Inside Dallas ISD

Ramona Soto, Dallas ISD’s general counsel, is approaching her fifth anniversary with the district, leading a team of attorneys, who advise school leaders, help them make sound legal decisions, find solutions and pursue options. And she says she has enjoyed every moment. Soto did not initially intend to practice school law, but when she started working in private practice, she had Dallas ISD as a client and said she fell in love with the work. She transitioned to Fort Worth ISD for about four years before coming full circle to serve Dallas ISD as in-house counsel. “I love doing school…

It’s not every day that students are on camera reporting live from a teleprompter and shouting, “Action!” But third- and fifth-graders from Montessori Academy at Onesimo Hernandez got a chance to do just that as they tried their hand at video, audio, and post-production at the Dallas Schools Television (DSTV) studio.  Getting a sense of what it’s like to be in a real broadcast studio, the students were also taught how to use state-of-the-art, Canon EOS C500 cameras similar to the ones used to record Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Each area of the DSTV studio was split into…

Cheryl Culberson, Dallas ISD’s Alcohol and Drug Intervention Program coordinator, is playing a vital role in the district’s efforts to increase awareness, expand prevention, facilitate intervention and promote recovery for substance use/abuse in students, a role that has become even more crucial recently as the area faces an increase in fentanyl abuse. As a licensed chemical dependency counselor and a licensed professional counselor, Culberson is qualified to provide both substance abuse and mental health intervention, something that has always been her passion. “Substance abuse is a large component of impulsivity and poor life choices that affects the whole family,” Culberson…

Three Dallas ISD teachers were recently honored by the Dallas Metroplex Musicians’ Association for their dedication to student success and their years of hard work in the music industry. Nelda Washington of Clara Oliver Elementary School and Osley Cook Jr. of Franklin D. Roosevelt High School Of Innovation were both inducted into the Dallas Metroplex Musicians’ Association Hall of Fame for serving the area for over 30 years. Chad Lott of Skyline High School earned a Next Generation of Music Professionals Award, which is given to professional musicians who have been in the field for less than 10 years. The…