News Briefs

Barbara Jordan: Barbara Jordan was the first African-American congresswoman to be elected and then re-elected from the Deep South. Prior to her U.S. House election, she was the first African-American woman to be a Texas State Senator. Jordan retired from politics in 1978, but returned to Texas as a full-time professor and counselor to Texas Governor Anne Richards.

NBC DFW on Tuesday spotlighted an innovative district program that helps parents better prepare to work with their students at home. The news report details how the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program sends coaches to the homes of at-risk children between the ages of 3 and 5. The coaches then train the parents on how to teach their children in subjects such as reading and basic math. For the full report from NBC DFW, click here.

The Office of Family and Community Engagement is offering morning PREP U All-STAAR Workshops at various locations the week of Feb. 16-20 and March 23- 27 so parents can learn about changes for 2015 in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. The 2015 administration of STAAR will begin on March 30. During the workshops, parents will be able to view sample STAAR questions in reading, math and writing and learn about the passing standards for the test. Dallas ISD representatives will be on site to answer any questions parents might have, including how the STAAR impacts high school…

Wanted: Chief Listening Officer. Applicant must be able listen to clients and consumers and engage with the company’s stakeholders. While this occupational job title might sound like something out of a science fiction novel, it’s just one of many jobs that actually exists today that were non-existent five years ago. It’s jobs like these, as well as those yet to be developed, that educators must equip students with the skills to fill. Dallas ISD CTE (Career and Technical Education) teachers recently spent an evening discussing workforce trends and how to prepare students to be college- and career- ready by equipping…