News Briefs

North Texas is experiencing unprecedented seismic activity, and the Dallas Independent School District is equipping its school leaders with information to better protect students and staff. The district’s Office of Emergency Management emergency operations team has forwarded a packet of information to all principals detailing a drop-cover-hold procedure to be used by school communities during an earthquake, as well as posters that can be placed throughout a campus. Dallas ISD does not have a specific earthquake protocol. However, the district employs an “all hazards” approach to protecting students. Student and staff safety is always a No. 1 concern. The drop-cover-hold…

Dallas ISD is home to some of the nation’s top magnet schools. Students interested in attending one of these schools for the 2015-2016 school year can submit applications through January 30.    There are programs for every age level covering a variety of interests. The magnet program includes vanguards and Montessori for elementary students, academies for middle school students and magnets for high school students. For a complete list of schools and programs, visit the magnet school website. The requirements to attend magnet programs vary by school. Applications can be found online or at any Dallas ISD school. The deadline…

Emmett J. Conrad High School’s hits a high note with its multiculural choir whose backgrounds stem from around the globe. Places like Burma, Mexico, Congo, even those students who belt out melodious lyrics from Nepal, Honduras, Somalia and even Italy are apart of the unique bunch. Though each come from a different background and their native languages may not be understood by one another, these students quickly learned the language of music is universal. In the link below, read more on the multicultural choir in an article published in the Dallas Morning News. LINK: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150105-conrad-high-s-multicultural-choir-excels-in-the-language-of-music.ece

Dallas ISD’s Thriving Minds Summer Camps receives top nods and high praise for helping more students excel in math, according to a new study by the Rand Corp. Read more on how kids who attended this enrichmnent camp avoided the “summer slide” in the link below. The study also revealed how these students were more prepared than their peers in other urban districts. The program is hosted by one of the district’s partners, Big Thought. LINK: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150105-dallas-isd-summer-program-helps-students-excel-in-math-study-finds.ece