Inside Dallas ISD

Teaching a room full of 3-year olds is challenging on many levels, and one of Dallas ISD’s best is rising to the challenge every day. Tara Broadus, a preK teacher at J. J. Rhoads Learning Center, was recently named Dallas ISD’s 2015 Teacher of the Year in the Elementary Category. Her career as a teacher is rooted in a family full of educators, including her father, grandmother and aunts and uncles. Her mother worked in adult education as well. But the 1989 gradate of Lincoln High School didn’t immediately choose that path in college. “My initial major was journalism,” she…

Looking to brighten someone’s holiday this season?  Consider partnering with Dallas ISD to help others in need. More than a dozen schools across the district are conducting donation drives to benefit our students and families and a range of nonprofit organizations, including North Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army, area food pantries and churches. Whether you want to donate coats and scarves, canned foods or turkeys, look at the below list to select someone with whom to share the joy of the season.

As industries and the work force continue to evolve, requiring new fields of study and expertise, so goes the evolution of what constitutes college and career readiness in preparing students for tomorrow’s jobs. Jamila Thomas of Dallas Independent School District’s African American Success Initiative (AASI) will join such a conversation when she visits the White House this month on behalf of the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative and the Office of Science Technology and Policy. In the nation’s capital, Thomas will join others from around the country to participate in a discussion about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and entrepreneurship. The discussion…

Students at James S. Hogg Elementary already know how to create computer code, and they also know it’s not difficult. “It’s fun, and it helps you learn,” said student Keeper Rendon, who is also on the school’s robotics team. “You don’t even realize it helps you learn, actually.” On Monday, Dec. 7, Code.org presented a $10,000 check to the school to help it purchase even more technology for students to use, kicking off Computer Science Education Week and participating in an Hour of Code. Both are meant to highlight the need for computer science education by encouraging everyone to try their…