In 1988, Conrad Hutchinson Jr., director of bands at Grambling State University, and Richard Johnson, head band director at South Oak Cliff High School, started a fundraiser to buy uniforms for SOC students–unknowingly planting the seeds for a Dallas ISD tradition. “South Oak Cliff is a very storied school, especially when it comes to the band program,” Le Manuel Williams Jr., SOC director of bands, said. “You can’t have a conversation about the battle of the bands without mentioning South Oak Cliff because they were the trailblazers for this whole movement.” Williams remembers competing in the Dallas Bands United Battle…

Rocio Castillo, a translator and interpreter in Translation Services, knows first-hand that it can be difficult to juggle work and children–but it is possible to help them live life to the fullest. Castillo’s son, Malachi, is 18 years old and a 2024 North Dallas High School graduate. He is blind and has other disabilities, but that doesn’t stop him from living a life full of joy. “Malachi wakes up smiling every day,” Castillo said. “So that really affected me in a way where I decided that I was going to stop being sad about all the things that he can’t…

David C., a North Dallas High School junior, is shaping his leadership skills as the newly elected vice president of the school’s League of United Latin American Citizens Council.  Whether helping behind the desk at the school’s main office or honoring family traditions in Mexico, David shows this by setting an example. “David joined LULAC last school year and immediately stood out with his willingness to learn and participate in our council events,” Rubi Chavez, LULAC sponsor at North Dallas High School said. “He has the best personality and will do whatever he can to make things happen. He was…

For Toni Molina, principal at James S. Hogg New Tech Center, a person’s legacy is the impact they make on others.  “I always look at our students and tell the staff that every day they come in, they’re part of somebody’s history,” she said. “As educators, we don’t see it like that because we’re in the thick of it, but that is what we’re doing. “We’re changing somebody’s history every day we show up.” Molina speaks from experience. A graduate of Dallas ISD, she credits her education– and the opportunities that came with it– for changing the trajectory of her…