News Briefs

Seventeen Dallas ISD students spelled their way to the Dallas County spelling bee after the district round was conducted on Tuesday, Jan. 12. There were 95 students from 60 schools who participated at bees at César Chavez Learning Center, Clinton P. Russell Elementary School, Henry B. Gonzales Elementary School, Jerry Junkins Elementary School and Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School. The county bee will feature winners from public schools in the county and will be 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Dallas County Schools Technology & Training Center, 5151 Samuell Blvd. Dallas ISD students advancing to the county bee are:…

It took nine years for Shawn Scott, a 1995 graduate of W.W. Samuell High School, to complete his college journey. However, through each hurdle, he became more determined to achieve his goal. Today, Scott is head of technology for VenueCenter and spends some of his spare time teaching students the ins and outs of computer programming. He urges students today to learn from the mistakes of others because “the biggest thing you don’t know is what you don’t know.” AlumNow, The Hub feature that profiles district graduates, caught up with Scott to see how things are shaping up in his life.…

The Dallas News reports that the district’s partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs is adding after-school enrichment programs to several district schools. The Clubs’ Center for a New Generation after-school program has ushered in music, drama, technology, entr4epreneurship and coding classes to five schools in south and west Dallas. See the full story here.

Woodrow Wilson High School International Baccalaureate juniors recently attended their annual writing workshop at Southern Methodist University. The three-day seminar served as the official start to the development of their extended essays, a requirement of the prestigious diploma program. “The students learned to conduct college-level research, developed and honed their thesis subjects and fleshed out their ideas with peers and their teachers,” said Woodrow IB Director Dr. Kelly Ritchie. Over the course of the week, many of the IB diploma level English teachers, including Mr. Lundberg and Ms. Fisher, were present to work with the students. “Many staff members told…