Students at Chapel Hill Preparatory School have big dreams, and their teachers are helping make those dreams real. “When things get hard, I know I have great people at my school who help me,” said Yaneli M. “My teachers have tough times in life, but they still show up for us and put in the hard work. That motivates me.” A sixth grader, Yaneli wants to make her Chapel Hill family proud. She plans to go to college and become a nurse.  “I’m going to show everyone that the teachers in my life helped me so much,” she said. Yaneli…

South Oak Cliff High School is proving with every passing year why it is regarded as “the Mecca.” The campus, long celebrated for its athletic success, is now making headlines for academic growth as well. Its latest STAAR results show the strength of both students and strategy. In two years, SOC advanced by two letter grades and came within one point of earning an A rating for the 2024-2025 school year. Willie Johnson, who returned to SOC as principal after serving as a teacher and coach, said the results represent a shift in expectations for what students on the city’s…

At Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy, success is rooted in resilience.  After the school was destroyed by a tornado in 2019, students and teachers relocated to a temporary building. Then came an ice storm and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.  “There was no time to recover or assimilate,” said Jairo Vertal Anagarita, a fifth grade teacher. “But it was a teaching moment for all of us–in real life, things happen, so we wanted to teach the kids to adapt and move on.” Through every setback, students and teachers adapted, pushed forward, and refused to give up. This led to…

Inside New Tech High School at B.F. Darrell, the energy in the classroom feels different. On the surface, it may look like students are simply having fun, but the liveliness emanating from the hall comes from engaging, hands-on instruction. For Channel Hutchinson, the school’s principal, this year’s strong STAAR results reflect something bigger: her school is responsible for a culture where creativity and collaboration thrive through project-based learning.  She says this instructional approach is the driving force behind New Tech’s growth. “We’re learning this content so that we can apply it to real life. That’s a huge difference because our…