Inside Dallas ISD

It was a rock-star kind of morning for the Special Olympics team at Victor H. Hexter Elementary School: adoring fans cheering them on, a blitz of media interviews and a victory parade to set the tone for the day. The entire school lined the hallways to give the seven competitors a warm sendoff before the district Special Olympics meet on Thursday, March 6, at Wilmer-Hutchins High School. There were handmade signs, high-fives and the school’s cheerleaders showing their support at Hexter before the students got on the bus. Heidi Zeko, who coaches the Hexter Special Olympians, said the organization is…

Culinary arts students from four Dallas ISD high schools competed recently in the fourth annual Cooking Up Change challenge. Six teams – one from Bryan Adams, one from Conrad, two from Molina and two from Skyline – developed lunch menus featuring an entree, vegetable and dessert. Students prepared sample lunches for five judges and attendees of the Feb. 28 event. The menus were called to be nutritiously sound, fantastically tasty and cost $1.40 or less per serving. “The Golden Threat” from Conrad took the top honors and won a paid trip to the Texas Restaurant Association’s conference this summer in…

Students from four Dallas ISD middle schools learned personal branding, entrepreneurship, design thinking, finance basics, coding and technology at the second annual Innovate(her) conference presented by Capital One and the University of Texas at Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Capital One associates, UTD students and professionals from the community served as mentors to the girls at the event, which featured activities such as: Comet Cents An interactive game that challenged students to reimagine budgeting in a practical way. Pitch Perfect: Students learned the art of persuasion by presenting a pitch to peers. Design Thinking: Working in pairs, students designed…

Israel Rivera got a nice surprise on Monday, March 4, when he walked into his school’s auditorium. Rivera, the principal of Jose “Joe” May Elementary School, has been named one of five finalists in the HEB Excellence in Education Awards. Representatives from HEB presented a check for $1,000 to Rivera, and another for $2,500 to the school. Students and staff were also waiting for him to return, holding up signs with words of thanks and encouragement. In May, he will travel to Austin to compete with the other four finalists to vie for the top honors and additional prizes. Rivera…