News Briefs

Students at James Madison High School enjoyed a surprise motivational speaker on Monday afternoon: Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., the Platinum-selling rapper and actor better known as T.I. Harris told students how three pieces of advice— stay in school, stay out of trouble, and say no to drugs—can seriously impact their futures. “In your day-to-day to life, these things can determine whether or not you are living the way you’d like to live, or if you’re living the way you’re forced to live,” Harris said. Harris told students that to be successful, they have to work harder and with more focus than…

On Sept. 26, at George H.W. Bush Elementary, Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities and DECA Dental Group kicked off a new partnership to provide underserved children in Dallas with free dental care. More than 300 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade Bush students received a free dental screening in the school gym, which the group converted to a “dental lab” for the event. Dentists conducted the screenings, and the students can receive ongoing dental treatments at three DECA Dental locations over the next six months, free of charge. NBC DFW went the dental screening, and click here to view the news station’s full report.

In its annual Best of Dallas issue, the Dallas Observer named Mata Elementary as the Best Dallas ISD Innovation. The article, which you can read in full here, states: “Teachers and administrators there are passionate, energetic and wholly committed to students’ success. A-plus.”

At a high-energy pep rally on Friday that was equal parts rock concert and lesson on healthy living, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) launched its statewide Farm Fresh Fridays initiative in front of 500 students at Margaret B. Henderson Elementary School. The TDA is offering the “Jump With Jill” show at no cost to select Texas schools in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Henderson students learned a few things about respecting their bodies through healthy choices, eating breakfast, enjoying fruit (“Nature’s Candy”), snacking on the superpowers of vegetables, exercising and drinking plenty of water. After the hour-long program,…