Inside Dallas ISD

More than 50 students from Dallas ISD’s Justin F. Kimball and H. Grady Spruce high schools were recently pampered with mentoring, shopping, jewelry, makeup and hairstyling thanks to TLC’s Say Yes to the Prom event. The day culminated in a high-fashion runway show, where the girls and boys strutted their stuff with their new looks. “TLC the brand believes that self-confidence, feeling as if someone is there for you, can mentor you, work with you is very important,” Adria Alpert-Romm of Discovery Communications. “That’s really what it’s all about. It’s about confidence, it’s about pride, and it’s about feeling like…

An all-boy assembly at Kimball High School served as a “wake-up call” to encourage the students to reach their full potential. Distinguished guests such as Judge Ernest White, Councilman Casey Thomas, radio personality J Kruz, and spoken word artist Joe Wesley Patton III talked with students about issues such as morality and the chivalric code. “Don’t minimize yourself and don’t ever let anyone minimize you,” said Lawrence Stokes, a felony criminal court coordinator. “There is nothing in your life but opportunity.” The all-boy assembly followed an all-girls assembly held at Kimball High School in February. Both assemblies aimed to bridge…

Billy Earl Dade Middle School has seen huge gains this year, from a decreased failure rate and increased enrollment to a much improved campus climate. Dade Middle School Principal Tracie Washington said the ACE initiative, which brings together several components to boost student success and create a strong sense of community, has been the key factor in the school’s remarkable transformation. “Our turnaround has been phenomenal. It has allowed us to join in with our community partners, our staff, our parents and our students with one vision and one goal,” Washington said. Washington was named a Dallas ISD Principal of…

Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy teacher William Adkins is among the 50 teachers in 27 states and the District of Columbia awarded the professional development grants by the Institute of International Education and American Institute for Foreign Study Foundation in recognition of his outstanding work. Adkins is the only teacher within the Dallas Independent School District,to receive national recognition for successfully integrating global perspectives and exchanges into his classroom. The award will fund Adkins’ ongoing efforts to globalize his instructional environment and advocate for global competencies in curriculum. He has also received awards from the Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad, Japan Fulbright…