Elementary students win scholarships in poetry slam competition

Fifth-grade students, representing 33 campuses, had the opportunity to share their hearts through words at a recent districtwide poetry slam competition at Skyline High School. The competition brought students together for the chance to be this year’s poetry slam champions as well as win scholarships.

The Reading Language Arts Department partnered with the Roland Parrish Foundation, which funded the $10,000 in scholarships, to make this competition happen. First place went to Iker I. from Felix G. Botello Personalized Learning Elementary School, second place went to Max R. from William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted, and third place went to Camila G. from Arturo Salazar Elementary School. 

The first-place winner received $5,000, second-place winner received $3,000, and the third-place winner won $2,000. The students will be able to use the money to attend any college or trade school of their choice. 

“It propels a little bit of the students’ futures—[lets them] think, ‘Hey I was successful in this, and I can be successful in other things,’” said Linda Flores, curriculum coordinator in the Reading Language Arts Department.

The way it worked was the Reading Language Arts Department got the word out to schools to let them know that there was an opportunity for the students to be creative and get their ideas out, but also have a chance to win scholarship money, Flores said. 

“For the students, this is important because it’s a creative outlet that they may or may not have the time to do when they are in school,” Flores said. For the teachers, who are passionate about poetry, it’s an opportunity for them to run with it and to share their passion for poetry on their campus.”

Students were instructed to write a poem on the theme of “Rhythm of My Life,” which could be something significant in their life or something that they felt would relate to that topic. Flores said that having the competition during April, which is National Poetry Month, was intentional. 

Every campus then hosted their own campus poetry slam to select two top winners for their school, with some schools having up to 20 participants. Campuses then submitted a video of their top two winners performing their poems, and the reading department judged the entries in a preliminary competition, using a rubric to determine who were the top 10 finalists.  

This was the first in-person poetry slam competition, because in years past, it had been a virtual event, according to Flores. All the campus winners were invited to come to the poetry slam finals at Skyline, and the reading department had a student and parent reception before the competition started, and all the students received a certificate onstage. 

“We wanted each one to have their moment to shine onstage,” Flores said.

The feedback received from campuses, students and families was positive and the reading department plans to continue hosting the in-person event next year. Campus coordinators were very thankful and excited for their students to get honored in front of their parents and their peers, said Flores. To see a short video of the highlights, visit here. For more information about the poetry slam competition, email linflores@dallasisd.org

 

 

 



Administrative Professionals Spotlight: Teresa Gonzalez and Herlinda Godoy

When families from other countries come to Dallas ISD to register their children for school, the first place they visit is the Margaret and Gilbert Herrera Welcome Center, known informally as the intake center. When families walk in the door, some of the first faces they see are team members Teresa Gonzalez and Herlinda Godoy. 

As administrative assistants both wear many hats, performing duties such as checking documents and making sure the families have everything they need to enroll in the district—from making IDs for the students, to making sure they are placed in the correct school. Often working through language barriers, they show families how to use a cell phone or how to send an email. They use resources such as the district’s Translation Services team and online tools to communicate with parents, when they speak languages other than English and Spanish.

They, like other administrative professionals, often perform many tasks that help students and other team members be successful. Their contributions and talents will be celebrated nationally on April 24 for Administrative Professionals Day. 

Gonzalez and Godoy also help with different needs by getting other departments involved, such as when receiving students who require special services or working with the nurse who helps make sure the students have all of their immunizations in order to begin their journey in the district.

The two administrative assistants shared that the main thing they keep in mind is to have the heart to listen, to be patient and to have a heart of service to help people. They are resourceful and embrace the Core 4 tenets. 

Having worked together for 10 years, they know when to step in and help each other out without skipping a beat. Godoy has been working for the district for 29 years and Gonzalez has worked for the district for 27 years. 

 

What is an accomplishment that you’re proud of?

Godoy: I’m proud of what I am right now because I was once a newcomer. I remember when I registered my daughter when she was in pre-K. I didn’t know any English, so it was very hard for me to fill out the documents and forms, and I was doing it by myself. So being here and helping families makes me proud to be here. When we see three or four families living in one apartment it takes me back to when I first arrived from my native country of Mexico, because I was living through similar circumstances. 

