Inside Dallas ISD

At the 5A-12 and 4A-12 UIL district tournaments last weekend, four teams from three Dallas ISD schools advanced to the UIL State CX Debate Meet in their respective conferences. Advancing schools are the School of Science & Engineering, School for the Talented & Gifted, and Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet. The debaters will compete in the 2022 CX Debate State Meet in March at the University of Texas in Austin. Conference 5A District 12 School of Science & Engineering Priyanka Bhasi and Vrinda Varada, Advancing State Team Satvik Paduri, Nelson Vo, Advancing State Team Adamson High School Janie Rojas and…

For 19 years, Tara Chapman taught English in Dallas ISD – at Hillcrest and Booker T. Washington high schools. But as the mother of children with disabilities, including an adult son with autism, she saw up close what a difference special education teachers can make in students’ lives. And she wanted to be a part of making that difference. Now, after getting certified in special education three years ago and enrolling in rehabilitation studies at the University of North Texas (with graduation set for 2022), Chapman this school year became the special education teacher and case manager at Booker T.…

We have a winner! Tristan Whitfield, a fifth grader at Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center, claimed first place Friday in Dallas ISD’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. Tristan and seven other fourth and fifth graders competed in the finals of the competition, which is co-sponsored each year by the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP and the school district. Jaliaha Rodgers,  a fifth grader at J.P. Starks Math, Science, and Technology Vanguard, captured second place this year, and Arianna Garcia, a fifth grader at L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School, claimed third. The student winners, and all the participants,…

David Newhouse, an AP Human Geography teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, is one of 78 educators to receive the American Geographical Society’s 2021 Educator GeoBoost Grant. The grants are designed to enhance geographic learning among Advanced Placement Human Geography students.  Newhouse’s $300 award will fund the Albert.io app for exam study. When asked about his idea to boost his students’ geographic education, the teacher explained, “GeoBoost will be used to purchase advanced AP Human Geography apps to ensure that students can obtain a mastery of the subject!” Dr. John Konarski, CEO of the society, said, “The American Geographical Society…