Inside Dallas ISD

Kelli Yonker will happily tell anyone who listens that she has one of the best jobs in the world. As the library media specialist at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School—and the Dallas ISD 2018–2019 Librarian of the Year—she inspires a love of reading and researching in students. And while she appreciates the Librarian of the Year honor, nothing for her can top helping students succeed. “Watching the lightbulb go off in students’ heads when they realize they know how to research and learn something new—or seeing their eyes light up when they pick out a book and get excited about reading—is…

More than 50 volunteers renovated the library and computer lab at Charles A. Gill Elementary School thanks to the AbbVie Foundation’s Week of Possibilities global volunteering program. Volunteers assembled furniture, painted the walls, and created a maker space that will engage students in learning when they return in August. “We are working to create a better environment for students when they return,” said Nicole Mowad-Nassar, AbbVie vice president of commercial analytics and operations. Gill Elementary Principal Shawki Freelon thanked the volunteers for their hard work. “This maker space that our students are going to have gives them an opportunity to…

The Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation announced that 20 graduating high school seniors have been awarded Foundation scholarships for Fall 2018. The Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation was established to support excellent education in public schools and recognize and honor academic excellence among the students within the Woodrow feeder pattern. Each scholarship is accompanied by an award ranging from $250—$10,000 to assist families in financing the costs of college The scholarship recipients are:

When students in the Media Club at Dallas ISD’s Larry G. Smith Elementary School turn on the lights, cameras and spring into action, they are learning crucial skills that could help them in their careers. Students produce a morning newscast with the help of PE teacher and Club director Paul Curbow. “They are responsible for getting everything set up, they do turn on all the cameras, they turn on all the TVs, the lights, they go get the kids that are actually doing the announcements for the day,” Curbow said. “I am here to help facilitate any way that I…