Inside Dallas ISD

For Stevens Park Elementary School kindergarten teacher Deborah Castro Torres, creativity is the name of the game. If she is having fun, she said it’s likely that her dual language students will be, too, so she has spent the past 17 years and counting looking for innovative ways to keep her classes engaged. That often means using real-world interactions to keep students involved, whether she is teaching math, science or reading. “One thing that I love to do when we’re doing science is to bring real worms,” Castro Torres said. “I won’t touch them because they gross me out, but…

Several Dallas ISD students will spend part of the Spring Break competing in the UIL Cross-Examination Debate State Meet at the University of Texas at Austin. By placing first or second in their respective UIL CX Debate District meets, 12 students from Jefferson, Law Magnet, Samuell, Skyline, and TAG high schools will travel to Austin on March 16 to compete in the UIL state competition, one of the largest debate tournaments in the United States. With the topic of Emerging Technologies, the debate teams will argue whether the US government should increase its security cooperation with NATO in the areas…

S.S. Conner Elementary School in Dallas, TX hosted a three-day Literacy Summit sponsored by Kia America and the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) from February 21 to 23. The event aimed to promote literacy by providing students with the opportunity to add to their home library collections. During the summit, more than 600 students from Pre-K to 5th grade attended the book fair and explored the books on offer, guided by their teachers or media specialists to ensure age-appropriate and culturally relevant materials. The students were encouraged to select three books to take home, and teachers facilitated guided read-along sessions with…

Almost 50 lucky seventh- and eighth-graders from George B. Dealey Montessori Academy had the opportunity to taste-test a new recipe for vegan tacos from Dallas ISD’s Food & Child Nutrition Services (FCNS) department. Contrary to traditional taco meat, the taco was made of plant-based meat from chickpeas to create a delicious yet healthy alternative option for students. Due to the rising popularity and interest in vegan options, a meatless option allows students to try their favorite meal in plant-based form. After the taste test, students were asked to complete a survey on iPads, and about half said they enjoyed the…