Gonzalez: I started school here since kindergarten, but my dad came first to the United States from Mexico. And with seven kids, I think what he accomplished is what newcomers are trying to do. He was fortunate to be taken under someone’s wing who helped him and guided him. All seven of us siblings have had the chance to be here in Dallas ISD as students, and we’ve had a good life. And whenever I help people, I think about my mom. My mom really never learned English. I think about this, and all of these things make me feel good. 

 

What drew you to  the education field?

Gonzalez: When my son was in pre-K, he didn’t want to school. So I got involved with being in the PTA and being a volunteer. Team members at Edward Titche Elementary School, where I was volunteering, would ask me to translate, and that’s when the principal asked me to get more involved. 

Godoy: When I was in Mexico, I was a pre-K teacher. From the time I was a kid I wanted to be a teacher, because I had great teachers in my life. When my parents moved to Jalisco, I attended a school for teachers there, and I started teaching the little ones. So when I came here to the United States with no English, my daughter was in second grade and her teacher told me I needed to become a teacher there because she saw the way I worked with the students as a volunteer. I went and talked to the principal who said they needed bilingual team members and I started as a teacher assistant. 

 

Do you have a favorite memory of working for the district?

Gonzalez: When I was at Casa View Elementary School, I was a teacher assistant and what really stands out with me is the principal would call me over the intercom and would pull me to interpret for families. That’s how I met the principal there and we’ve become very good friends over the last 24 years. In fact, she’s my daughter’s godmother. I know that I needed to expand my Spanish, especially when I was asked to interpret for parents during Admission Review and Dismissal meetings. That’s what stands out for me, where I was needed. And working there gave me the foundation to work here.

Godoy: I was a TA but I became a community liaison at a school and I remember in my first year there I wanted to do something big. So that year we were invited to go to a circus. I took the whole school with 17 buses and the circus came for us at the school, and we were following them in a caravan. From the school in East Dallas, we went to Reunion Arena where the circus was taking place. It was so fun and the kids were so happy. When we came back, they were so impressed with that. I always remember that experience because everyone expressed such joy. I will never forget that moment.

 

Teachers show students how to reduce, reuse, and recycle

At N.W. Harllee Early Childhood Center kindergarten students are looking to the future. When kindergarten teacher Zaria Wynn was teaching her students about what is recyclable, the students started wondering about why stuff was being thrown away instead of being recycled.

This discussion led Wynn to team up with Michelle Touchet, the school’s library media specialist, to start a recycling  program with the students. Touchet had worked on the green team and recycling program in a previous campus, so the two began to work collectively on this project after spring break.

This relatively new endeavor at the school has already turned into a schoolwide collaboration. Once Wynn and Touchet took on the task, Touchet reached out to her local city council representative to get a blue recycling bin through the city of Dallas. The school received one the next day.

“The idea about getting the blue residential rolling cart on campus was so we could teach our little ones how to use the city’s recycling system so they can hopefully teach their parents,” Touchet said. 

The students started out with paper only. Students and teachers began to place the leftover paper in the blue bin located in the main hallway downstairs.The students also began to notice that there was an opportunity to recycle materials in the cafeteria.

“There’s quite a bit of plastic that’s generated in some of those prepared meals,” Touchet said. “And so the kiddos have noticed things that  have a triangle on it, and they put it in a pile and make sure it’s clean.” 

One of the goals of the program is to start a compost project in the future once the logistics are worked out, Touchet said.

This semester Touchet and Wynn, along with their colleagues, are working on teaching the students about what can be put into the recycling bin, as well as what you can do with the items before you put it in the recycling bin. Students are learning the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The work that Touchet and Wynn are doing is the kind of action encouraged during Earth Day, which celebrates the planet and highlights ways of protecting health and the environment. This year, Earth Day falls on Monday, April 22. 

“The 5-year-olds in Wynn’s class have done some projects with categories and had to determine what could be reduced, reused or recycled, and she’s really done a great job in her classroom of setting up this kind of environmental mode,” Touchet said.

According to Touchet, they are  working on trying to get a consistent receptacle system in the classroom, so it’s easier for the students to take charge of it. At the end of the day, they pick up the bins and boxes from the classrooms and dump them into the blue rolling cart from the city. Touchet described it as a campus collaboration in its nascent stages. She also added that the facilities manager and a community member are helping out with these efforts. 

