The walls that were once covered with music notes and faces of composers were bare. Various trophies and accolades collected over the last four and a half decades were boxed. The dry erase board is how students would learn the notes Do, Re and Me, but at the end of this day it was permanently erased. Betty J. Bush took one last look at her classroom before her last day of her career. Looking back over her empty classroom, tears began to fill her eyes. “I think I’ll mostly miss the children,” Bush said days into her retirement. A few…

Thanks to their visionary work and knack for visual storytelling, the bright lights of recognition are shining on nearly 60 students in the film program at Lincoln High School. Fresh off a third-place finish in the Irving Black Arts Council Holiday Film Fest in December 2014, the students are looking to take center stage with two entries in the 2015 Dallas International Film Festival. Tony Boone, film teacher at Lincoln High, termed the students’ participation as a winning proposition for his young cinematographers. “It’s great publicity for our program. It’s also great for the students to be in a competitive…

Increased vigilance and systemic changes will lead to approximately $17.9 million in E-Rate funding being returned to classrooms in the Dallas Independent School District. Dallas ISD is slated to receive the federal funds regarding technology purchases as a reimbursement within 30 days due to its increased compliance in the E-Rate program. Jim Terry, Dallas ISD chief financial officer, has been notified that approximately $17.9 million in E-Rate reimbursements have just been released to district vendors. Combined with the $18.3 million received in the previous fiscal year, the total amount received in E-Rate funding since the compliance agreement began will be…

The W.T. White feeder pattern is exchanging one experienced leader for another. Melody Paschall will bring 25 years of experience in education when she formally begins her duties as the new executive director of the feeder pattern on Feb. 11.   Paschall will continue to build on the foundation of excellence set by outgoing executive director Anita Hardwick, who retired after a successful career in the Dallas Independent School District. “We are very pleased that Melody is joining our district team,” said Stephanie Elizalde, assistant superintendent for Schools Division 2. “She has proven time and time again in her career…