Inside Dallas ISD

In just three days, many students at the inaugural Cheer Camp held at Billy Earl Dade Middle School went from never cheerleading at all to performing a detailed routine that involved dancing, cheers, and throwing a fellow cheerleader in the air before safely catching them. Vonda Pipkin and Brittney Scott, two Distinguished Teacher Review-eligible teachers who voluntarily transferred to Dade Middle School as part of the district’s Accelerating Campus Excellence Initiative, started the cheer camp as a way to promote team building and leadership skills. The camp featured more than 20 cheerleaders-in-training from schools across the district. “It gives these students something…

More than 280 Dallas ISD high school juniors and seniors are gaining real world experience thanks to the Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program, which kicked off June 15. The Hub is spotlighting some of these Dallas ISD students participating in the program. Today, meet Chandler Thomas, a Booker T. Washington senior.

Starting Wednesday, July 29, shoppers can visit any North Texas Kroger to donate a pre-packaged Backpack Boosters school supply kit for $7 featuring pencils, markers, notebook paper and other classroom essentials. Kroger shoppers also have the option of donating $1 via a scan card at the register to help Dallas ISD students have a great school year. The 19-day collection drive, which runs through Aug. 16, is hosted by Kroger, FOX 4, My 27, iHeart Radio, Coca-Cola and Vitaminwater. The collection drive aims to equip thousands of children with the necessary tools for the 2015-2016 academic year. “We recognize having the proper school…

Thousands of Texas PTA parents converged on Dallas July 17-19 for workshops, idea exchanges, and how-to sessions in search of ideas on how to help schools and PTAs better support families in the coming school year. The occasion was the Texas PTA Summer Leadership Seminar, the state’s largest gathering of PTA representatives. The staff of Dallas ISD’s Office of Family and Community Engagement drew a crowd for its workshop, “Re-engaging the Disengaged Parent,” which featured tips to help PTAs attract hard-to-reach parents. Among the workshop’s topics were how to build effective relationships with parents, how to sell school parent involvement…