Because it’s a residential  recycling bin, they can’t put it out in front of the school, so a neighbor that lives right across the street is allowing the school to put the blue bin in front of his house on recycling day. 

“Our motto here at Harllee is ‘where greatness starts early,’  and I think that the great citizens of the planet contributing to keep things clean and protecting our environment is, at best, greatness,” Touchet said.  

 

School bus driver makes a difference for students

By special contributor Anne Howell, demonstration teacher at Dan D. Rogers Elementary School

 

For bus driver Tamara Franklin, creating a welcoming and cheerful atmosphere in her vehicle is all in a day’s work, which for the past two years, has meant adorning her special education bus to match seasonal holidays and special events.

 

“I started last Halloween,” Franklin said. “I decorate my home, and I saw that some drivers put stickers around, so I thought ‘I’m going to decorate the whole bus!’”

 

That year, students entered the bus the next morning to find spider webs, skulls and a ghost inside.

 

“They were so excited,” she said. “They got to look around–their eyes lit up. And their parents got to see and they thought it was the neatest thing that their kids got to experience this.” 

 

Hundreds of bus drivers like Franklin in Dallas ISD make a difference in students’ lives every day as they ensure they get to school and back home safely. Their work and efforts are celebrated on April 23 during Bus Driver Appreciation Day. 

 

Franklin’s Halloween decorating was such a hit that she has expanded to also decorate for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and spring, and, this year, she welcomed students back to school by decorating for the first day of class. 

 

“Now I decorate my bus more than I decorate my house. Even the high school students want them,” Franklin said. “They say the bus looks plain without them.”

 

In addition to the holiday decorations, Franklin highlights student work. 

 

“I had a high school student who loved to draw,” she said. “You could tell him anything and he would draw it. I put up his drawings. The whole top of the bus was pasted with his drawings. You could see it made him feel good that someone appreciated his work.”

 

Her decorations have inspired other bus drivers to decorate as well. 

 

“Now we have a little friendly competition between a couple of friendly coworkers,” Franklin said. “Sometimes we would sneak on to the other person’s bus so we could see what she did and then outdo it.”

 

“I started posting videos because a coworker inspired me to make it public and let people see what my bus looks like,” Franklin said. “At first it was just simple, and now it has turned into a lot more.” 

 

Franklin has been a driver for over 20 years. Originally from Germany, she joined the U.S. Army at 18, and after marrying, she moved to Dallas, her husband’s hometown. Because she loves to drive and wanted to drive big vehicles, she started a career driving for DART. After a while, she tried an office job, but returned to her passion—driving. She wanted to do something more fulfilling, so she decided to join Dallas ISD as a CDL bus driver. 

 

“I knew I wanted to work with kids,” she said. “They are so joyful, fun, and carefree. There are so many children that don’t get the kind of love and attention they should, and I want to do that for them. I hope that the little things I do for them let them know there’s someone out there that cares for them.” 

 

Special education Monitor Kamesha Carter also contributes to the decorations on Franklin’s bus. 

 

“We should make them feel welcome,” Carter said. 

 

Franklin agrees: “The bus is the first thing they see in the morning and the last thing they see before they get home. The decorations just make a happy feeling on the bus.”

 

Students confirm the decorations make a difference. 

 

“When I see the decorations, my happiness goes up,” said fourth-grader Lenny P. “Then my day is better.”

 

Fourth grade student Kaycee J. finds the decorations inspiring: “When I see them I feel like I should be kind because others are kind to me to do this [decorate] for me.”

 

For Franklin, going the extra mile for students is no problem.

 

“I love my job. I really do,” she said.


Dallas ISD is home to mother and daughter teachers

When Myles Bennett, a first-grade teacher at Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, told her mother how wonderful it would be to someday teach at her school, she never imagined that it would come true.

“We used to think about what it would be like to be at the same school, and we laughed about how there’d be two Miss Bennetts,” said Sandra Bennett, Myles’ mom and a fourth-grade teacher at Dan D. Rogers. The two English as a second language teachers are known as “Bennett fourth” and “Bennett first” according to the grades they teach. 

Both recently were recognized by the district in the annual Winners Circle event, one as the school’s Campus Teacher of the Year and the other as a Teacher of Promise. 

