EDUCATORS AIM HIGH WITH STEAM-BASED LEARNING SECTION B
JANUARY 2021 VOLUME 17 NO. 1
“THE BEST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER IN TEXAS”
PRESTONHOLLOWPEOPLE.COM
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‘ROCK STAR’ Principal Sandi Massey proved Person of the Year worthy by shepherding Thomas Jefferson High through a tornado and pandemic with care for staff and inspiration for students. PAGE 4
JEFFREY MCWHORTER
BUSINESS
SCHOOLS
LIVING
Hotel project takes off with Braniff nostalgia
Shelton teacher makes learning life skills fun
What will it take to convince vaccine skeptics?
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2 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
IN THE BEGINNING … DREAM LAUNCHED PEOPLE NEWSPAPERS 40 YEARS AGO
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t’s hard to believe that 40 years ago, a handful of 20-somethingyear-olds came together with enough maturity and initiative to create Park Cities People. Well, at least the initiative. The newspaper’s early days looked more like a mosh pit of journalism, but the result was a publication that would win the award for best weekly newspaper in the state more than any other. In 1978, KIRK DOOLEY I left Texas Tech to study screenwriting at San Francisco State University. Six months into it, the Park Cities News called me and offered me an associate editor position. So I put California in my rearview mirror and came back to the Park Cities. Within a year, I had learned every aspect of weekly newspaper publishing and offered to buy the newspaper. The owners, the Waters family, didn’t want to sell. But I believed in my new ideas so much
Back in 1981, Kirk Dooley and his team stayed up all night for two nights to finish the first issue of the weekly paper. Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People are monthly publications now. that I decided to start a new publication serving the same market. My friend, John W. Carpenter III, offered to back me financially. I
recruited 23-year-old Reid Slaughter to be my partner and run the business end of the publication. He mentioned that he had some family
money and could back the business without us needing an investor. Carpenter agreed that it was the most prudent way to fund the start-up. He graciously bowed out. High school sports was king in the Park Cities. I hired Phil Stephens from the Park Cities News to serve as sports editor and then brought on board Susan Carter and E.V. Swalwell. They had no newspaper experience but became outstanding society writers. A handful of my friends – Brice Beaird, Jim Moroney, Blake Taylor, David Wildman, and Eben Price – were the original freelance contributors. In the first issue, Moroney wrote about how Hollywood had gone camping. Price reviewed Stephen King’s newest book. Philip Chalk, a recent high school grad, was our talented illustrator. The newspaper was designed by my friend, John March, who was living in Chicago as the editor of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon magazine. Forty years later, he still designs everything I do, most recently the three Highland Park football state championship coffee-table books. Back in 1981, we stayed up all night for two nights to finish the first issue in time for the Scots opening home game. We were so proud of it but later found more than 100 mistakes. However, it was in the can. It was a reality. Moroney went on to become
the publisher of The Dallas Morning News. He and his wife, Barbara, now have a winery called Sixmilebridge in Paso Robles, California. Check it out at sixmilebridge.com. The biggest fan of the new publication was Wick Allison, my boss when I was D Magazine’s first intern. In 1981, he encouraged Reid and me to follow through with the concept when other publishing executives in Dallas discouraged us. Good thing we listened to Wick. Years later, Wick bought the newspaper and made it a part of the D family. He owned People Newspapers when he died on Sept. 1, 2020. But 40 years earlier, he was inspiring two young men to take the risk and follow their dream. And sure enough, he DID think it was a good idea because Park Cities People ultimately became his dream, too.
REMEMBERING WHEN Got some favorite memories about reading Park Cities People or Preston Hollow People through the years? Or maybe you are celebrating a 40th anniversary of some type, too. Please share with us your tales and photos at editor@ peoplenewspapers.com.
Contents News .............................. 4
Schools ........................ 26
Crime ............................ 8
Society ......................... 32
Community ................. 10
Living .......................... 36
Sports .......................... 16
Classifieds .................... 39
Business ....................... 18
STEAM ........... Section B
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News
‘SHE HAS CREATED A COMMUNITY’
Site Reading
Thomas Jefferson Principal Sandi Massey is our Preston Hollow Person of the Year
In addition to the award-winning work you find in the pages of Preston Hollow People, we also produce some compelling content over on our website, PeopleNewspapers.com. Here are some stories you might have missed.
Pandemic impact
If you head to our Schools page, you’ll find a lot of discussion about what the pandemic has done to learning in Dallas ISD - and what the district is trying to do about it. We also took a deeper dive into what the learning losses look like and wanted to give them some context.
(Photo courtesy Dallas ISD) In the wake of a tornado and a pandemic, Thomas Jefferson High School principal Sandi Massey earned praise for her leadership. (COURTESY PHOTOS)
By Bethany Erickson People Newspapers
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t hasn’t been the easiest year-and-ahalf for Thomas Jefferson High School principal Sandi Massey, but many insist she’s the gold standard when it comes to leadership through a crisis. “She is a thoughtful, caring leader who has, time and time again, risen to every challenge before her,” Dallas ISD school board trustee Edwin Flores said. First, a tornado hit her campus in October 2019, forcing a move to the much further away Thomas Edison Middle School. Then, just as everyone was getting their bearings, the pandemic struck. For the way Massey has led in those situations and more, Preston Hollow People selected her as our 2020 Person of the Year. “She took over a TJ on the upswing and has accelerated that momentum,” Flores said. “She helped open the best collegiate academy in the district, was a thought leader on the creation of career institutes, and is now a crisis leader who successfully and seamlessly transitioned a high school devastated by a tornado into a welcoming environment during their stay on the Edison campus.” Dallas Education Foundation executive director Mita Havlick was also effusive.
“Not only has Sandi created a school at Edison for her Thomas Jefferson family, she has created a community,” she said. “Sandi has that not-always found quality of having an incredible amount of empathy while still having the strength leadership requires.” Her boss - Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa – calls her a “rock star.” “Sandi did a phenomenal job trying to keep everything together,” he recalled. “It was surreal for someone like Sandi. She’s our longest-serving high school principal – and I think she’s like 13 years old.” That rock star status was seconded by Thomas Jefferson Alumni Association president Missy Huber, who said she believed that “no other principal could handle” everything Massey faced. “TJ had been one of lowest ranking DISD high schools, and with strong leadership and hard work had just been ranked the Number 2 comprehensive high school in Dallas ISD,” Huber said, adding that when the tornado struck, the leadership qualities Massey had already demonstrated “went into overdrive.” “She contacted her staff and faculty asking each to wear their blue shirts and all sit together - unified,” Huber said. “Her energy and leadership skills were in high gear, and she knew they had to move forward fast and together. Working hand and hand
with her staff and teachers, there was not time to reflect on their loss, only get the temporary facility opened by Wednesday for the students.” Huber said Massey was there to meet every bus that morning, greeting every student with a high-five and a smile.
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Included in those conversations is a look at what might happen to the public education landscape when the Biden administration takes over. What changes? What stays the same? We also look at the TEA’s stance (so far) on testing and school closures.
Sandi has that not-always found quality of having an incredible amount of empathy while still having the strength leadership requires. Mita Havlick “She is contagious with her passion for TJ,” Huber said. Massey talked about having high expectations. “The thing about that is just trying not to make excuses,” the principal explained. “We do know that the tornado and COVID impacted us, but, you know, we have a lot of pride, and we want to do well, regardless of our circumstances.” Read more at peoplenewspapers.com.
Bringing the Buyers PARK CITIES Local family looking for 4 BD+ in HPISD up to $2 million
Prognosticating public education
(Illustration: Pixabay/Heblo)
Juvenile Indicted
Anthony Jermaine Lewis, 17, was indicted for capital murder in connection to the May shooting death of Preston Hollow’s Leslie Baker after being certified to stand trial as an adult. We have an update on the progress of that case.
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Once Celebrated, Former Hockaday Teacher Sues School Tracy Walder: Administrators ignored warnings about accused teacher By Bethany Erickson People Newspapers
Tracy Walder, who had done stints with the CIA and FBI, is still confused and surprised that her former employer - and child’s school - didn’t do more when she brought concerns about another teacher in 2019. After Jason Baldwin, who taught Walder’s daughter at The Hockaday School’s Ann Graves Child Development Center, was charged in the fall of 2020 with purchasing child pornography, the school surprised Walder again by issuing a statement saying there had been no allegations of misconduct regarding Baldwin’s work on campus.
