News Briefs

The Rotary Club of Dallas invites nominations from all district schools for its annual Service Above Self Teacher Awards. The award provides an opportunity to publicly applaud Dallas ISD teachers and to reward those who have demonstrated excellence in their profession by “going the extra mile.” Applications may be submitted by Dallas ISD teachers on their own behalf or by other individuals on behalf of a teacher. Winning recipients each receive a customized engraved plaque and a cash award from the Rotary Club of Dallas. April 29 is the application deadline. To learn more or to nominate a deserving teacher,…

Michael Ensley is the chief architect of the Lincoln High School girls basketball dynasty of the late ’90s through the first decade of the new millennium. He led the Lady Tigers to a national championship, three state championships and eight state tournament appearances throughout his 14-year tenure as head coach from 1999-2012. Ensley arrived to Lincoln in 1998 and quickly set the standard future teams would have to live by. He led the Lady Tigers to an undefeated mark of 30-0 in 1999. Ensley’s march to his first state championship wasn’t easy, as Lincoln defeated a pair of state powers…

Gary Blair currently serves as the head women’s basketball coach at Texas A&M University, where he has won a national championship, and is the most successful head coach in university history and a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Before he cut his teeth on the hardwood, Blair was a standout all-city baseball player at Bryan Adams and lettered at Texas Tech. He also served his country with a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps before returning to Dallas as the inaugural head coach of the South Oak Cliff girl’s basketball team. In his seven seasons at South…

Darion Walton, a professor for the Dallas County Community College District and faculty member at Dallas ISD, was selected as a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction, a special program of the National Society of High School Scholars that honors educators worldwide. The honor is for Walton’s excellence in teaching and his encouragement of and dedication to the academic success of students in the Dallas Independent School District. “Darion Walton is an exemplary teacher who constantly demonstrates an outstanding commitment to excellence by preparing students for success in career, college and in life,” Skyline High School Principal Janice Lombardi said. “He…