“We didn’t realize that significance until we were both invited to the ceremony. So, we thought ‘I would have taken you anyway,’ and she would have taken me anyway,” Sandra said. 

“I was really excited for my mom,” Myles said. “It’s been a long time coming, and I think, honestly, I’m just so proud of her and proud to be her daughter.” 

Attending the ceremony with them was their principal, Marissa Limon, who has been a colleague of Sandra for years and who has known Myles since she was in middle school. 

Myles, who is in her third year of teaching, is a product of Dallas ISD, having attended Mockingbird Elementary and Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts. 

“I grew up volunteering at Dan D. Rogers, and would come and help out in events, such as the fall carnival and the wax museum—a project that my mom does in her class,” Myles said. “I was very familiar with the community here, and with my mom being a teacher, I saw the impact that one can have on the lives of the students, and it really inspired me to become a teacher.” 

Her mom, Sandra, who has worked for the district for 25 years—15 of those at Dan D. Rogers— has seen the impact a teacher can have on students. A few years ago, some former students found her on social media and about 16 of them took her out to dinner.

“It’s about the relationships that you build,” Sandra said. “I’m getting to see what Myles is looking forward to.”

There’s students in Myles’ class who are in first-grade and who have siblings in fourth grade. Sometimes a fourth-grade sibling might come up to her and mention something that they heard they were working on, such as learning about the colonies. 

“It’s cool to see just how connected we can be in that way,” Myles said.  “It’s nice to share families, while we share [our own] family,” she said, referring to her mom. 

Myles and Sandra often find moments to connect during the day. They describe themselves as “early birds,” arriving at the school early every morning. Sandra brings yogurt or something similar for Myles’ breakfast, and they both get to FaceTime with Sandra’s other daughter, who is studying in England. The time zone difference and that space before the day begins is perfect for the two siblings and mother to have a few moments before the students enter the building and the school day begins. 

Besides being co-workers, this dynamic mother-daughter duo worked on the curriculum for a chapter book, for students in first grade through fifth grade. The book is titled “Closet of Dreams,” and it just came out a couple of weeks ago. They also wrote a teacher’s guide for the book that has suggested activities for teachers to do with their students, Sandra said. Sandra focused on the content, while Myles focused on the technical aspects of it, such as making it aesthetically pleasing and easy to access. 

Through this work, both Myles and Sandra continue to be inspired by the families and students that they serve in their school, which they describe as the best in the district.

“I think about the general impact, and I kind of zoom out and think about how I am somebody who is showing up for these kids every day,” Sandra said. “I work with the kids to help them realize their potential and their confidence in themselves, just as I am as well.”



Dallas ISD takes proactive measures to manage budget

Dallas ISD is taking proactive measures in building its 2024-2025 budget allotment, prioritizing people and student support in decision-making despite no additional state funding.

 

Currently, the district receives a basic allotment of $5,800 per student from the state. With inflation and no new money, this continues to stress the district’s budget. 

 

“Money will never be an excuse in Dallas ISD in terms of providing our students a safe, quality education,” said Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D. 

 

Nonetheless, the district is actively taking steps to minimize disruptions to the learning environment. 

 

“If a health pathway is available at a Career Institute serving six comprehensive high schools, it’s redundant to maintain individual health pathways at each school,” Elizalde said. “We’ll equip and fund the Career Institute with high quality and up-to-date equipment instead of poorly funding 22 comprehensive high schools.” 

 

The superintendent does expect a few positions to be eliminated, and is also exploring options, such as leveraging existing vacancies within the system. While some program-specific roles may shift, retaining team members remains a primary focus.

 

This year, Dallas ISD began budget planning earlier, and held five community budget meetings along with two budget workshops.

 

The final budget will be presented to the board in May.



Cultivating creativity and life skills at Solar Prep for Girls

For over a decade, Andie Threatt has dedicated herself to Dallas ISD, working as an elementary art and Makerspace teacher at Solar Prep for Girls. Her role has grown into a passion for hands-on learning, sparking creativity, and fostering life skills among her students. One of her more notable achievements is the creation of the school’s outdoor learning classroom and garden, developed in partnership with Out Teach. 

