Three longtime RISD educators

our celebrities subhead goes here and here and here THREE OF THE LONGEST-TENURED TEACHERS AT LAKE HIGHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL

Story by SIMON PRUITT | Photography by SYLVIA ELZAFON

Lake Highlands isn’t what it used to be. Our neighborhood has added new residents, restaurants and streets these past few years, all while addressing plenty of life-changing issues.

Throughout it all, three teachers are among the educators who have remained constants in our evolving community — Casey Boland, Kari Gilberston and Tracey Bishkin.

Each of the three have taught at Lake Highlands High School at least 16 years: Boland since 1998, Gilbertson since ’09 and Bishkin since ’06. Their sense of excitement about the job of teaching the next generation of students is what kept the three women here in our neighborhood.

So what’s their perspective on education today?

“I’ve been in that same room since 1998,” says Boland, whose Room A106 in the L building has been a hub for thousands of students learning social studies.

“For the first 10 years I was here, I could walk into any room, and I would know the people. I credit Dr. Iden for that.”

Kari Gilberston, Casey Boland and Tracey Bishkin.

Dr. Bob Iden was the principal at LHHS from 1997-2008.

“To this day, I still call him Dr. Iden, that’s how much I respect him,” Boland says. “I feel like I was raised in this profession by him.”

Iden’s 11-year tenure set a standard of consistency for Lake Highlands. There have been five LHHS principals since Iden, a turnover that has had ripple effects within the school and RISD, along with a shift in student demographics.

Texas serves as the new home to thousands of refugees every year. The International Rescue Committee lists Dallas as the U.S. city with the thirdhighest refugee resettlement numbers, with about 20,000 since 2002.

Multiple humanitarian crises throughout the world have impacted Dallas County’s refugee population, and area school districts have adjusted accordingly. RISD’s solution: the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion program, known as EDI.

“EDI is as important as the free and reduced lunch program,” Bishkin says. “If the new students don’t feel included or welcomed, they cannot be educated.”

In another major change, RISD decided in May 2015 to combine its autonomous Freshman Center into the main high school campus.

“We used to be a smaller school with just 10, 11 and 12,” Bishkin says. “We had pretty much the same group of teachers all the time, and we all knew each other. Now at meetings, I’m having to look around to find someone to sit with.”

In the summer between the 2016 and 2017 school years, about 1,000 new students enrolled at LHHS, resulting in a huge increase in attendance. The increased number of students prompted quick adjustments in staff, budget and architectural expansion plans for the school. What was once an intimate group of administrators now became a revolving door of teaching professionals who often didn’t stay long enough to develop a culture.

As if the high school’s change wasn’t enough, a walk through the hallways reveals an even more dramatic cultural shift.

“Civility has changed,” Gilbertson says. “Our perception of civility and what’s polite or absurd to say. What you can say and what you should say are different things.”

Gilbertson believes the lowering bar of civility is entering the classroom, with some parents and students growing to distrust teachers.

“Teaching is both reviled and respected at the same time,” Gilberston says.

And of course the COVID-19 pandemic affected schools and education more than almost anything else in society, with students overnight forced to learn virtually and remotely for the first time.

Gilbertson says she feared she would never get to see her students face-to-face again. Once she finally got them back, she says the transition back to regular school has been difficult.

“It’s about getting back to learn how to do hard things,” Gilbertson says.

Bishkin is enthusiastic about finally having some consistency in her classroom for the first time in years.

“Amidst all the craziness going on outside, the best thing is when that door closes and the kids are great,” Bishkin says. “Inside the classroom hasn’t changed. Kids are kids.”

Simon Pruitt is a journalist and senior at Lake Highlands High School. He’s been writing about culture for various publications since 2020. Simon also runs a concert promotion company that tours music around DFW.

LEVELING THE REAL-ESTATE FIELD

INITIATIVE TO BOOST BLACK DEVELOPERS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Story by CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

The affordable-housing crisis and widespread reckoning with systemic racism are two areas of great national and local interest today, as we emerge from a pandemic that disproportionately affected Black households.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, real estate developers of color faced significant barriers — lack of access to capital, equity and experience — as a result of generations of structural racism and disinvestment.

A new program in Dallas aims to address both housing and equity by making the real estate market more accessible to Black developers, which, in turn, will create more affordable housing for Black Dallas residents, according to an announcement from Capital Impact Partners, a group that created the Equitable Development Initiative.

This is about creating a more inclusive economy in Dallas, says Michelle Thomas, executive director and head of philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase, which is underwriting the initiative along with Charles Schwab Bank. “When we think about closing the gap in financing available to developers of color, this is a huge opportunity,” Thomas says. “There is an incredible need for new and affordable housing across the country, and we’re glad to support our local developers of color who are working to address this issue in their communities.”

Since its 2018 inception, the Equitable Development Initiative has trained nearly 200 developers of color in three major metropolitan areas — Detroit, Washington and San Francisco Bay. Dallas is next.

“There are so many talented developers of color who are ready to work with local neighborhoods to create housing solutions that uplift and support communities,” says Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. “Systemic barriers have prevented developers of color from accessing capital and achieving their potential in helping communities across the country. Our EDI program will begin to build a more equitable real estate development ecosystem here in Dallas.” Many of the participants from other metros have since gone on to create their own organizations, build local developments, and foster peerto-peer networks, according to Carr.

The Dallas cohort will provide some 20 emerging real estate developers of color with assistance to help them grow their businesses in an industry where they are severely underrepresented, he adds.

The lack of equitable representation in Dallas has affected not only developers of color but also communities of color, according to the announcement.

Communities of color in Dallas are suffering, they note, pushed farther out of the city due to rapidly rising home costs, a lack of housing inventory and gentrification. Dallas reportedly has a 20,000-unit shortage of affordable homes.

This new program prepares emerging developers of color to pursue affordable housing projects and play a larger role in shaping Dallas’ development landscape, the organizers note.

Selected applicants will receive broad-based training — in areas such as project budgeting, real estate finance, project and contractor management, legal services and community engagement — as well as local mentorship, network building, and pathways for them to access funding.

The EDI application window runs through May 6. Capital Impact will select participants based on the following guidelines. Developers should:

Identify as racial or ethnic minorities

Be actively working to further careers in real estate development with some real estate development experience

Live in or near the primary metropolitan area of the program, and have a strong connection to the city/region in which they are working

Demonstrate a commitment to their city/region’s revitalization

Be interested in responding to requests for proposals for real estate development opportunities with or without a development partner in the next 1-2 years