News Briefs

The joy of reading and the rich heritage expressed in African-American literature will take center stage at a trio of African-American Read-Ins planned in February. Families and educators can choose to attend one or all three events. Each will celebrate Black History Month with book giveaways, speakers, music, refreshments, and prizes for all ages. Saturday, Feb. 10, Golden Gate Baptist Church and District 5 Trustee Lew Blackburn will present STEAM UP with Reading at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center. Speakers and performances will focus on the importance of strong reading skills to prepare students to enter careers in science, technology, engineering, arts,…

Trustee Lew Blackburn, Ph.D., represents District 5 covering Oak Lawn, West Dallas, Wilmer, Hutchins and parts of East Oak Cliff. He shares how social and emotional learning is a critical component of helping students soar to success, particularly as we address bullying. The excerpt below is from his monthly column in The Dallas Examiner. Leading by example – How we can help prevent bullying Dallas ISD is taking a stand for our students with Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL. Schools that adopt SEL promote a positive environment where students’ emotional needs are met, parents are an integral part of…

Check out the video above or read some of the highlights from This Week in Dallas ISD! STEM Expo The largest STEM Expo in Texas was a huge success, with dozens of fun, hands-on activities (watch this). Academic Decathlon A record four Dallas ISD schools have advanced to the State Academic Decathlon competition being held in February (read this). Application deadline There are just a few days left to apply to a Dallas ISD specialty school or program. The deadline is Jan. 31 (apply today). Dallas County Promise Jan. 31 is also the deadline for seniors to apply to the Dallas County Promise,…

Trustee Dustin Marshall represents District 2 covering North and Near East Dallas. His commitment to ensuring the success of all students is front and center in his efforts to shine a light on serving homeless students. Below is an excerpt from his column which appears in The Advocate. Helping all students succeed There are at least 3,500 homeless students in the district—the number is likely significantly higher, since homelessness is underreported—and there are concrete ways we can help these kids. The Dallas ISD Homeless Education Program does great work supporting these families. Our drop-in centers at 20 high schools—including Woodrow…