Music is a universal language that crosses all boundaries. For a second-grader at Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary, music is more than just a language – it is the vehicle that moves imagination. Meet 7-year-old Tinashe McGowan. “Sometimes when I play the piano, it takes me on a little journey,” said Tinashe. “I just start playing and I go on a magical adventure.”   Quickly becoming a master of the classical piano, Tinashe has been playing since he was 3 years old. Tinashe’s mother, Eneida Simpson, remembers his interest at such a young age. “I knew he liked music since he…

A minority student in the Dallas Independent School District is more than twice as likely to pass an Advanced Placement, or AP, math or science exam than in any other large urban school district in the country, based on the most recent testing results available. For those minority students, that multiplier is even greater: African-American and Hispanic students who succeed in AP courses are four times more likely to graduate from college. This means Dallas ISD minority students are closing the most important achievement gap for students: college and career readiness. The two charts below, courtesy of the National Math…

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 18, Dallas ISD will conduct a series of four Open Mike community meetings, all of which will feature presentations on an element of Destination 2020, the district’s action plan to graduate all students ready to enter college or a career by year 2020. The first meeting, to be conducted at Seagoville High School, 15820 Seagoville Road, will feature a presentation on college- and career-readiness. Parents and community members may ask questions of the superintendent and other district leaders about the topic and other education-related issues. Future meetings will feature presentations on plans to expand early childhood education,…