My first feeling was that I failed my daughter and should have left sooner. Tracy Walder “Hockaday could have taken the warnings seriously and monitored what was going on in Baldwin’s class when my daughter was a student of his,” she said. “The headmistress could have taken the
LEFT: Tracy Walder, a celebrated teacher at The Hockaday School and before that a federal agent, is suing the school and former teacher (RIGHT) Jason Baldwin on behalf of her daughter. (FILE PHOTOS)
complaints seriously instead of sweeping them under the rug and berating me for my complaints against Jason.” Last year, Walder’s book, The Unexpected Spy, hit bookstores, prompting a flurry of news stories on the “spy turned teacher.” Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo bought Walder’s story and began working on developing a TV series based on it.
“This is the best job I ever had,” she told People Newspapers about working for Hockaday, “and these girls are my role models.” That was in January 2019. By November 2019, she had resigned. She filed suit against the school on behalf of her daughter in November 2020. Trouble began when her child was injured while in Baldwin’s care, and, according to the suit, the
school didn’t inform her of the injury and later downplayed it. “Then I was upset because I was not told about the incident for about eight hours after it happened, and an incident report wasn’t filed until I told them it was broken,” Walder said. Later, her daughter told Walder that Baldwin would lock her in the restroom with the lights off for “crying too much,” the suit said. Walder told the school and then sought counseling for her daughter. That counselor, a court-mandated reporter, reported the allegation to Child Protective Services. After that report, the suit said, school officials
treated Walder “with hostility.” Walder eventually resigned, leaving after the fall term in 2019. But then the news of Baldwin’s arrest came. “My first feeling was that I failed my daughter and should have left sooner,” she said. “Then I felt horrified that after only 24 hours after his arrest Hockaday issued a statement that no child at Hockaday had been harmed by him - 24 hours is not enough time to conduct a full and thorough investigation. “Finally, I felt vindicated because I had given several warnings about Baldwin from my observations and from my daughter’s behavior after being around him and knew they had merit.” In a written statement, Hockaday said that Walder’s suit “contains misstatements” and accusations that have already been investigated and that it does take allegations of harm to a child seriously. “The safety of our children remains Hockaday’s most fundamental duty and value,” the school said.
LEARN MORE Visit peoplenewspapers. com to read more about the lawsuit.
Crime Reports Nov. 10 – Dec 6 Nov. 10
Before 9:05 a.m., a menacing motorist tried to drive into a 40-year-old man at Northwest Bible Church at Douglas Avenue and Northwest Highway.
Nov. 12
Before 3:47 a.m., a peculiar prowler pinched the tailgate off a 70-year-old man’s vehicle at a home in the 10500 block of Ravenscroft Drive.
Nov. 13
Stolen before 2:10 p.m.: a 46-year-old Grand Prairie man’s vehicle parked at NorthPark Center. Two other vehicles were stolen. One went missing before 8:39 p.m., the other before 9:29 p.m.
Nov. 15 Around 9 p.m., a motorist opened fire on two parents, a man, 32, and woman, 29, after a wreck with them in the 5900 block of Forest Lane, between the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road. The couple, who were on their way to pick up their child from daycare, were taken to the hospital. Read more at peoplenewspapers.com.
Nov. 17 Before 3:39 a.m., an early burglar made an illegal withdraw from
the Capital One Bank at Lovers Lane and the Dallas North Tollway and left us wanting to ask the crook, “What’s in your wallet?”
Nov. 18
At 4:28 a.m., officers responded to a street blockage in the 9100 block of Midway Road, where a motorist had fled after damaging a light pole.
Nov. 21
A visit to the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store on Inwood Road near Forest Lane left a 31-year-old man’s vehicle in need of improvement (repairs). And, of course, the nuisance who hit it didn’t stick around to take responsibility.
Nov. 22 Officers responded to a street blockage in the 10400 block of Inwood Road, where an irresponsible and reckless motorist had fled after a wreck with a vehicle driven by a 59-year-old man who lived nearby.
Nov. 24
Before 3:08 p.m., a crooked customer presented a forged check at the Vertex Community Bank drive-through in Preston Center.
Nov. 26
Before 11:08 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, a feather-brained knave
needlessly vandalized the Preston Hollow Bicycles store on Northwest Highway near Lemmon Avenue by filling a door’s keyhole with the wrong kind of stuffing. That’s not where glue should go.
turned out to be a saving grace for more than just a homeowner in the 4600 block of Allencrest Lane. A sneaky rogue snagged some easy loot from a van belonging to Saving Grace Plumbing of Rockwall.
Dec. 5
Motorists in the 6900 block of Park Lane evaded marked patrol cars around 1:31 a.m.
Before 10:57 a.m., a scoundrel damaged a 66-year-old woman’s vehicle while snatching its contents at a home in the 6700 block of Park Lane.
Before 12:06 p.m., an armed robber aimed a gun and demanded money from a 56-year-old woman and 60-year-old man at a home in the 5800 block of Forest Lane.
Nov. 27
Nov. 28
Mayhem struck in the parking lot a Preston Forest Square again and again and again before 8:07 p.m. A thief stole a vehicle and several people reporting collision damage to their vehicles, including a 24-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, both Petland employees; a 52-year-old Dallas woman, and a 25-year-old man from Walker.
Nov. 29
Even with lights flashing and sirens blaring, officers were unable to catch a motorist who had been racing in the 10000 block of Hollow Way Road at 10:46 p.m.
Dec. 1
Burglarized before 5:21 p.m.: a 27-year-old Mesquite man’s vehicle outside a home in the 5700 block of Orchid Lane.
Dec. 3 A plumbing call before 2:21 p.m.
Dec. 4
Flirting with disaster? Before 11:27 p.m., a 38-year-old man got bitten by his girlfriend’s dog at home in the 3900 block of West Northwest Highway.
Dec. 6
SKULDUGGERY of the MONTH: IS THE CHIMNEY CHRISTMAS READY? Before 5:57 p.m. Dec. 3, an opportunistic naughty knave had no need for any Santa Claus magic to gift himself the unguarded items in an unlocked Hales Chimney & Fireplace of McKinney vehicle outside a home in the 4900 block of Forest Bend Road.
For More Crimes Visit peoplenewspapers.com/category/crime/
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Community
GOT TO ‘BIGHANDS’ IT TO NIC NICOSIA
Is Dallas artist’s new Nasher sculpture the epitome of the pandemic? By Bethany Erickson
That’s what I was feeling personally when I made it, but it was just about me. It wasn’t about any universal thing at the time because it was part of (his show) “In the Absence of Others.” That show was really one of my most personally successful, not only because the work meant so much to me, but I was also learning how to play the violin at the time. And I wrote like a 15-minute violin thing that we played during the exhibition.
People Newspapers
W
hen Nic Nicosia began forming what eventually would become the large stainless steel sculpture bighands, he had no idea the piece would land at the Nasher Sculpture Center in the middle of a pandemic and become, for some, the embodiment of 2020. After all, if ever there was a piece of art that seemed to say, “Stay away from me, move back,” it would be an 8-foot-tall man with his oversized hands thrusting forward. “I guess timing is everything,” Nicosia said.
And his eyes aren’t closed; they’re just sorta closed. My granddaughter won’t look at him because that freaked her out. Nic Nicosia The Nasher announced the acquisition of the new work by the Preston Hollow artist in October. The museum had commissioned the cast statue. But sculpture isn’t Nicosia’s only
LEFT: The Nasher Sculpture Center commissioned Preston Hollow artist Nic Nicosia to cast his sculpture bighands, which now sits in the museum’s gardens. (PHOTO: COURTESY NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER) RIGHT: Anna Smith, Nasher curator of education, chats with Nic Nicosia in 2018. (PHOTO: KEVIN TODORA/NASHER CENTER)
media. He was first known for his photography and film work and has even learned the violin and incorporated compositions into installations at galleries. We sat down with the artist. You can read the extended conversation at peoplenewspapers.com.
