News Briefs

Teachers relaxed on oversized bean bags and inflatable chairs at an event designed to inspire and energize them by celebrating them and the work they do for their students. The first-ever Extra Mile for Teachers Summit on Saturday, Jan. 10, was coordinated by the College Football Playoff National Championship Foundation, coming days before the first college championship game at AT&T Stadium. The lineup of motivational speakers included former U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice; Google Global Education Evangelist Jaime Casap; Dallas ISD teachers Kathryn Batey and Thom Browne; and Dalton Sherman, a junior at Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. Large photos of…

Parents had the opportunity to ask Dallas ISD experts questions on how they can help prepare their child for the upcoming STAAR tests during a live forum on Feb. 11. Content and testing experts addressed question submitted by parents via phone, email and at dallasisd.org/staar. The live forum was available for viewing at 36 schools across the district, as well as the Dallas School Television channels and online streaming. Experts said students who practice writing and whose parents read with them every day may help students do well on the test, especially in the weeks leading up to STAAR. Even…

Community members both young and old, as well as families, will come together to celebrate literacy and African-American literature during the annual African-American Read-In, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1819 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75215. The read-in will feature a variety of reading activities, storytelling, food and music. There also will be giveaways for participating students. Bernadette Nutall, Dallas ISD District 9 Trustee, and the Cornerstone Community Development Corp will sponsor the read-in. The event also supports the Dallas ISD African-American Success Initiative.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Part of having a healthy mouth is drinking more water and less sugar-sweetened beverages. Try to drink water all day today! For more information, visit: http://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/national-childrens-dental-health-month/