Inside Dallas ISD

The Dallas ISD Police Department announced its first female command staff officer in the history of the department during a promotion ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 20. Terri Thomas officially received the promotion from sergeant to lieutenant. Thomas began her career in Dallas ISD in 1994 as a truancy officer and later elevated her role within the force as a police officer in 2000. Lt. Thomas comes from a family of law enforcement officers one of which includes her mother, Mattie Thomas, who is also noted for making history in policing. Mattie Thomas was the first female deputy for the Dallas…

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.