One of my friends saw a picture of bighands not long after the Nasher made the announcement and said, “You know, if ever there was a sculpture that accurately represented what’s going on this year, it’s that one.” It wasn’t just “six feet back” - it
was just “stop.” Just stop the craziness that we’ve lived with for four years, just the constant being beat up by the news cycle and the politicians and the health issues and the financial. I mean, just the whole world, you know - the wars and the tensions everywhere.
I know you started the piece well before the pandemic, but it does kind of speak to that feeling of wanting some distance. You know, that’s what they thought too. You know, it was really funny. There’s another part to that sculpture that people probably don’t notice so much - that his eyes are almost closed. And his face is very sweet, a very sort of pensive compared to the physicality of either pushing or whatever he’s doing. That face is in a different space. And that’s because I learned how to meditate a little bit before that. And so he’s also in a meditative state, so he’s completely nuts as far as what he’s got - you know, two things going on, where it’s sort of like in thought and also a physical action. And his eyes aren’t closed; they’re just sorta closed. My granddaughter won’t look at him because that freaked her out.
Military Service True Believer Reagan Mathes in the Navy Now
Dallas Jesuit alumnus graduates officer training in December, earns commission as ensign By Maddie Spera
People Newspapers Reagan Mathes’ journey to becoming a U.S. Navy ensign began in childhood with an early fascination the Dallas native traces back to a veteran family member. “My great grandfather served in the Army in World War II as a medic,” Mathes said. “And so at the end of my college career, I found this opportunity, and it was too good to pass up.” Mathes, a Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas alumnus, spent 13 grueling weeks in boot camp and graduated on Dec. 4, 2020. The Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., has three phases, each consisting of various tests and training, be it mental, physical, or education on Naval history, engineering, and
mapping and charting. Now that Mathes has graduated, he will soon be starting at the Supply Corps School for six more months of training. Mathes’s parents couldn’t be prouder and said they admire their son for his bravery and dedication. “I’m deeply impressed by his courage to step up and his commitment to serve,” stepmother Patty Mathes said. “Reagan was well on his way to becoming a fine young adult, but service in the Navy is taking him to a whole new level of maturity. I’m filled with pride and joy for our son.” The new ensign enjoyed his time in Officer Candidate School and looks forward to the rest of his education and service. “I really believe in the system we’ve created here in America and in fighting for those rights
laid out in the Constitution,” he said. “I feel it’s not only my ability to serve in the military, but it’s my honor to serve in the military.”
I really believe in the system we’ve created here in America and in fighting for those rights laid out in the Constitution. Reagan Mathes He’s thankful for home, also. “I’d also really like to thank my parents for supporting me in this journey,” Mathes said. “And I’d like to give a shout out to the Dallas Jesuit community because, without them, I wouldn’t be half the man I am today.”
U.S. Navy Ensign Reagan Mathes is headed to Supply Corps School next. (PHOTO: COURTESY U.S. NAVY)
2020 Hindsight: At Last, 2021 “The vaccine is coming. The vaccine is coming!” Such comes the battle cry of 2021, so take that coronavirus. We finally put 2020, the weirdest year on record, in the rearview mirror, even with New Year’s Eve celebrations as muted as every other holiday in the year of COVID-19. Once the Electoral College finishes its work, the longest of election years will be over, leaving half the population LEN BOURLAND so disgruntled, the New Year won’t start with anything like festivity. However, predictions are in order, resolutions on the mind, but also questions. This time last year, the astrologers were predicting nothing about a pandemic and chaos, so don’t look to your horoscope for anything hopeful or helpful. Will the gyms be packed with new dieters? Probably not. Do people even want to diet given a year of what feels like constant deprivation? Not so much. I predict that Zoom as the default mechanism for connecting might begin to dissipate as people either bust out of their lockdowns or gingerly come out, peer around, and step back out into the world. I predict a presidential inauguration will occur without a revolution, although it might be virtual. I predict the wedding industry will rebound as all those “I Do Redo’s” take place. I predict people will relish going to work, and kids will be thrilled to go to school after having it locked down. I predict people will dust off their passports and start traveling again sometime later this year. I predict traffic. I predict taxes will rise (always a safe bet). I predict churches and sports stadiums will once again get packed. Yet many questions remain. Will tech oligarchs continue to control the message in America? Will an entire school-age population ever catch up? Will people get over hoarding toilet paper? Will Interstate 35 from Dallas to Austin ever be repaired, especially in Waco? My New Year’s resolutions are to housebreak my puppy, get a massage, then throw a party. I want to see my friends and hug people, for as Barbra Streisand belted out in the musical Funny Girl, “People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world!” Amen to that. Reach columnist Len Bourland at lenbourland@gmail.com.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 11
12 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Border Western a Passion Project for Filmaking Allyn Siblings
Dallas Jesuit graduates inspired by boyhood trips to Mexico with their father By Todd Jorgenson
Texans were seeing.” As the family worked on various scripts, with older brother Conor Conor and Jake Allyn have col- finding success as a director, one laborated on almost a dozen films passion project stuck out for Jake. over the past decade, but few have He wanted to write a “reverse imbeen as close to their heart as No migration story” about an AmeriMan’s Land. can forced to flee his country into In many ways, the contemporary Mexico. Western about “ W hen I ranchers and miwas writing an Those moments early draft, I was grants navigating life along the Tex- allowed us to see pretty quick to as-Mexico border jump to conclua whole different was a product of sions about how their upbringing. version of Mexico these ranchers The gradfelt about imthan what other uates of Jesuit migrants crossing that border, College Prepa- Texans were ratory School of or immigraseeing. tion politics, or Dallas were still building a wall,” in school when Jake Allyn Jake said. “I their father, Dallas-based author and political con- learned how much more complex it sultant Rob Allyn, became a close was for them. They don’t have time ally of former Mexican president to sit around debating about poliVicente Fox during his rise to tics because they have cows to tend power. to.” “The real genesis of this movIn addition to penning the script ie was growing up in Dallas but with Mexican screenwriter David having a dad who went back and Barraza, Jake plays his first lead role forth to Mexico so much and of- in No Man’s Land, which centers ten brought us with him,” Jake on a vigilante border patrol by an Allyn said. “Those moments al- American family that results in a lowed us to see a whole different Mexican boy’s tragic death. As tenversion of Mexico than what other sion mounts, his character becomes
People Newspapers
TOP: Brothers Jake (left) and Conor Allyn consult before filming a scene. RIGHT: In addition to writing the script, Jake Allyn plays the lead role in No Man’s Land. (PHOTOS: COURTESY IFC FILMS) targeted for revenge by the victim’s father as federales search for him. Despite the topical subject matter, avoiding politics was critical for the filmmakers, who would rather show compassion than preach. “The issue of immigration is seen by most people as a political issue, but it’s really not. It’s a human issue. Our job was to tell a personal story about both sides,” Conor said. “These two families are similar to one another. The parents in
both cases just want a better life for their kids, whether they’re moving to the United States or already living there.” Set for release in theaters and on-demand in January, the film was shot in 28 days last summer entirely in Mexico with a mostly local cast and crew. “That was important for our authenticity,” Conor said. “This was a movie made in Mexico by Mexicans.”
A Daughter’s Twist on Family Business Eliza Solender blends nonprofit service into her commercial real estate career
Gary Scott and Eliza Solender in their office. (PHOTO: COURTESY ELIZA SOLENDER)
By Rachel Snyder People Newspapers
Eliza Solender found her niche helping nonprofits navigate property decisions after following her father, Robert, into the commercial real estate industry. “I watched him, and I thought, ‘That looks like fun,’ so I went to work with him, and meanwhile I served on a number of nonprofit boards including The Family Place, Mental Health America of Metropolitan Dallas, and the Museum of Natural History, which is now the Perot, and ended up chairing all of those nonprofits,” she said. “They all had real estate issues that came up, and we had well-meaning real estate brokers representing us, but they really didn’t get how to work with nonprofits.” Her experience working with her father representing Scottish Rite Hospital on a transaction also prepared her to help. “I saw how that worked,” she said, thinking, “Maybe I should do this. I could help these nonprofits.” Solender and partner Margaret Hall founded Solendar Hall in 1991. “We sent out 250 letters to different nonprofit organizations talking about who we were, whatCB-222469-01 we wanted(1) to WBE do, opportunities and the phone Ads started ringing. Since then, we have worked
on hundreds of nonprofit transactions all over North Texas,” she said. After a few years, Solender bought Hall’s interest but credited her former partner with giving her “the courage” to start her own company. Solender said she and her team recommend architects, contractors, zoning consultants, and attorneys to help nonprofits with projects and work with the nonprofits to visualize what they need. “You don’t want to let the real estate drive the business goals. You want the business goals to drive the real estate,” she said. “This is what I do: Help them get their business strategy together so we can go out and find the very best property for them.” Recently, Solender/Hall represented Family Gateway in a deal to lease space at 1421 W. Mockingbird Lane owned by Catholic Charities Dallas for the new Simmons Family Gateway Resource Center. “As commercial real estate continues to increase in value, nonprofit organizations are seeing more of their budget go toward rent and real estate related costs; thus, they have to become ever more creative in how they fulfill their space requirements,” Solender said. “A transaction like this is so satisfying because it is a win-win for both organizations.” What advice do you have for other women business leaders? I think that it’s important to not pull up the ladder – to reach down and to help other women. I was active in Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) here in Dallas, and I was the chapter chair, and I went on to become the national president, and the women in CREW taught me real estate, and I owe them a lot for having taught me real estate. What are some fun facts about you? I’m married to my husband, Gary Scott. We’ve been married for 47 years. We have lived in our house 36 years, and we are constantly remodeling it, and we have it filled with contemporary art.
