News Briefs

While most high school students are too young to complete a household census themselves, they know that a complete census count has a strong impact on their futures, too.  As the Oct. 31 deadline for self-reporting approaches, a group of about 50 civic-minded teenagers, including students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, led by the nonprofit organization The Concilio, partnered with Dallas County Counts to block walk on Oct. 3. The teenagers fanned out across Pleasant Grove, Bachman Lake and Northeast Dallas, where self-reporting numbers remain behind local and national averages. Over the course…

To better share information and ensure the safety of students, parents and community members who speak Spanish as their first language, Dallas ISD launched a companion version of its COVID-19 dashboard in Spanish. The platform allows users to track internally confirmed positive cases at schools and facilities across the district. Data is derived from confirmed positive self-reporting information based on students attending in-person classes and extracurricular activities, and is updated daily at 5 p.m. Last month, the district released the English version upon return to in-person learning. To access the COVID-19 dashboard in Spanish, click here and select the option ‘en español’ on…

Dallas ISD is holding an Oct.19 webinar to share with district staff, students and parents actions the district is taking to transform Dallas ISD into an anti-racist school community. The webinar will feature a brief presentation defining terms such as racism and cultural intelligence and how those tools can help create an anti-racist organization. The district’s executive leaders will also share what their departments are doing to reform programs and operations. This first in a series of gatherings will be held as a virtual meeting at 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19. It will be headed by Dr. Sandra Upton, a…

Beth Poquette Drews teaches Modern Band and Mariachi at L.V. Stockard Middle School and has been with Dallas ISD for her entire teaching career of 19 years.  Poquette Drews did not always teach Mariachi, but about 10 years ago some of her students approached her about forming a Mariachi ensemble as a way to learn music from their culture. Prior to this, only traditional band and orchestra were offered at Stockard Middle School, but with the support of the school principal and a grant from the House of Blues Foundation, the school’s Mariachi program was created just a few weeks…