kindles to John Ireland, Thelma Richardson, San Jacinto and Urban Park.

o    The soccer team FC Dallas supported the Ann Richards Middle School computer science program with a donation of 90 Chromebooks and charge carts valued at more than $33,000.

o    Four Dallas County Judges are supporting the African American Success Initiative by expanding the Pipeline to Possibilities project to students at Lincoln High School. The judges – Amber Givens Davis, Stephanie Mitchell, Shequitta Kelly and Lisa Green – provide mentoring, guidance and encouragement to teens to move them toward positive futures and away from involvement in the criminal justice system.

On behalf of the administrators and staffs of these schools, I thank all these organizations for your generous acts of support. Your donations of time and resources provide priceless learning opportunities for District 9 students.

January is School Board Recognition Month, a time to thank local leaders for their dedication and willingness to serve as advocates for children and public schools. Dallas ISD joins other districts across the state in recognizing the work of its board.