Inside South Dallas: The community behind the B-ratings

Across the Lincoln-Madison Vertical Team, STAAR success is fueled not only by student determination and the hard work of teachers, but also by intentional community efforts that create vibrant well supported schools.

“It is important that we have wraparound services for our students, to eliminate the barriers students are experiencing outside of school,” said Lincoln-Madison Vertical Team Executive Director Rockell Stewart. “We want to see 100 percent of our students graduate and on grade level, while simultaneously addressing the whole need of each child.”

Through a unified action, students and families receive support year-round, while students remain focused on the academic principles that drive their daily instruction and STAAR test prep.  

Building Student Confidence

Understanding that students thrive when they believe in themselves, the vertical team, teachers and principals cultivate school confidence through chants and daily affirmations that ground students in their strengths. 

“We want to make sure that everyone feels valued and affirmed,” Stewart said.

At Billy Earl Dade Middle School, students chant, ‘I am Dade,’ an affirmation based on the letters that form the school’s name: Destined for greatness, Attitude of gratitude, Determined to succeed, and Excellence is my only option. 

These meaningful words, displayed on a mural stretching across the main hallway, reinforce unity, pride, and identity and give students a language of empowerment they can speak daily about themselves. Other schools also have similar chants as well.  

The school’s house system also plays a key role in shaping culture. At Dade, students belong to one of three houses, each named with intentional meaning: Kiongozi, Swahili for ‘leader,’ Mutunci, a northern Nigerian phrase for ‘dignity and honor,’ and Valor meaning ‘bravery.’

These affirmations and cultural systems have strengthened morale across the vertical team, contributing to significant academic gains.

Expanding Academic Opportunity

The Future Leaders Program, founded by Brewer Attorneys & Counselors and the Brewer Foundation, is an instrumental partnership that expands each student’s academic horizons. 

“This is an amazing opportunity for students that has recently been revived,” Stewart said. “Our students in South Dallas gain exposure to private schools like Saint Mark’s School of Texas or The Hockaday School, starting in middle school. Students also intern at the law firm and participate in college visits.”

Throughout the year, students engage in courses led by both public and private school teachers, with a focus on college test prep, advanced math, humanities, college admission and leadership development. 

This program affirms that college and professional careers are within reach by nurturing students through new academic pathways that remind them that they belong. 

Funding the Arts 

At Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Arts Academy, another vertical team campus, community partnerships are helping students build artistic identity alongside their academic momentum.

Arts education strengthens academic achievement by teaching discipline, creativity and innovative thinking, key factors to student success in the classroom. The school’s longstanding academic success and B rating with the Texas Education Agency is now infused with specialized training in theatre, music, dance and visual art, and prepares students for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Supported by the 2020 Bond Program and through partnerships with Broadway Dallas, Forest Forward, Pat and Emmet Smith Charities, Big Hope and other local organizations, the academy is ensuring students can nurture their creativity without limitation.  

“Many of our students are athletically inclined, and now we celebrate the fact that they are excelling in the arts, and in academics,” Stewart said. 

Supporting families

School leaders across the vertical team understand that students cannot engage with their learning when their needs go unmet. Through partnerships with organizations like Forest Forward, families have received support with essential monthly expenses that may impact a student’s well-being while at school.

In November, James Madison High School opened a new Community Resource Hub on the campus. Through the Southern Dallas Thrives Initiative at United Way Metropolitan, students now have access to school uniforms, meals, hygiene items and other essential supplies, designed to remove barriers to learning.

With STAAR scores reaching their highest levels in recent history for the South Dallas region, this Lincoln-Madison Vertical Team momentum is due to collaboration between students, educators, families, Dallas ISD, partners and community organizations. 

Through a unified ecosystem of culture and support, the schools are transforming student outcomes, as each of the seven schools have earned a B-Rating, a milestone that has been years in the making.

“We do this work for the students,” said Stewart. “Ultimately, we want to increase their belief in themselves and their capacity.”