By Joyce Foreman
Dallas ISD Board of Trustees
District 6
District 6 has got it all – from the classroom to the playing field, so let me take a moment to tout our strengths and toot our horn!
First, Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary School has become the first school in Dallas ID to earn the National Certificate for STEM Excellence from the National Institute for STEM education (NISE).
The certificate recognizes individual campuses for “their commitment to and systematic support of teachers’ understanding and use of high-impact, evidence-based STEM instructional strategies.”
As part of earning the NCSE certificate, six Marsalis classroom educators earned the National Certificate for STEM Teaching. They are Brittany Taylor, Caitlyn Gibbs, Sasha Greene, Ketia Fellows, Deena Palenapa, and campus STEM Instructional Lead Monica Napier.
Job well done!
Innovation Engine Schools Granted Seed Money
Congratulations also to the following District 6 neighborhood schools, which were selected to receive $50,000 Innovation Engine grants to pursue innovative ideas in a redesigned traditional school model:
Atwell Middle School – for Real World Problem Solving with Virtual Reality
Tolbert Elementary School – for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
Webster Elementary School – for Computer Science
They were among 20 Dallas ISD schools to receive these grants.
Teacher’s nonprofit helping students in need
I’d also like to recognize Jesse Acosta, a Kimball High School teacher who founded a nonprofit that provides shoes to students who need them. Acosta, a Kimball graduate, said he knows what it’s like to be bullied about your shoes, so he and his girlfriend created Pasos for Oak Cliff (Steps for Oak Cliff), which has given away more than 1,000 pairs of shoes.
And as for the playing field …
Kudos to the Lady Cowboys volleyball team for being District 12-4A volleyball champions, back to back! Congratulations to Coach DeAnna Jones and her staff for bringing out the best in these young athletes.
Congratulations to Coach Cross, Coach Nation and the Carter Cowboys Cross Country teams for winning their district meets: Girls Varsity Champs, Girls Junior Varsity Champs, and Boys Junior Varsity Champs. You rock!
And congrats to the Carter Cowboys for winning their Homecoming game against the Wilmer Hutchins Eagles, 21-10. It was a great homecoming for Carter High School.