LEARN MORE Visit solenderhall.com and find Eliza Solendar’s blog for our sister publication D Magazine.
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14 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
For ‘Badass Women,’ 50 Paintings Not Nearly Enough
Dallas painter turns portraits into a colorful book celebrating bold ‘foremothers’ By William Taylor People Newspapers
Dallas artist Valerie Guth Boyd set a goal: “paint the portraits of 50 women before I turned 50.” Now she has plenty of portraits and a self-published book, too. “I met my goal of 50 well before my 50th birthday and continued until I surpassed 100 works that commemorate activists, artists, educators, humanitarians, scientists, politicians, actors, athletes, and leaders in an array of fields,” she said. Her book, Badass Women, packages the portraits with quotes and bibliographical information and is dedicated to her daughter, Grace. “I wanted to celebrate the contributions of these women and inspire all of us to acknowledge the badass women in our lives,” she said. “I envisioned my daughter’s generation getting to know their foremothers.” The book has generated excitement among her friends in the Preston Hollow Women’s Club and garnered the notice of Nancy Perot with Interabang Books. “This is a delightful and inspiring book for any strong-willed, determined woman in your life
and for all those who celebrate and cherish them,” Perot wrote in the store’s email newsletter. Boyd recently answered questions about her art, the book, and her amazing daughter. How do you define a badass woman? For me, “badass” is an attitude. I considered “Remarkable Women” for the title of the series but decided on Badass Women for its contemporary, edgy, millennial feel. When I looked up the definition of “badass,” it resonated: “a formidably impressive person.” Further, “badassery” was defined as “engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck.” “Badass,” therefore, epitomizes the daring women I have painted. Who are your favorite badass women? Some of my paintings feel more technically successful than others because I improved as I painted and painted, face after face. I also enjoyed experimenting with color, style, and interpretation. If I had to choose favorites, I would select
portraits for their representation of the techniques I have explored — Barbara Jordan, Amelia Earhart, Mary Oliver, RBG, Barbara McClintock, Marie Curie, Lucille Ball, Lee Krasner, Hillary Clinton, and Julia Child — but I particularly enjoy when viewers share the portraits they like best. What’s it like to raise a badass daughter? I am awed by the way she navigates our complex world. She is curious, creative, and compassionate. She cares deeply about people and the issues that our world faces. She has a sparkle that I love and have tried to support in every way possible, and then I just get out of her way and let her shine. Grace’s badassery started when she was very young. In kindergarten, Grace was chosen to be the MC for her classroom circus. In fourth grade, she was the lower school student body president and was the first lower school student to lead an all elementary school assembly. In high school and now in college, Grace loves filmmaking as an art form of multimedia storytelling that can reach broad audiences. I am excited to see where her badassery will take her.
Three things you NEED TO KNOW before getting a hip replacement… and WHAT TO DO to get the results you want!
By authority on Rehabilitation, Fall Prevention, and Independence, Emilia Bourland, MOT, OTR, ECHM “My hip hurt so bad… I could barely tolerate walking at all. When I finally had the hip replacement, I thought everything would be perfect after the surgery…. But recovery wasn’t as easy as I expected! I wish I could say those were words I hear only rarely, but the unfortunate truth is that most folks who have hip replacements get little to no information about what their recovery will be like. And how could they? Unless you’ve spent a lot of time helping people recover from hip replacements, it’s impossible to even know what questions to ask! As a therapist who has helped hundreds of people recover from hip replacements, I want to share with you 3 important things to do BEFORE having a hip replacement: 1: Ask your doctor what he or she plans for pain management. Having an open discussion about the doctor’s plan, what works for you (and what doesn’t), can seriously smooth the way after a hip replacement. What works for some people to manage pain may not work for others, so make sure your doctor understands your individual needs. 2: Have an occupational therapist check your home prior to surgery. Ever heard the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Well, in this case it might be more like a ton. When you come home after
a hip replacement, it’s likely that you won’t be allowed to move the way you used to until you heal. That means that your regular activities like getting dressed, bathing, and even sleeping can be impossible without the right tools and information! Occupational therapists specialize in making sure you have everything you need to be independent and safe during recovery. 3: Get in shape! The stronger you are before surgery, the stronger you will be after. Now, I get that if you’re about to have a hip replacement, going for a jog is off the table! What you really need is an exercise program tailored to your specific needs, and focused on the areas of your body that will be MOST KEY in your recovery. (Hint: it’s not all about legs!) Ask your occupational therapist about an exercise program when they are helping you get your home ready. They can get you safely in shape before the big day! WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GETTING READY FOR YOUR HIP REPLACEMENT? CALL 469-998-1245 • Choose Option 1: Share your worries, and request free information on hip replacement recovery planning. • Option 2: Schedule a FREE visit to see if YOU are a good candidate for AIPC Therapy’s 3 Part Plan for Great Hip Replacement Recovery. Author Emilia Bourland, MOT, OTR, ECHM is owner of AIPC Therapy. Contact her at 469-9981245 or emilia.bourland@aipctherapy.com
www.aipctherapy.com - Advertisement -
Dallas artist Valerie Boyd finds inspiration from all of those on her Wall of Women. “While painting each woman, I felt a powerful connection to her and her story,” Boyd said. (COURTESY PHOTO)
WA N T A C O PY ? Badass Women, self-published with JPS Graphics Corporation and Clampitt Paper for gorgeous purple endpapers, sells for $50. Contact the author/artist at vgboyd6@gmail.com or 612-834-0435.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 15
OV ER $ 2 5 0M S OLD Our best year yet.
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.Bb^WbU JBpOM db / MBsB Bs sWaO dT loWbsà ß OMWta 2OBa Wb 2O{Bp Bp oBb^OM J| .OB_ 2oObMp lOoTdoaBbKO aOsoWKpà __ material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or zWsVMoBzB_ zWsVdts bdsWKOà __ aOBptoOaObsp BbM pntBoO TddsBUOp BoO Bllod{WaBsOÛ Jts bds UtBoBbsOOM BbM pVdt_M JO WbMOlObMObs_| yOoWTWOMà 2VWp Wp bds WbsObMOM sd pd_WKWs lodlOos| B_oOBM| _WpsOMà !dsVWbU herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage. Compass is a licensed real estate broker. Equal Housing Opportunity.
16 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Sports
AS AN ATHLETE AND AN ARTIST, GREENHILL SENIOR KEEPS HER COMPOSURE
Kati Gibson excels as a filmmaker, pianist, entrepreneur, and basketball player By Todd Jorgenson
“It was definitely a really fun process,” said Gibson, whose father is a longtime Dallas advertising executive. “He gave me lots of direction and guidance.”
