DEC 10 * *

community learn

On December 10th, beginning at dusk, pile in with friends & family, and drive on over to see *every street in Casa Linda Estates lined with luminaries* Enjoy a simple, beautiful tradition and help raise funds for the families of our Police Officers & Firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Local first responders will be collecting donations big and small for Guns & Hoses Foundation of North Texas. Check out the great work they do at www.gunsandhosesnorthtx.org apply for a magnet school, but in a community filled with families who may not speak English or are not knowledgeable about Dallas ISD’s educational options, that’s not enough, she says.

“If you speak Farsi, and you receive a piece of paper that says something about a magnet school, and you have no idea what a magnet school is or does, what does that mean?” Morrison-Lane says.

“A parent in our community, you have to hand that paper to them and translate it and tell them that this opportunity exists.”

That’s part of her role as a stand-in parent advocate. Morrison-Lane even works with Tasby’s counselors to identify students at the middle school whose GPA and test scores make them magnet candidates.

It doesn’t help that there is pressure, whether implicit or explicit, on administrators at neighborhood schools with high poverty rates and low test scores to hold onto their best students, Morrison-Lane says.

Crowder-Davis acknowledges this, too. Every year, she sends a stack of printed magnet school applications to each school to distribute.

“Some schools send them back, and they hadn’t even taken them out of the shrink wrap,” Crowder-Davis says. “In this high-stakes, academically driven arena that we’re in, they see magnets as creaming off the top.”

She also looks over a list of students each year who qualify to apply to magnets and compares it to actual enrollment. She says she uses it for “targeted recruitment.”

“We look at where we have not seen applicants [and] schools that did not invite us over to speak,” she says. “The next year, you become a focus for us because we’re coming to get your kids.”

WHAT’S THE POINT OF MAGNETS?

NOSY NEIGHBORS LOVE US. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY EMAILS. ADVOCATEMAG.COM/SOCIAL 48 lakewood.advocatemag.com DECEMBER 2016

SUBURBAN INVASION dents — no matter where they live — who want access to more options?

“When you hear ‘TAG,’ a visceral reaction is to go to the best of the best,” says Dallas ISD trustee Miguel Solis. Same for a school such as Booker T., he says, “the best of the best musicians,” and so on.

What’s “perplexing,” Solis says, is “trying to identify a way to ensure all children have fair and equal access to those schools from across the district,” Solis says.

“The idea of out-of-district kids bypassing Dallas ISD until they get into a magnet school and taking the slot of a DISD student is inequitable,” Solis says.

Hundreds of students from Bryan Adams and Woodrow gain admittance to Booker T. while other schools send only a tiny fraction.

“If we are robbing some of our children and boxing them out to the credit of others, that needs to change.”

Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa calls it “an issue of concern for us, but it’s a complex issue … There’s not going to be a silver bullet on this.

“One thing we don’t want to do is poke a giant in the eye,” he says. “We don’t want to mess up our magnets that are really successful, but at the same time, all of our students deserve to have access to all of those programs.”

He mentions the district’s new collegiate academies, which garnered 2,000 applications for 800 spots at “some very tough high schools,” and the district’s new public school choice offerings that “we are really ramping up.”

“Don’t be surprised if we see a way to address the issue from that regard, not from a deficit but from an abundance,” Hinojosa says. “There’s a great appetite by the board to offer more programs like this.”

It won’t be in time, however, to make a difference for Than Zaw Oo. After being passed over by Booker T., he stayed at Conrad, which houses one of the new collegiate academies. Turns out, he was a year too old to enroll in the collegiate academy, too.

Instead, Zaw Oo has taken up an interest in film, says Morrison-Lane, and he’s being mentored by a professional in the community.

“Now, will he become an artist? I don’t know,” she says.

Every year, as she guides her students through the magnet application process, she witnesses their disappointment when the rejection letters are delivered. They’re “devastated, embarrassed, ashamed,” she says. “I think they feel like they’re not worthy of it.”

Morrison-Lane is convinced the system is broken. All she can do is navigate the nuances, crack the codes and hope that, maybe next year, she can help some of her deserving students find their way into the “fortunate few.”

“Now does that help the other hundreds of kids who are in Tasby? No,” she says. Nor does it help the other hundreds of thousands of kids in Dallas ISD.

“I wish every other kid could get that shot,” she says.

The barriers, though, are as high as the stakes. Morrison-Lane wrote an op-ed piece for the Dallas Morning News this past spring on “how to navigate the DISD application maze,” which was less of a how-to and more of a scathing review.

In it, she wrote: “I have to wonder what we are really trying to achieve with magnet schools. Are they truly an opportunity for our poorest students to move forward?

“Or are they designed for middle-class parents in the Dallas district to access a high-quality education for their children?”

Discover Dallas Isd

Saturday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Ellis Davis Field House, 9191 South Polk dallasisd.org/discoverdallasisd

Historically, the school district has hosted an annual fair featuring all of its magnet schools so that families could peruse the options. Last year, the fair was expanded to include the district’s new “choice” schools, which are similar to magnets but don’t have admission requirements.

This year, not just magnets and choice schools, but all 228 DISD campuses will be represented, showcasing information on their pre-kindergarten and dual-language programs, collegiate academies, International Baccalaureate, Montessori curriculum, career and technology, and more.

Admission is free and because the event attracts thousands of people, the district requests that families attend according to their student’s last name, either 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (A-L) or 12:304 p.m. (M-Z).

Highlander School

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

Holy Trinity Catholic School

3815 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas 214-526-5113, htcsdallas.org For more than 100 years, Holy Trinity Catholic School, has been committed to the religious, intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth of each student. This commitment is carried out in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on social awareness, service to others, and religious faith in the Catholic tradition. The Immaculate Heart Program at Holy Trinity School was initiated to fully realize our school’s mission of developing the whole child by meeting the needs of one of the most underserved and underperforming groups in catholic schools, children with dyslexia.

Lakehill Preparatory School

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep.org

Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

The Lamplighter School

11611 Inwood Road Dallas TX 75229/ 214-369-9201/ thelamplighterschool.org

Lamplighter delivers serious education wrapped in the wonder of childhood. The Pre-K through fourth grade years are fleeting, but filled with pure potential. What we, as parents and educators, ignite in these primary years establishes the trajectory of a child’s future. Lamplighter helps set children on a path toward rewarding lives as forever learners. The independent, co-educational school promotes academic excellence through innovative curriculum that merges fine arts with language arts, math, environmental science, social studies, physical education, and Spanish

Spanish House

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410/ DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new dual-language elementary campus is now open at 7159 E. Grand Ave. Please visit our website at DallasSpanishHouse.com for more information.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org

Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

White Rock North School

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool. com 6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Characterbuilding and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

Zion Lutheran School

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 58 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

The Dallas Police Department can’t seem to figure out how 63-year-old Jon Pappas died. The Oregon native was found unconscious in the 4400 block of Greenville Avenue near Mockingbird Lane in mid-October. He was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. “At this time, there is limited information in regards to this unexplained death,” law enforcement said. As of press time, police had not provided any updates in the investigation, but anyone who saw Pappas between 3-9 a.m. on Oct. 18 is asked to call Detective Isom at 214.671.3701.