Inside Dallas ISD

Three nationally known children’s book authors visited Dallas ISD’s Thomas Tolbert Elementary School on Friday, May 19 – one of them possibly more notable for the eight years she lived in the White House. Former First Lady Laura Bush visited the school to announce the DFW-area winners of grants through the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. Schools in Denton and Arlington are receiving grants in the latest round of awards. She also read the book, Our Great Big Backyard, co-written with her daughter Jenna Bush Hager. The story follows a family as they take a road trip to visit…

Students at the Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) put their entrepreneurship skills into practice, pitching their ideas for new apps and accompanying business plans to local community leaders at the Startup Tech Showcase. Student teams developed the business plans and functioning prototypes for each application over the past year in partnership with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE – pronounced “nifty”). Each plan was designed to meet a need they identified in their community. One team created “Notefy,”a note-taking app that allows students to easily share notes with one another and includes built-in tips and games to help teach positive…

Shyane Banuelos was recently selected as one of three 2017 Sulentic Family Foundation Scholarship winners. Banuelos is a senior at Bryan Adams High School and will attend the University of North Texas in Denton. “I was so overjoyed when I found out I was selected as a Sulentic Scholar,” Banuelos said. “I wanted to cry, because now I can go to school debt free.” Watch the above video to see what makes Banuelos special.

Doug Marshall, an entrepreneur and Shark Tank contestant, stopped by L.O. Donald Elementary School to challenge students to think beyond the everyday and find ways to develop their ideas into real products or services. Marshall appeared on Shark Tank, the hit ABC show, in 2013 with what turned out to be a multi-million dollar idea. Sharks Mark Cuban and Lori Grenier took the bait and invested in Marshall’s product—peel-away, face tattoos. Today, Marshall’s company, The Game Face Company, makes the temporary tattoos and mask for sporting events, Halloween, parties–you name it, and all without the mess of paints. Marshall’s idea…