People Newspapers
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n a film set, Kati Gibson directs actors and crew members. On the basketball court, she directs herself and her teammates. Such are the dual interests of the Greenhill senior, who helped lead her school to an SPC championship in basketball last season, only weeks after her debut short film, Chill, was accepted into the prestigious South by Southwest Film Festival. “Time management is a big thing for me. Being able to pick out certain times in the day that I can work on certain things,” said Gibson, who also is a skilled pianist. “It makes it easier not to be stressed.” That calm demeanor came in handy when Gibson nailed two clutch free throws to help seal the 43-40 victory over Houston Christian in the championship game in February. “When she’s in that situation, a calmness comes over you. Her teammates are confident that good things will happen,” said Greenhill head coach Darryn
Kati Gibson, an all-conference selection as a junior, enters her fourth season at the varsity level with the confidence of her coach and teammates. (PHOTOS: COURTESY KATI GIBSON) Sandler. “She never seems fazed on the basketball court. Whether it’s the final minute of a close game, or she’s not having her best game, it doesn’t matter.” At just 5-feet-5, Gibson stands tall as the point guard for the Lady Hornets. She’s in her fourth season at the varsity level and was an all-conference selection as a junior.
“You don’t want your best players to be an emotional roller coaster, and she epitomizes that,” Sandler said. “She’s gotten better and better and has a great work ethic.” As for her artistic side, Gibson began playing around with a camera when she was little. She took her first film class as a sophomore and joined the school’s
Advanced Video Production course last year. Chill, a three-minute comedic short starring some of her friends and neighbors, was filmed over several weeks last summer. It is visually ambitious, with sequences shot inside a surgical suite and aboard an airplane. The project screened online as part of several other festivals this summer.
She never seems fazed on the basketball court. Whether it’s the final minute of a close game, or she’s not having her best game, it doesn’t matter. Darryn Sandler As she prepares for her senior season on the court, Gibson said she hopes to continue playing basketball in the future, along with making films and music. She’s started a small shoe business, too, which might prompt her to pursue entrepreneurship. “I definitely want to keep everything with me when I go to college,” she said.
In the Pool or Online, Jesuit Swimmer Goes the Distance Boston College-bound Will McKinney achieves record-breaking goal By Todd Jorgenson People Newspapers
Jesuit swimmer Will McKinney likes to train at a variety of strokes to improve his overall performance in the pool (PHOTO: DON CHAMBLEE)
THE REAL SPLASH BROTHERS Find Will McKinney’s YouTube PCP_Jan2021-MLGBanner.pdf channel at C
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When he arrived at Jesuit as a freshman, Will McKinney scoped out the school’s swimming records. He picked out the 500-yard freestyle — the longest race of them all. That was the one he wanted to break. It took more than three years, but McKinney accomplished his mission earlier this fall, during a dual meet at Highland Park when he lowered the mark by finishing in under 4 minutes, 40 seconds for the first time. After focusing on distance swimming as a freshman, McKinney gradually lowered his time before plateauing. His solution? Specialize in other strokes instead. “I’ve been able to expand my range pretty well,” McKinney said. “[Butterfly] was a really rough stroke for me when I was younger. I was tired of being terrible at fly, so I spent a lot of time watching Michael Phelps and other fly swimmers to figure out what they’re doing, and I’m not.”
He dropped six seconds off his best butterfly time in a year. Last year, he concentrated on breaststroke and individual medley, the latter of which Jesuit head coach Doug Moyse said might be McKinney’s best event. “He likes to train in the different strokes,” said Moyse, who coached McKinney on the Dallas Mustangs club team in middle school before the duo reunited at Jesuit. “He would keep changing his specialty. He’s continued to progress as his volume has increased.” When his senior year began, however, time was running out. McKinney never lost sight of the 500 free goal — just temporarily delayed it. “Mentally, it helped so much,” he said of the break. “I knew I could get the record.” As the son of a former SMU standout, McKinney has been immersed in swimming since he was very young. That passion prompted The Real Splash Brothers, a YouTube channel devoted to objectively covering the sport at the high school and college level.
The name might be an inside joke, but the channel itself is not. McKinney and fellow swimmer, Mithuun Ramesh of Prosper, launched the venture after struggling to find video of past state championship meets online. “[I figured] maybe I could film the races and post it,” said McKinney, a Park Cities native. “After that, I decided to cover every meet I go to. My parents help record the races, and I upload it.” During his freshman year, he covered the state meet as a freelance journalist for a swimming website. McKinney later created an Instagram account, made some mixtapes, and expanded to include coverage of meets outside the area and legitimate interviews with high school and college swimmers. He’s already verbally committed to Boston College, where next year McKinney plans to major in communications. He hopes to set more records in the pool, as he’s recording more videos out of it. “It’s something that I love,” he said. “I hope in the future it continues to grow.”
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Business
BRANIFF BRAND STILL MEANS TRAVEL INDUSTRY LUXURY Former airliner lends name, style to planned hotel in Oaklawn
The Braniff International Hostess College operated 1968-1975 and will get a new purpose as a boutique hotel. At bottom left, Sue Pedler Golden relaxes in the Dream Parlor Fire Pit Lounge. Notice the South American art collection on the wall. (PHOTOS: BRANIFF AIRWAYS INC., COPYRIGHT 1926 2020)
By William Taylor People Newspapers
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ant to give Dallas visitors a feel of the late ‘60s-early 1970s when colorful, high-service airlines dominated the skies and discotheques dominated the imagination? Wait a couple of years or so, depending on flight – err, make that construction – delays, and put them up in a new Braniff-themed boutique hotel in Oaklawn. MM Property Holdings Inc. (Centurion American), which in 2018 finished restoring Dallas’ historic 169-room Statler Hilton Hotel, plans to begin work in 2021 on the former Braniff International Hostess College located at 2801 Wycliff Ave. Edward Russell, an aviation writer with The Points Guy travel website and blog, expects a luxury destination with appeal “for avgeeks and mid-century design buffs alike.”
“Love the jet-age vibe of the TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport? Get ready to pack your bags to do it again, only this time with a Texas twang,” he writes on thepointsguy.com. Braniff Airways Inc., doing business as Braniff International, signed the hotel’s licensing agreement in May and announced it in November 2020. Richard Ben Cass, the chairman of the former international airline turned branding and marketing, retail, and historic airliner tour firm, announced that Braniff would consult on the interior and exterior restoration and keep creative control over the use of its copyrighted and trademarked designs. “Braniff, which shut down in 1982, is probably best known for its ‘end of the plain plane’ campaign by mid-century designer Alexander Girard,” Russell wrote. “His designs featured a broad palette of colors from pastels to bright primaries prompting the tag line: ‘You can fly with us seven times and never fly
the same color twice.’ In 2019, the company agreed to allow the Dallas Cowboys, TACAir, Lincoln Property Company, and Randall Reed Enterprises to use the Braniff name at the newly restored former 1958 Braniff International Operations and Maintenance Base at Dallas Love Field. A $140 million reconstruction project revived the facility at 7701 Lemmon Ave. as a retail, office, and aviation center. Future licensing agreements could include other hotels in former Braniff destination cities, Cass said. The Oaklawn hotel will come with 75
luxury rooms, amidst elegant and stylish Braniff themes, historical as well as recently created designs. Amenities will likely include a restaurant, bar, large swimming pool with an outdoor bar and beverage service, and a boutique store offering luxurious Braniff-branded goods ranging from model airplanes to drink coasters and T-shirts. “One thing is clear: there will be no views of planes like at the TWA Hotel,” Russell wrote. “Located about three miles from Love Field, future Braniff Hotel guests will have a better view of tollway traffic than Southwest Airlines jets at the nearby airport.”
Love the jetage vibe of the TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport? Get ready to pack your bags to do it again, only this time with a Texas twang. Edward Russell
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prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 19
Incredibly Inviting 9918 Avalon Creek Court Offered for $4,495,000 5 Bed / 6.2 Bath / 9,929 Sq.Ft. Susan Baldwin 214.763.1591 susan.baldwin@alliebeth.com
Connecticut Country Estate 6920 Vassar Drive Offered for $16,500,000 6 Bed / 6.2 Bath / 14,181 Sq.Ft. Alex Perry 214.926.0158 alex.perry@alliebeth.com
alliebethallman alliebeth.com
20 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
New Year, New Home 3008 Rosedale Avenue Offered for $1,625,000 4 Bed / 3.1 Bath / 4,129 Sq.Ft. Susan Bradley 214.674.5518 susan.bradley@alliebeth.com
Another Estate Sold 10211 Waller Drive — SOLD Offered for $3,995,000 5 Bed / 7,992 Sq.Ft. / 1 Acre Clarke Landry 214.316.7416 clarke.landry@alliebeth.com
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 21
Prestigious HP Acreage 4311 Rheims Place — SOLD Offered for $5,995,000 1.26 Acre Lot Doris Jacobs 214.537.3399 doris.jacobs@alliebeth.com
Sold Off Market 3909 Marquette Street — SOLD Offered for $3,650,000 5 Bed / 5.2 Bath / 7,330 Sq.Ft. Marc Ching 214.728.4069 marc.ching@alliebeth.com
alliebethallman
alliebeth.com
All listing information, either in print or electronic format, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and listing broker is not responsible for any typographical errors or misinformation. Prospective buyers are instructed to independently verify all information furnished in connection with a listing. This information is current as of the distribution of this material, but is subject to revisions, price changes, or withdrawal without any further notice. Allie Beth Allman & Associates strictly adheres to all Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity laws and regulations.
