News Briefs

Dallas County participated in a statewide butterfly release as part of Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Stigma surrounding mental health issues is a significant barrier preventing children, youth and families from seeking treatment. By releasing butterflies, this symbolizes flight to freedom from stigma. More than 3,000 faux butterflies were released countywide.

Students from Tom C. Gooch Elementary School represented Dallas ISD well at the culminating event of the Speeding to Read program on Tuesday, May 23, at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). It was the first year for Gooch to take part in the incentive-based, motorsport-themed reading program created by TMS to encourage elementary school students to read more books during the school year. Gooch was among 10 Dallas-Fort Worth area schools to participate in the program, along with Dallas ISD’s Nathan Adams Elementary School. After watching a six-lap NASCAR race, students heard from IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan and NASCAR Camping World…

Pipeline to Possibilities, which helped educate students on various aspects of the justice system, concluded on May 18. Students from Kimball and South Oak Cliff high schools participated in the closing ceremony at Mountain View College. Various college representatives, Mountain View College President Dr. Robert Garza, entrepreneurs and more attended the event. The African American Success Initiative partnered with local Dallas county judges to create the program. The program worked to inspire students to be the best they could be and encouraged them to make the right critical decisions for their bright futures. “I believe it is this type of programming that shows the commitment of…

You could say John Peeler Elementary third-grader Nicholas Rodriguez is a big shot on his Oak Cliff campus these days. Rodriguez recently returned from the Texas Library Association’s Bluebonnet Awards luncheon in San Antonio where he represented thousands of his peers across Texas and met best-selling children’s book author, Victoria Jamieson, winner of the library association’s 2017 Bluebonnet award. One of the most prestigious awards for children’s literature in the nation, the Bluebonnet award is distinctive in that young readers in grades three through six select the winning author and book. To earn the privilege of voting for the winning…