Seeing students share what they had learned in the garden with their classmates is a live demonstration of how Threatt’s classroom techniques have been successful. Her techniques include a Makerspace approach, which combines math, engineering, and technology and uses design thinking processes to solve real world problems or create something new or alter something that already exists. 

 

Many Dallas ISD schools have Makerspace labs/teachers, and Solar was one of the first to integrate it into the curriculum. She incorporates the approach in the garden as much as possible and throughout other lessons.

 

“When I first stepped into Solar, I saw it as the perfect fit—a learning environment that made me excited to come to work every day,” Threatt said. 

The Garden Club, one of Solar Prep’s extracurricular offerings, started from the desire to cultivate a collaborative space for students to explore nature’s wonders. 

 

“Our goal for the garden club has been to show students what it takes to plan for and grow a garden, not just for food, but also as a way to relax and feel accomplished,” Threatt said.

 

From organizing garden clean-up events to integrating gardening tasks into curriculum activities, the club has developed into a center of community involvement. 

 

“We want Solar families to know that this is their space to enjoy. We also need their knowledge and experience,” Threatt said. 

 

Through active participation in the Garden Club, students not only learn practical gardening skills but also develop a heightened awareness of their natural surroundings.

 

“Spending time in nature helps you learn how to pay attention in a new way,” Threatt said.

 

Despite challenges, such as overcoming fears of bugs and fostering a sense of responsibility towards pollinators, Threatt continues her dedication to creating a supportive atmosphere for her students.

 

Threatt’s passion demonstrates the power of hands-on learning to shape young minds and link them to nature.

 

As National Garden Month continues, Threatt invites educators and the community to enjoy the benefits of gardening. 

 

“Start small and stay curious. The district provides free seeds and dirt through the Living Materials center so just start trying stuff out with your students. Getting to learn it together side by side will be a great experience for everyone,” she said.



Recognizing service

As the end of the 2023-2024 school year approaches, Dallas ISD is getting ready to recognize those who have served with the district for at least five years with special pins and those who have reached a milestone of 30 or more years with a Lifetime Achievement reception on May 7.

Campuses and central departments will receive a package with a roster of eligible employees, service pins, and a toolkit for recognition ideas the week of April 15-19, 2024. Pins will be provided for all employees celebrating a five-year milestone.

 

Team members may verify their years of district service using instructions provided on the Service Recognition Awards website at https://www.DallasISD.org/ServiceAwards.

 

Campus and department leaders are asked to distribute the pins at a time when their teams can gather and celebrate together, such as campus/department meetings, professional learning opportunities, sunshine/culture committee events, or other end-of-year award ceremonies in May. Awards should be distributed before the end of the school year.

 

For more information, contact the Employee Experience team at Recognition@DallasISD.org or (972) 925-4080.

 



Celebrating excellence among TOYs and POYs

The districtwide 2023-2024 Teacher and Principal of the Year winners were announced at the recent State of the District event presented by Linebarger Attorneys at Law. For a third year, the Dallas Education Foundation secured Reliant as a title sponsor for the POY and TOY recognition and honored the finalists and winners with awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000.

 

Principal of the Year winners

 

Alicia Iwasko, Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School

Alicia Iwasko was born and raised in Mexico, the daughter of two educators. Prior to relocating to Dallas in 2008, Iwasko served as an English as a Second Language teacher for various school levels. In Dallas ISD, Iwasko served as a fourth-grade math and science teacher at Silberstein Elementary School before becoming an instructional coach. After serving the first cohort of ACE campuses at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School, Iwasko was promoted to the role of assistant principal at Edward Titche Elementary School. During her tenure, Titche went from an F school to a B school in only one year. In 2018, she graduated from Southern Methodist University with her second master’s degree in education and returned to Blanton Elementary as principal. Iwasko is a dedicated educator committed to equity and excellence. She believes in education because she knows it is the best way to empower students with the determination to work hard for their goals and maximize their potential regardless of their cultural background, socioeconomic status, or zip code. She is committed to enhancing the trajectory that statistics may have set as expectations for the students and educators in her charge. Daily, she strives to live up to the school’s motto: Labor Omnia Vincit, which translates to “Hard Work Conquers All.”