22 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Bringing Buyers to the Park Cities 2700 Amherst Avenue Offered for $1,799,000 4 Bed / 5.1 Bath / 5,097 Sq. Ft. Susie Thompson 214.354.8866 susie.thompson@alliebeth.com
12016 Edgestone Drive Offered for $1,320,000 3 Bed / 3.2 Bath / 4,360 Sq.Ft.
12 Robledo Drive Offered for $2,345,000 4 Bed / 4.2 Bath / 6,976 Sq.Ft.
Tim Schutze | 214.507.6699 tim.schutze@alliebeth.com
Brittany Mathews | 214.641.1019 brittany.mathews@alliebeth.com
alliebethallman alliebeth.com All listing information, either in print or electronic format, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and listing broker is not responsible for any typographical errors or misinformation. Prospective buyers are instructed to independently verify all information furnished in connection with a listing. This information is current as of the distribution of this material, but is subject to revisions, price changes, or withdrawal without any further notice. Allie Beth Allman & Associates strictly adheres to all Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity laws and regulations.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 23
Manorly Seeks To Take Stress Out Of Home Maintenance Comings and Concierge service sees increased demand during pandemic
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Home concierge service Manorly provides a wide range of home management needs from cleaning to construction, landscape, and more. (PHOTO: COURTESY MANORLY)
By Rachel Snyder People Newspapers
During a year in which families are spending more time at home while juggling work and school responsibilities, a Dallas-based concierge service helps with cleaning, maintenance, and technology. Manorly, which began in 2012 in the Park Cities, has adapted recently to become a more comprehensive home management service. The offerings from the 24/7, monthly subscription service include household cleaning services for everything from carpets to chimneys, ducts, and gutters, construction work, design work, installation help, landscape work, maintenance, and repair work, security maintenance, home technology help, moving assistance, “lock and leave” service, and professional organization.
Manorly seeks to be a one-stop-shop of sorts for area homeowners by sorting estimates, hiring vetted subcontractors, and managing projects from start to finish. Members of the concierge home management service can also set walk-through inspections monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly and craft a personalized plan for their home management needs. “We’re trying to make homeownership stress free and time free,” said Manorly director Cason Wright. “That’s what we’re trying to provide for our members.” Manorly is also offering a complimentary walk-through and $500 credit toward membership until the end of the year
for new members, Dallas Innovates reported. During the holiday season, Manorly offers firewood delivery and holiday light installation and removal. Wright said the service’s remodel and cleaning workload has become increasingly large during the pandemic. For safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Wright said subcontractors must wear masks and shoe covers and are encouraged to use gloves when possible.
We’re trying to make homeownership stress free and time free. Cason Wright
LEARN MORE Visit manorly.com or call 214-463-2462.
Primo’s MX Kitchen & Lounge 8611 Hillcrest Road
The brand, which returned to North Texas with its Uptown location earlier in 2020 before opening its second location in The Statler, recently opened its third location. Guests can expect an updated twist on Tex-Mex cuisine and cocktails. The menu includes carne asada fries, vegetarian enchiladas verdes y crema, tableside fajitas, new lobster fajitas, a 16-ounce bone-in ribeye, and grilled Texas quail.
Nickel & Suede
3699 McKinney Avenue The handcrafted, luxury leather jewelry company recently opened its first Texas storefront in West Village. The brand is known for making lightweight, handcrafted leather earrings in their original teardrop shape.
SAVE YOUR LIMBS FROM THE COLD SNAP.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PRESTON: Featuring Chuck Anderson “We moved our mother to The Preston just over three years ago, and it has been all we hoped it would be and more. The community and the superior location are second to none, and the caring people who work there are the best.”
On Dec. 9, the authentic Italian food marketplace opened its first Texas location – a 46,000-squarefoot emporium with 10,000 local and Italian products, three restaurants, and one cooking school (which will be virtual to start) all inspired by the diversity of Italy’s regional cuisines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the eatery asks that diners wear a mask before and after their meal, sanitize their hands often, use cashless payment when possible, and avoid unnecessary contact with the servers.
Even though it’s cold outside, your trees still need attention. In fact, now is a great time to prepare them for Spring. Our certified arborists will make sure your trees are prepared for the cold weather and many other challenges of the new season. Chuck Anderson, whose mother resides at The Preston of the Park Cities
Female-owned and locally operated, our team is focused on exceptional customer service. We care for your property as if it were our own.
Chuck enjoys peace of mind knowing his mom is safe, well-cared for and enjoying all that she loves in an intimate senior living community. Call 469-904-1394 to learn more and schedule your private one-on-one virtual video consultation and tour today. We are accepting new residents and welcoming you safely.
CALL US FOR A FREE QUOTE TODAY!
THE PRESTON OF THE PARK CITIES
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469.983.1060 | TreeServicesDallas.com
24 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
HOUSE OF THE MONTH 7406 Kenshire Lane
Real Talk: Valerie Dillon By Bethany Erickson People Newspapers
Real estate agent Valerie Dillon comes by her knowledge of the Park Cities and Preston Hollow market from immersion – the Highland Park resident has three children in HPISD and has called the area home for more than 18 years. When she’s not What is the best helping people find thing about being a their next home, real estate agent? she’s also involved Real estate plays in several charities, an integral role in having ser ved as the U.S. economy, chairperson for the and the performance annual North Texas Folds of Honor indicators are always gala, chairperson for early go-to numbers the Armstrong Elewhen discussing the mentary annual aucstate of the econotion and the annumy. The impact our al carnival, hostess industry has is substantial. And more chairperson for the impor tantl y, you Flight to Freedom, partner with people and volunteer for on one of the most the Innocence Project. Her home was important decisions also featured in the they will make in Armstrong Brad- Valerie Dillon (COURTESY PHOTO) their lives. You are field Preschool Asa trusted adviser, sociation Home Tour. friend, confidant, problem solver, therThe Oklahoma native and Oklahoma apist, negotiator, and helper. And that State grad is with Briggs Freeman Sothe- makes waking up every day easier. by’s International. What is your outlook on the Dallas market? The Dallas market is very strong. With interest rates at an all-time low and historically low inventory (2.4 months), total home sales have been on an upward trajectory. When the pandemic hit, none of us knew how real estate would be affected, but we are busier than ever. The average days on market (57) is below where we were this time last year. If a seller has their home show ready and How long have you been in real estate, priced right, there is a strong chance they and what led you to this career? will get multiple offers, and the home I have been an investor in real es- will sell very quickly. Buyers need to have tate for over 10 years. I made it official financing in place and ready to make an by getting my real estate license about a offer when they find that perfect home. year and a half ago. My business partner, Shelle Carrig, had faith in me and gave Can you give us a fun fact about yourme the strength to make it official. I will self? always be grateful to Shelle for her supI actually thought I was a good dancer port and guidance. until I started doing TikTok videos with my kids. I realized real quick momma If you could go back in time and give doesn’t have moves.
Don’t feel overwhelmed or feel like you have to know everything as soon as you pass your real estate exam. Valerie Dillon
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xperience the art of luxury combined with perfection, taste, and style in this sleek and sophisticated newly constructed Scott Briggs Custom home. This light-and-bright, stunningly unique transitional contemporary, ideally located on a gorgeous Janmar Circle corner lot, comes with four-bedrooms, 4.2 bathrooms, multiple
(PHOTOS: COURTESY EBBY HALLIDAY REALTORS)
living spaces, and 5,740 square feet of space. It’s the perfect blend of modern luxury and timeless architecture. The interior greets you with a breathtaking open floor plan, expansive oversized rooms with windows offering views of green, and meticulous finish out. This masterpiece is near private schools, restaurants, and shopping.
