Inside Dallas ISD

Born in Fiji, Lily Maminabulewa was five years old when she moved with her family to Northern California. Leaving at such a young age, she remembers little about that time except saying goodbye to her grandmother, who was “very emotional” for reasons young Lily did not yet understand. The eldest of five children, Maminabulewa was the first in her family to graduate from college. She is quick to note that she does not fit the mold often assigned to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “People just assume, ‘Oh, you’re Asian, you’ll be a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer!’…

Trevor Cunningham, an exemplary student in the Health/Medical pathway at Career Institute East at Lincoln High School, is determined to be a successful registered nurse and to help deaf and hard of hearing people like himself.  Trevor admits that one of his greatest challenges has been collaborating with other students, but his determination to help others has helped him overcome every obstacle to fulfilling his aspirations.  “I stay motivated because I like helping people. I am determined to be successful, and I want to help deaf and hard of hearing people,” Trevor says. His best advice is to “just be…

For more than ten years, Somyung Kim worked in the financial industry, excelling at her job and enjoying it. But all the while she knew that something was missing. Kim had grown up in Daegu, South Korea, as older sister to one brother in a large and close extended family. She attended college there, but as a self-described “fearless college student,” she decided after her sophomore year to “come to America to explore.”  An economics major, Kim secured an internship in Florida with a leading hotel chain.  Later, she studied in Georgia on an exchange program before graduating from her…

This school year, 1,943 Dallas ISD students are graduating with a Performance Acknowledgement for Bilingualism and Biliteracy, affectionately known as the “Texas Seal of Biliteracy.” That figure is up by more than 300 students from last year’s 1,608 who earned the honor. Students may earn the seal in one of several ways, including: Taking three or more levels/credits of foreign language, which is at least one credit/class above the minimum graduation requirements (with a grade of 80+). Taking two or more levels/credits of foreign language, with one of those credits at Level 4 or higher (with a grade of 80+)…