 

David Lee, Hector P. Garcia Middle School

David Lee has been part of Dallas ISD for 17 years and is in his fifth year serving as principal of Hector P. Garcia Middle School. A graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and minor in asian studies, he started his career as a an alternative certification intern in 2007. At Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, Lee was a science teacher, department chair, and master teacher before taking on roles as TTIPS grant coordinator at A. Maceo Smith High School and assistant principal at Justin F. Kimball High School. He was able to transform Kimball’s STEM Magnet program in partnership with the Mountain View College engineering department, allowing students to take 30 hours of dual credit courses, and obtaining their level 2 certification in mechatronics. This Kimball program later developed into the Kimball E-Tech collegiate pathway in mechatronics. As principal at Hector P. Garcia Middle School, Lee has been part of the school’s transformation that has taken Garcia from a C to a B state-rated campus with three TEA distinctions. Lee has turned-around school culture, increased parental involvement, and transformed Garcia into an International Baccalaureate choice school and the first comprehensive IB Middle Years Programme in Oak Cliff. Garcia Middle School now ranks among the top middle schools in MAP growth in both reading and math, and the school climate ranks in the top 10 among secondary schools in the district. Lee was honored with master principal designation for his accomplishments. Lee reminds his students everyday of Garcia’s core beliefs: high expectation, respect, and his favorite, kindness.

 

Derek Thomas, SOLAR Preparatory for Boys at John F Kennedy

Derek Thomas is a product of Dallas ISD who grew up in Pleasant Grove and graduated from Skyline High School. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of North Texas and worked as a supervisor in the financial industry and as a business owner before pursuing his passion for being an educator. As a teacher, Thomas first served as a sixth- and eighth grade math educator at Fred F. Florence Middle School. While there, he was part of a team of educators that accelerated math passing percentage scores by 28% in one year.  After four years of teaching at Florence, he became a math instructional coach at Lenore Kirk Hall Elementary School before returning to the Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Fred Florence in a coaching role. After completing his master’s degree in education leadership at Southern Methodist University, Thomas served as an assistant principal at Annie Webb Blanton and SOLAR Preparatory for Boys before being named principal at Adelle Turner Elementary School. While at Adelle Turner Elementary, he was able to secure a $50,000 grant toward STEM development on the campus as well as receive the honor of being the adopted campus of the Dallas Mavericks.  One year later, he would return to serve as the principal of Solar Preparatory School for Boys. Thomas believes in building scholars academically but has a major focus on character, culture, and community. He understands that one person may start a movement, but a community maintains it. He is looking forward to building a community of scholars, educators, parents, and business partners that are about developing the whole child and ensuring that all scholars can be successful, no matter their backgrounds. 

 

 

Teacher of the Year winners

 

Chantrelle Lovett-Andrews, Umphrey Lee Elementary School

A teacher at Dallas ISD since 2002, Chantrelle Lovett-Andrews is an early childhood special education teacher at Umphrey Lee Elementary School. She currently serves as the Special Education Department chair, is a member of the campus Curriculum Instructional Leadership Team and works as a curriculum reviewer of the Amplify reading materials for the Texas Education Agency. Lovett-Andrews is currently in her 27th year of teaching and has earned both the Dallas ISD Master Teacher and State of Texas Master Teacher designations. Lovett-Andrews believes education, understanding, and acceptance of everyone’s differences are important values. She believes the most effective teachers establish genuine relationships and create dynamic learning environments contributing to student achievement and growth. Lovett-Andrews views teaching as a fulfilling career and provides her with a sense of purpose. Her goal is to prepare students for a life of intellectual discovery, engagement, and purpose while developing the unique talent and potential in each student. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Texas Woman’s University, earned teaching certifications while studying at Louisiana State University, and holds a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University.

 

Cristian Gallardo, Sam Tasby Middle School

Cristian Gallardo is an art teacher at Sam Tasby Middle School, where he began his career in education over 18 years ago as a teacher assistant. After several years assisting teachers, Gallardo entered Dallas ISD’s Alternative Certification program and was hired as an eighth-grade science teacher. After five years of engaging his students with creative and innovative science lessons, Gallardo followed his passion and began teaching art to all grade levels at his campus. In addition to Gallardo’s role as teacher, he has also served his school as a member of the campus leadership team, Language Proficiency Assessment Committee member, testing coordinator, asset management representative, textbook custodian, and mentor to novice teachers. Gallardo holds a Bachelor of Art in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas.