Now is the time to
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agent Just Starting Out Valerie any advice, what would it be? Don’t feel overwhelmed or feel like you have to know everything as soon as you pass your real estate exam. Invest in continuing education, partner with a mentor that will invest time and energy into your growth and development, and, most importantly, have fun.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 25
Are You Having Problems Standing Up From A Chair Or Feeling Dizzy, Achy, Or Unsteady Once You Stand Up? – Here’s A Few SIMPLE Tips From A Specialist Who Sees This Every Day! By Leading Balance Expert, Dr. Jeffrey Guild, Physical Therapist Are you finding it more and more difficult to just stand up out of a chair because of strength, feeling dizzy once you stand up, or can’t get going because your joints feel achy? Are you looking for something simple to solve this problem? Here’s A Few Simple Tips… 1. Stand Up & Down From A Chair As Many Times As You Can In A Row EVERY DAY. This is where if you don’t use it you lose it. Even better, stand up fast and sit down slow. Standing up fast will add power into your legs. Sitting down slowly will help prevent you from just plopping into chairs and really improve leg strength. 2. Have A Healthcare Provider Check Your Blood Pressure Comparing Sitting & Standing. Abnormal changes in blood pressure can cause dizziness and increase fall risk. This is a simple and important test your healthcare provider can do. 3. Move Your Ankles, Knees, & Hips Before Standing Up. This is a tip everybody seems to love, because achiness in the joints after sitting is such a common problem. To prevent this, moving the joints before standing and
walking increases our joints’ natural lubrication. This is a way to feel less achiness when we stand up and walk. If you have any questions, I am happy to discuss these tips further. You can contact me directly at 214-712-8242 Or… If you are interested in MORE TIPS to improve independence by preventing falls, my compelling new tips report will help. This special report on action- oriented ways to increase independence and reduce falls is 100% FREE, and you’re under no-obligation to buy anything when you call. IMPORTANT: For obvious reasons, my offer to send you this report FREE must come with a restriction on the number I can mail out… there’s a limit of just 25 free copies… so it’s critical that you call TODAY and request your free report now. What To Do Next? Call: (214) 712-8242 (Leave a Message 24/7) & Choose: • Option 1: Have your FREE Report mailed or emailed to you • Option 2: Free Report + FREE Balance/Fall Screen Author Dr. Jeffrey Guild, Physical Therapist is owner of Optimove Physical Therapy & Wellness.
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If you’re thinking about knee or hip replacement, turn to the experienced professionals at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Methodist Dallas has orthopedic specialists on its medical staff who use advanced therapies and treatments to find a customized joint solution for each patient. The Methodist Joint Academy is a free educational workshop that helps prepare joint replacement patients for surgery, giving them every opportunity for a faster return to normal daily activities. Trust. Methodist.
For more information about orthopedic services, visit MethodistHealthSystem.org/Dallas-Ortho or call 214-947-0000. Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The physicians on the Methodist Health System medical staff are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Methodist Health System, or any of its affiliated hospitals. Methodist Health System complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
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26 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Schools
LIFE HACKS, LIFE LESSONS
Shelton alumna and teacher crafts class to teach students valuable skills Shelton alumna-turned-teacher Courtney Dios leads a class called Life Hacks to give her students the skills they need to navigate adulthood. (PHOTOS: COURTESY COURTNEY DIOS)
By Bethany Erickson People Newspapers
W
hen students walk into Courtney Dios’ class at the Shelton School, they aren’t just sitting down in front of any teacher – they’re getting time with an alumna who understands exactly how they feel.
My goal is to teach them how to work smarter, not harder, and give them the knowledge where if they were put in a situation, they would be more confident. Courtney Dios
The Highland Park native said she struggled in school. “I was convinced that I was stupid and was never going to be successful in life,” she said. “I would make perfect scores on all my homework and classwork, but when it came to tests, that was a whole different story.” By high school, she voiced her worries to her parents, which eventually led to testing for learning differences. It was a turning point that led her to spend high school at Shelton. “Through those four years at Shelton, they taught me all the skills I needed to be successful not only in life but also in school to show that I was not stupid; I just learn differently,” she said. More confident, she graduated from Auburn University with a graphic design degree. She started a business. She coached volleyball. But ultimately, she said her “calling” was teaching.
“I knew in my heart, the only place I really wanted to go teach was at Shelton because I knew what it was like to stand in their shoes, and I wanted to give back to a school that changed my life forever,” she said. “My goal every day is to make sure none of my students have to ever experience feeling the way I did my eighth grade year.” Four years later, she is ensconced at the school that made learning a pleasure for her and is one year in to teaching a new course – a “life hacks” class that teaches skills such as sewing, cooking, gardening, and even basic survival. “What if you were in a situation that you didn’t have that access and had to have some basic knowledge of how to do a task that we are more than likely will be faced with at some point in our life?” she said. The course created is similar to old-school home economics classes,
but Dios knew that to appeal to the middle school set, she’d need to make it sound appealing. After workshopping several names, Life Hacks won. “My goal is to teach them how to work smarter, not harder, and give them the knowledge where if they were put in a situation, they would be more confident,” she said. The class quickly became one of the more popular electives. Dios was surprised by just how quickly students took to aspects of the course, too. “The best part about it all is most of the students that have loved the class the most are the boys, especially the sewing unit,” she said. “When I told my husband that the boys would come to class more excited to get on the sewing machines, he explained to me that it is probably because it is mechanical and pushing the pedal to make it go was empowering.”
Possibilities Await You at Parish. Visit us online at parish.org or contact our Admission office at 972.852.8737 to attend a Virtual Event
Read more of our conversation with Courtney Dios at peoplenewspapers.com.
THE CURRICULUM • Emergency plans for your household • Kitchen skills, including cooking, safety, and manners • Sewing • Household skills like laundry, tying a bowtie, ironing • Gardening/Composting • Survival skills, including building a fire, reading a map, changing a tire • Other skills like reading body language, writing letters, writing a check, and goal setting
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 27 In 1986, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two years later, the Doak Walker National Running Back Award was created, honoring the nation’s top collegiate running back.
Inspired To Seek Change
Doak Walker Art Collection Still need a gift for the die-hard SMU football fan with expensive tastes? A never before produced special art collection features Doak Walker at SMU from 1947-1949 in 14 limited-edition, numbered images taken by Brad Bradley and colorized over an 18-month period. Visit doakwalker.com for details on the DOAK ’48 collection and the purchase options available. Prices range from $1,500 to $8,500, depending on size and format. Past Heisman Trophy winners, including Dallas native Tim Brown (Notre Dame, ’87), Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh, ’76), and Herschel Walker (Georgia, ’82) attended a special one night release event celebrating the 1948 Heisman winner. Doak Walker, a three-time All American, also won the 1947 Maxwell Award and in 1959, induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. As a sophomore, he led SMU to the 1947 Southwest Conference Championship and a tie vs. Penn State in the Cotton Bowl Classic. SMU won the conference again the next year and the Cotton Bowl Classic. Cotton Bowl Stadium would later be known as “The House That Doak Built.”
