Inside Dallas ISD

Third-graders at Martin Weiss Elementary School filed into the gym recently not knowing they would be “trapped” in an escape room until finishing several academic tasks. In small groups, they would complete reading, science, math and art challenges to decode a message that would tell them that each student would be receiving an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet to use for schoolwork. Teachers also receive Kindles and training on how to maximize their use. The Kindles are issued to each student, and the devices stay at school. The creative “reveal” was one of several methods that Dallas ISD schools used to…

The American School Counselor Association announced that Billy Earl Dade Middle School counselor Nwakaego Edordu is one of six finalists for the 2019 School Counselor of the Year awards program. The award honors the school counseling professionals who devote their careers to serving as advocates for students, helping them achieve success in school and life. Edordu has served as a counselor at Dade Middle School for four years. “Being named a finalist is a privilege and honor, but the biggest privilege is to help students, help this school, and help this community,” Edordu said. https://thehub.dallasisd.org/2018/02/06/three-schools-earn-statewide-counseling-award/ Nominations for the School Counselor…

Dallas ISD has raised the starting pay to $20 an hour for bus drivers with a current commercial driver’s license (CDL) and both the passenger and student endorsements. Anyone with a CDL who is interested in becoming a Dallas ISD bus driver is encouraged to contact the transportation department at 972-925-3451. Gloria Maddox-Powell, the district’s deputy chief of operation services, said the increase in starting pay makes Dallas ISD more competitive with the neighboring school districts. “We value our bus drivers for the crucial role play in getting our students safely to and from school,” Maddox-Powell said. “We strongly encourage…

Thanks to a generous fundraising effort and a $766,000 grant, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is getting a professional-level recording studio to help students take a major step forward in accomplishing their education and future career goals. The BTWHSPVA Advisory Board led the fundraising effort to make the recording studio a reality. The project, which also will include the ability to retrofit four classrooms/spaces as satellite recording studios, is scheduled to celebrate its grand opening in Fall 2019. “The goal for us is to level the playing field and to ensure every student at Booker…