 

Amanda Ashmead, School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center

Amanda Ashmead has been teaching in Dallas ISD for over 20 years. She currently teaches Advanced Placement English language and composition, AP macroeconomics, and AP U.S. government at the School of Science and Engineering, where she has also served as the department chair for humanities for the last 10 years. As department chair, Ashmead has initiated or overseen a variety of major programmatic changes: she redesigned the college access program and integrated it into academic classes, leading to a dramatic increase in college funding offers received by graduating seniors; she integrated social studies and English into a single department centered on an emphasis of academic writing, including adding the AP capstone program; and in recent years, she has led several initiatives designed to help re-establish school culture in the aftermath of pandemic disruptions. Ashmead was a member of the inaugural group of distinguished teachers under the Teacher Excellence Initiative; she was recognized as an Exemplary Teacher and has kept that designation since. She is also recognized as a Master Teacher under the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment. Ashmead has made significant professional contributions beyond Dallas ISD, as well—he has been involved with the College Board in AP Reading for many years and serves as a consultant, and she has presented at a variety of national forums including the AP Annual Conference on equity-focused topics such as expanding access to Advanced Placement courses. She has also published two articles in Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies. Ashmead earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and received a Masters of Education from Lamar University.

 



Teacher creates inclusive platforms for student voices

Making sure that all students have access to information and feel included is a priority for Hillcrest High School teacher Amber Holmes-Turner. When she arrived at the school two years ago, she noticed that the announcements were in English only and not all students were getting the information that they needed. 

 

Holmes-Turner took it upon herself to change that. She said that at Hillcrest, approximately 75% of the students are either bilingual or newcomers, so she took on an initiative to have both English and Spanish announcements recorded on camera by students and uploaded to a YouTube Channel. 

“We have students who don’t speak English who are cheerleaders, or students who might have not known how to try out for the dance team or soccer team but they’re able to try out now because they have access to the information in Spanish,” Holmes-Turner said. “We have all those students integrated into our campus because they feel they are part of our school and not just by themselves.”

 

In addition to students recording the announcements in English and Spanish, Holmes-Turner also created a platform on YouTube in Spanish, where students talk about such topics as culture and lifestyle. 

 

Holmes-Turner says that improvements have been made to the quality of the announcements due to a Dallas Retired Teachers Association grant. She was one of three teachers from the district who was awarded $750 through the grant. She used the money to purchase a Sony vlogging camera—and thanks to the grant and other equipment like microphones that she was able to get through Donors Choose, the students are able to have these platforms. Her school also has green screens and other equipment through Project READ, a library redesign initiative.  It’s the students in her student leadership class that are producing the announcements, she said.

 

She plays multiple roles at Hillcrest. Besides student leadership, she teaches AP African American studies, African American studies, and IB psychology to juniors and seniors. She also oversees the student council, Black Student Union, National Honor Society, and is involved with the district’s African American Success Initiative. 

 

Holmes-Turner said the announcements aren’t just about events at the school that day. There’s birthdays, sports, academics, such as the debate team, and a Panther of the Month, which she initiated at Hillcrest. Each month she asks teachers to pick out a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior who they recognize for just being awesome individuals, she said.

 

“It’s all those moments of celebration and letting students know that we are so much more than basketball and football,” she said. “We have so many things that people don’t know about.”

 

She said it’s about the student experience. 

 

“In 10 years, a student might not remember what you taught them, but they will remember how you made them feel,” she said. Turner-Holmes says that in several years down the road, the students will be able to go to that same YouTube channel and see themselves on the announcements from years past. 

 

She said that when her student council members graduate, their resume will be filled with so many activities and initiatives that they have created, that they are not going to have any problem getting into any college that they apply to. In fact, she says that when it comes to students looking for colleges, they will be able to use the YouTube channel as a tool to demonstrate some of the work they did while in high school.

 

Through these announcements and opportunities for leadership and celebration at her school, Turner-Holmes is allowing her students to forge their own paths and write their own stories. One of the things that Turner-Holmes wants students to take with them is a philosophy that her mother taught her. 

 

“The joy about you is that you have the pen to your own story,” she said. “Other people might have a piece of paper, but you have the pen. So, you get to write what your story looks like, and you should never allow someone to do that for you.”