Inside Dallas ISD

Conn’s HomePlus has donated a new Samsung washer and dryer set to Roger Q. Mills Elementary, and staff, students and parents are thrilled. Conn’s HomePlus, a furniture and specialty home goods retailer, celebrated the donation on Oct. 20 with a fun and interactive laundry lesson to teach students a lifelong skill. The students also participated in a fast-paced laundry relay race. “This donation will ensure our students have a resource to clean clothes,” Mills Principal Tonya Clark said. “We want our students to be able to come to school not worried about their clothes and whether or not their clothes are…

The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) and Hold On To Your Music, is sponsoring the first-ever City-Wide Read and Performance this fall for approximately 12,500 fifth graders, as well as students from several of the city’s Jewish schools. Students will read The Children of Willesden Lane, a true story of inspiration and perseverance in a time of war, and attend a musical performance by the author, Grammy-nominated classical pianist Mona Golabek. The Children of Willesden Lane tells the story of Golabek’s mother, Lisa Jura, a 14-year-old Jewish musical prodigy…

Mark Twain Leadership Vanguard scored a visit from Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr as part of Principal for a Day. Carr, whose mother was an educator, toured the school and talked with teachers and staff on Monday morning. Carr is the founder of the Carr Cares Foundation, which promotes literacy and physical health. More than 200 business and community leaders led schools across the district as part of Principal for a Day. Dallas Regional Chamber and Capital One help sponsor the great annual event.

REAL School Gardens and Vizient recently teamed up to install a new outdoor garden/classroom at Stephen C. Foster Elementary. REAL School Gardens aims to create learning gardens that grow successful students. Meanwhile, Vizient, Inc., based in Irving, is the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, serving academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, and community hospitals, among others. REAL School Gardens and Vizient had previously teamed up to beautify DeGoyler Elementary. Photos courtesy Bethany Erickson.