News Briefs

WFAA 8 reported on the district’s effort to get younger students to speak in complete sentences. Research shows that by six years old, the oral language skills of a child from a low-income family is often far behind a child from a middle- or upper-income family. Alan Cohen, who oversees early childhood education for the district, said that encouraging young students to speak in in complete sentences is part of a larger effort to close that achievement gap. Click here to view the WFAA report. Photo courtesy WFAA

Dallas ISD and the Dallas community are encouraged to rally behind Bryan Adams High School Football Coach Hank Willis and Cougar football player Nathan Stewart in online contests today. WFAA 8 has a poll for Player of the Week every week during football season. Stewart, a Bryan Adams wide receiver who hauled in seven catches, 231 yards and two touchdowns in Week 7, is in the running for Player of the Week. Voting ends at 1 p.m. today. You can vote here. Meanwhile, Bryan Adams football Coach Hank Willis is competing for the Dallas Cowboys/Whataburger Coach of the Week against…

Today’s episode of Ed Talk with Dr. Bob Bravo talks about how Dallas ISD schools can form partnerships with the community and involve volunteers with school activities. Dr. Robert Bravo, the Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership, talks with Tom Hayden and Imelda Alcala of the Dallas ISD Volunteer and Partnership Services department about the benefits of volunteering with the district. The discussion also goes through what steps a school needs to take to get connected with helpful volunteers. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Zoe Hastings, a recent graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, was found dead in her car on Monday morning near White Rock Lake. According to the Dallas Morning News, Hastings was a victim of “obvious homicidal violence.” Ginger Greenberg, a sister to Zoe’s aunt, has started a GoFundMe.com page to raise funds for Zoe’s family during this time of grieving. Click here to visit the GoFundMe page. Oak Farms Dairy has created a $10,000 reward for information leading to a suspect and indictment in the murder of Hastings, according to WFAA.