Staff News

Three Dallas ISD schools have received a statewide award that recognizes great work happening in school counseling programs!

The Texas School Counselor Association sponsors the CREST Award, which allows counselors to demonstrate the work they do helping students.

The Dallas ISD CREST Award recipients are:

Billy Earl Dade Middle School

Counselors: Norma Wright, Rhonda Woods, Edordu Nwakaego
Principal: Tracie Washington

Emmett Conrad High School

Counselors: Brenda McCoy, Jenny Garner, Sonya Gilb, Johnny Moore, Nitzy Mosquera
Principal: Temesghen Asmerom 

Onesimo Hernandez Elementary

Counselors: Jeffrey Todd Bingamon, Marquetta Harris
Principal: Oscar Aponte 

The award winners will be recognized at the Annual Professional School Counselor Conference on Feb. 17 at Moody Gardens in Galveston.

Dallas ISD is among school districts celebrating National School Counseling Week during the week of Feb. 5-9.

Thomas J. Rusk Middle School Spanish teacher Akash Patel began his education career in small rural communities in Oklahoma where people had never seen or met “a brown Indian guy who spoke five languages and had traveled to over 30 countries.”

In Oklahoma and Dallas ISD, Patel uses his travel experiences to design all of his lessons. And Patel’s dedication to teaching is being nationally recognized: he is a top 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize. This annual $1 million teaching prize recognizes a classroom teacher who exemplifies global citizenship teaching and learning.

“I am humbled and honored to be a finalist for this prestigious recognition,” Patel said. “This prize will bring great attention to our children, our school, our district, our city and our country.”

The Varkey Foundation awards the annual $1 million prize to underline the importance of educators. The top 10 finalists will be announced in February, and those finalists will fly to Dubai in March to the Global Teacher Prize Awards Ceremony.

Rusk is in its first year as an ACE (Accelerating Campus Excellence) school, a district effort that staffs academically struggling schools with experienced, proven educators and also requires an added commitment from students and parents to strive for excellence.

Dallas ISD named its three Teachers of the Year at a special reception on Jan. 17.

The 2017-2018 Teachers of the Year are:

• Josue Tamarez Torres, fifth-grade math, Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School
• Beth Poquette Drews, mariachi, orchestra, guitar for grades 6-8, L.V. Stockard Middle School
• Nedra Johnson, science for grades 6-8, Alex W. Spence Middle School

The three teachers, who will each receive $5,000 from Central Market,  were among the 10 finalists for 2017-2018 Teachers of the Year. The other finalists, who were also recognized at the reception sponsored by Central Market, are:

Elementary Finalists

• Tamesha Connaughton, physical education, George Bannerman Dealey International Academy
• Gina Maffucci, fourth-grade reading language arts/social studies, Arthur Kramer Elementary School
• Sarah Jane Rust, second-grade math/science, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School
• Courtney Thomas, kindergarten, Urban Park Elementary School

Secondary Finalists

• Jennifer Cambre, Pre-AP Biology, Pre-AP Chemistry, AP Chemistry for grades 9-12, School of Science and Engineering
• Emily Schick, sixth- and seventh-grade Pre-AP science, Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School
• Kayla Takats, seventh-grade language arts, Ann Richards Middle School

All teachers named Teacher of the Year at their campuses were honored at a reception in October. This group of campus winners were invited to apply for the district award.

The application process included a review of the candidate’s community involvement, professional development, two written essays and required three endorsements from students, parents, colleagues or a mentor. A variety of current and former Dallas ISD school leadership, former winners and finalists and community supporters assisted in a blind review and scored the essays and endorsements. Separating the teachers by categories, the average of those scores led to the finalists who were interviewed by a panel.