Inside Dallas ISD

George Hardeman, the cafeteria manager at Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary School, is a popular man on campus. He and his staff not only garner accolades for serving good food and greeting students with smiles every day, but also draw praise for going the extra mile to make meal time enjoyable. In addition to meals, they entertain students with music and dance moves on Fridays. Their service to students earned them the Food and Child Nutrition Services’ (FCNS) Heart of Child Nutrition Award. Whether serving their clients breakfast in the classroom or evening supper, the Kahn cafeteria staff has a reputation for going above…

Alex Simmons is an outstanding senior at South Oak Cliff High School and plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He credits his grandmother with helping push him toward excellence.  “Ever since I was little, my grandmother’s always been a big influence on me for my education,” he said. “As I got older, I saw how much it was needed over sports. So I just stuck with academics, and she really motivated me to get it done .” Besides concentrating on his academic studies, Simmons played football at SOC, was captain of the track team and participated in the…

The Woodrow Wilson High School debate team has had an historic year in 2015. In fact, this team of powerful persuaders has literally talked their way from Dallas to Austin to Los Angeles, establishing a track record of championships along the way. Debate team members Gabriel Jankovsky, a junior, and Mac Murchison, a senior, recently returned from the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues Championship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where they advanced to the semifinals, taking third place in the national competition. Debate sponsor Robert Hearne said the accomplishment is history-making for Woodrow. “At nationals,…

Second-graders visiting the library at Stevens Park Elementary School one morning this week sounded quite disappointed that they were allowed to check out a book only one more time before the school year ends. Their attitude is a testament to librarian Jennifer House, who has been named Dallas ISD’s 2015 Librarian of the Year. The bright, well-organized space welcomes students to explore. Stuffed animals on many of the bookshelves are three-dimensional depictions of book characters, beckoning students to take closer looks at the words that bring them to life. House has also incorporated technology into lessons after becoming Google…