News Briefs

For four years, the Cornerstone Baptist Church has hosted the African-American Read-In, which promotes advanced literacy to children. The Dallas Morning News covered the Read-In that happened this past weekend. Click here to read more about the event that featured speeches and readings from Mayor Mike Rawlings, Betty Hooey, a member of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, and Dallas ISD students.

Families and community members celebrated literacy and literature at the African American Read-In on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Dallas. Attendees included Dallas ISD District 9 Trustee Bernadette Nutall, City of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and District 3 Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. The importance of reading was advocated to young students through poetry readings, storytelling and musical performances from Dallas ISD schools, including Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Lincoln High School.

On Sunday, the Dallas Morning News editorial board showed support for the district’s plan to improve its buildings and programs. Read the full editorial here.

People can expect to hear plenty about the district’s efforts to expand Pre-K education in the near future. The reason for the district’s Pre-K push is simple: research shows that quality early education is critical in preparing our kids for lifelong success. Meanwhile, the district is facing a shortage of available Pre-K seats in areas where eligible children live. To remedy this, we are embarking on a multifaceted approach to increase access to a quality Pre-K education. As this article states, accepted research shows that 85 percent of a child’s brain development occurs in their first five years. We are…