By Joyce Foreman
Dallas ISD Board fo Turstees
District 6
The awards keep coming for Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy, one of 11 Dallas ISD schools that earned the College Success Award – Gold, for their track records of preparing students for college.
The College Success Award is given by GreatSchools.org to recognize public high schools that stand out in helping students enroll and succeed in college. The Gold is an elevated level of distinction given to schools with a multi-year track record of postsecondary success.
This award comes on the heels of another outstanding achievement for Gilliam earlier last month, when it was named a National Blue Ribbon School for 2021. That recognition – one of the highest honors from the U.S. Department of Education – is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The collegiate academy earned National Blue Ribbon status in 2014 as well.
We’re so proud of Kathlyn Joy Gilliam!
Did you get yours?
The district is hosting COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics for students and staff at various campuses throughout the district. Participants can receive their first or second dose of the Pfizer vaccine—free for students or staff 12 years old or older. Find the dates and location for the clinics at dallasisd.org/domain/28869. And don’t forget, you have until Nov. 15 to submit proof of being fully vaccinated to get the district’s $500 incentive for staff and $50 for students.
Let’s hear it for our school custodians!
This month we celebrated Custodian Day by paying respect to the men and women who have been the district’s frontline workers during the pandemic, keeping our schools and buildings clean and disinfected, distributing personal protective equipment and performing maintenance and upkeep to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. You rock, and we appreciate you every day.
Black Male Teachers Sign Up
I’d like to give a big shoutout to the Black male teachers assigned to District 6 schools as part of the new adjunct teacher recruitment program. They are Noah Lane and Jamal Smith who are joining Marsalis Elementary, James Lehaman, Asa Randolph and Kenneth Shepherd at Adelle Turner Elementary, Jeremy Whitfield and Calvin Works at Birdie Alexander Elementary, and Andrew Merriwether at McNair Elementary. Welcome to you all!
Redistricting meetings
Our Dallas ISD families are an essential part of the redistricting process that the district uses every 10 years to ensure appropriate representation based on the shifts in population trends. My fellow trustees and I have been holding virtual community meetings to explain the redistricting process and timeline, as well as to gather community feedback on current maps and future plans. To learn about the process and provide recommendations, go to https://www.dallasisd.org/redistricting.
