Inside Dallas ISD

Mita Havlick was recently named executive director of the Dallas Education Foundation, the development partner of the Dallas Independent School District. Havlick is active in the community, advocates for public schools and volunteers with a variety of organizations. Most recently, Havlick served as executive director of Emanuel Community Center in Old East Dallas, as chairperson of the Dallas ISD Superintendent’s Districtwide Advisory Committee, and as public education adviser to U.S. Rep. Colin Allred. A strong proponent of equity and access, Havlick co-chaired the committee and spear-headed the effort that led to Dallas ISD being designated a District of Innovation. She…

Ask Stephanie Hill to describe her job as lead custodian at Conrad High School, and she will use one word: joyful. Hill is a proud Dallas ISD graduate who, in 1993, came back to work for the school district, first as a custodian at Nolan Estes. She has gained a wide variety of skills over the years and loves helping others each day “Whatever I can to help assist people, I will do it. That’s my passion,” Hill said. “Above everything, I love coming to school and seeing the students each and every day. It fills me with joy.” Conrad…

Chants of “no more gun violence” and signs promoting peace filled the sidewalk as students from Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Fred F. Florence Middle School commemorated Malik Tyler, a classmate who was shot and killed over the summer. The students, school, and male district and community leaders gathered at YMLA Florence on Friday morning to join the Million Fathers March, a nationwide event encouraging fathers and father figures to get involved in their students’ lives. The march also honored Tyler’s life. “This is our call to action to end gun violence and crime in the Pleasant Grove community,” YMLA…

The Junior League of Dallas (JLD), along with presenting sponsor Texas Instruments (TI), recently awarded 50 Dallas ISD educators with grants of up to $2,000 each through the annual Grants for Innovative Teaching (GFIT) program. Since 1992, this JLD Signature Project has awarded over $1.9 million to Dallas ISD educators and is designed to encourage excellence in education by funding special projects addressing: reading and literacy enrichment; diversity; special education; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); or arts and culture enrichment across one or more grade levels. This year, more than $92,000 was distributed to fund deserving educators’ winning projects.…