Inside Dallas ISD

As local hip hop artist Tru Def freestyled over a looped cello riff and an impromptu beat made by a middle-school student, one thing was clear: this Career Day at Alex W. Spence Talented and Gifted Academy was something special. Following the performance, Jordan Cleaver—a Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts grad and classically trained cellist—Tru Def, and members of Tru Def’s entourage, which included a publicist, event organizer, and videographer, talked with students about their careers. They answered students’ questions about how they got to where they are today and shared advice. “There is…

Students and staff at James Bowie Elementary unveiled a new fitness center this week that was funded with winnings from the national TV game show “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” The Bowie Bobcat Fitness Center features treadmills, bicycles, a ping-pong table, and more, and it’s open to students, staff, and the greater surrounding community. Bowie was able to open the in-school fitness center after the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders appeared on the TV game show in June. “This fitness center will help us continue to promote a culture of health here at Bowie Elementary,” Principal Caroline Wilson said.…

Students and staff have come together at Dallas ISD’s Thomas Jefferson High School to boost school pride and school spirit. Principal Sandi Massey can pinpoint the catalyst. “One of the things that makes Thomas Jefferson High School really unique is the fact that we have student leadership really promoted on our campus,” Massey said. In the Master Leadership Class, students earn the right to attend the program by having great attendance, good behavior and maintaining passing grades in their classes. The Ambassador program requires students to mentor freshmen, and gives them the chance to meet with company and community leaders.…

A recent all-girls motivational assembly at Kimball High School encouraged the female students to realize that they have the potential to turn the world upside down in the best way possible. The theme of the school’s second-annual Girls Motivational Assembly was “Defining Moments.” The assembly’s goal was to bridge all ages and ethnicities and inspire the school’s female students to pursue greatness. “This program was designed to encourage, motivate, inspire and challenge you to think differently and to be the best you can be,” Kimball Assistant Principal Tracy Mayfield-Edwards said. Multiple female school and community leaders shared inspiring words with…