Tyne Dickson, a human rights and theatre major, received the 2020 Santos Rodriguez Scholarship in recognition of the SMU junior’s courage, determination, and innovation. “As an emerging leader who is building creative, practical solutions to address systemic injustices and defend human dignity, Tyne represents exactly the type of student that the SMU Human Rights Program is known for cultivating,” said Brad Klein, associate director of SMU’s Human Rights Program and chair of the scholarship selection committee. The $10,000 scholarship, co-sponsored by the Latino Center for Leadership Development, honors 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez, who was killed in 1973 by Dallas police officer Darrell Cain. Cain served only two years of his fiveyear prison sentence. Mayor Mike Rawlings apologized to the family on behalf of Dallas in 2013. Tyne, a Houston native, is one of the leaders of BLM@SMU and organized in September a large march for racial justice on and around the SMU campus. Through SMU’s Engaged Learning program, she is developing an app to help plan protests and public demonstrations. “I’ve reached a place where I feel comfortable calling myself an activist, and I’m inspired by the way the reaction to Santos’ story changed the city of Dallas,” she said. “Representing the Rodriguez family as a scholarship recipient will hold me accountable to honor them through my study of human rights.” – Compiled by William Taylor
CONNECT
TOP LEFT: The DOAK ’48 collection includes 14 limited-edition, colorized images of Doak Walker, No. 37. Kyle Rote wears No. 44. (PHOTOS: BRAD BRADLEY) BOTTOM RIGHT: Tyne Dickson, who graduates in 2022, hopes to join the Peace Corps or work for a nonprofit. (PHOTO: KIM LEESON)
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LEARN MORE. JOIN US FOR A TOUR. Office of Admission 11611 Inwood Road | Dallas, Texas 75229 www.thelamplighterschool.org 214.369.9201
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URSULINE ACADEMY OF DALLAS All-Girl, Catholic, College Prep, Grades 9-12 4900 Walnut Hill Lane | Dallas, Texas 75229 www.ursulinedallas.org Ursuline Academy admits qualified students without regard to race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
A P P L I C AT I O N D E A D L I N E J A N U A R Y 8
28 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Student Achievements: Three to Celebrate
1
2 1. Hockaday Close Up
Ava Thigpen (Class of 2025) participated in a PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs workshop aimed at inspiring students to develop the knowledge and skills needed to become informed, active, and engaged citizens and helping them develop video production and storytelling skills. The students, selected in partnership with nonprofit Close Up’s civic engagement program, worked in pairs to produce videos highlighting youth perspectives on issues in the United States. Thigpen was one of 10 participants from across the country.
2. TCA Scholars
Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) seniors Sarah Gerrard and Connor Graham qualified for National Merit Recognition as
3
National Indigenous Scholar and National Hispanic Scholar. They were judged on a personal essay, letters of recommendation, participation in school activities, leadership abilities, their academic record, and their PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores.
3. Blackland Benevolence
St. Mark’s School of Texas junior Spencer Burke, a Boy Scout with Troop 577 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Preston Hollow, teamed up with Texas Master Naturalist Marcia Haley to establish a pocket Blackland Prairie plot at Twelve Hills Nature Center in the North Oak Cliff area of Dallas, not far from the Bishop Arts District. Visit TwelveHills.org. “The habitat is discernably improving,” center director Haley
said. “Throughout 2021, we will see many more native plants there with the resulting benefits-more native insects and birds and a prairie area for visitors to enjoy and learn from.” In November 2019, Burke led a team of Scouts and other volunteers to remove invasive grasses and plant Texas native grasses and wildflowers. His team returned in October 2020 and removed 20plus contractor bags of Johnson Grass, Bermuda Grass, Chinese Privet, and other aggressive plants. He plans to spend the next few months gathering native grass and wildflower seeds from an existing Blackland Prairie in North Central Texas and plant those at Twelve Hills. “It’s a slow process to restore the Blackland Prairie, but definitely worth it,” Burke said.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 29
How to Get Your Teen to Care About Managing Money Getting your teens to care about managing money and taking control of their own financial decisions may be a bit like getting them to eat their vegetables or put on sunscreen. You know it’s the right thing for them, but it may be hard to get them to care about it. From my experience of teaching personal finance classes to high schoolers, they may not be excited about budgetL I B BY M AG L I O LO ing and saving, but they are enthusiastic about the idea of independence and the ability to buy what they want. Here are a few ideas that will help your teen care about learning to manage money: • Independence: There is very little that a teenager wants more than the feeling of independence and freedom. While col-
lege may give them some of this freedom that they crave, help them understand that a big part of becoming an adult and living independently is being able to pay for everyday expenses along with wants and needs. • Wish List: Every teen has their eye on something they would love to buy next. Whether it’s a new phone, new clothes, or something big, like a new car, almost every teen has a shopping list that exceeds their bank account. Help them use this wish list as a reason to start saving money over time so that they can buy whatever they have their eye on. • Building Wealth: While f rugality and budgeting may not sound desirable to teenagers, they absolutely have an interest in building wealth. While their goals of a new car, a house of their own, and international travel may be a bit lofty, learning to save towards these goals will hopefully instill in them the basic financial skills of spending less than they
earn and saving some of the difference towards future goals. • Your Retirement: Having your kids learn basic money, budgeting, and planning skills before they head off to college is not only necessary for them - it’s necessary for you too. More and more parents are finding themselves delaying their retirements so that they can keep funding their adult children’s lifestyles. The earlier that students can learn to plan for the future and stop relying on the bank of Mom and Dad, the better.
The road to a solid financial foundation is built through good habits, enacted over and over, day after day, and year after year. While these concepts may not fully resonate with your teen till they’re older, introducing them in an appealing way now will help set teens on the right path.
From my experience of teaching personal finance classes to high schoolers, they may not be excited about budgeting and saving, but they are enthusiastic about the idea of independence and the ability to buy what they want.
Libby Magliolo, an alumna of the SMU Cox MBA program, leads a Southwest Airlines sales training team. Outside of work, she teaches teens and college students about personal f inance fundamentals.
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I Tu SEE tor ing
30 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Hoop Dream
SPECIAL ADVERTISING CONTENT URSULINE ACADEMY
It’s also such a good pastime right now because when people are stuck at home, they can just go outside and play. Owen Goldberg
St. Mark’s senior Owen Goldberg, church provide Nets for Neighbors
Portrait of an Ursuline Graduate
By Maddie Spera
People Newspapers Need help donating your basketball hoop? Owen Goldberg can provide an assist. The St. Mark’s School of Texas senior launched his charity, Nets for Neighbors, back in February 2020. His goal is to solicit donations from locals who have basketball hoops they don’t use anymore, then give those hoops to West Dallas Community Church, where the pastor donates them to members of the congregation who may be in need. “I had the idea for this when I looked out my window and saw my old hoop,” Goldberg said. “I played basketball for most of my life, up until last year. So I kind of just had a basketball hoop sitting outside, and my family was about to move, and we were trying to figure out what to do with it. We didn’t just want to throw it out, so I decided to donate it. Then I just kept the idea going because I was confident there were a lot more people out there with a similar situation, just a basketball hoop they didn’t use collecting dust that could be put to better use.” Goldberg contends now is an especially
An Ursuline graduate is a woman of faith and reflection. She embodies Serviam by using her gifts to learn from and serve others. She appreciates multiple perspectives and celebrates the uniqueness of all locally and globally. She encourages and exemplifies integrity and resiliency. She is a lifelong learner who engages with others ethically, critically, and empathetically. She is an independent, innovative thinker who instigates and embraces change. She strives to build a strong sense of community. Join us at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, an all-girls Catholic college preparatory school for grades 9-12. For more information contact the Office of Admissions at 469-232-1800 www.ursulinedallas.org.
FROM LEFT: Owen Goldberg of Nets for Neighbors and the Rev. Greg Jones of West Dallas Community Church. (PHOTO: COURTESY NETS FOR NEIGHBORS) important time to give hoops to those who need one, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging to stay active and entertained. “Basketball is obviously one of the most popular sports in the U.S.,” Goldberg said. “Everyone loves it, and it’s so easy. If you have a hoop and a ball, you can play. It’s not like football, where you have to have someone to throw with. It’s also such a good pastime right now because when people are stuck at home, they can just go outside and play. And there are certainly young boys and girls who love playing basketball, and I think it’s important that whoever wants to has the opportunity to play and have fun.” Not only has this charity allowed Goldberg to put smiles on the faces of people who receive basketball hoops, but it has
also given him an insight into what it takes to launch and manage a project like this. “It’s been cool learning what goes into making a business or charity,” Goldberg said. “I have learned a lot about the paperwork associated with it and things I would’ve never learned about otherwise. And of course, it’s important for kids to get their hoops and when they do, it means a lot to me. It’s just cool to see the game grow.”
SHOOTING FOR MORE Nets for Neighbors has collected and gifted 20 basketball hoops so far. Visit netsforneighbors.org or email owen@netsforneighbors.org to donate yours.
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prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 31
32 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Society
DSOL MARKS 75 YEARS AT LUNCHEON, STYLE SHOW
Darlene Ellison of Veritex Bank
The Brodnax family Pepper, Allison, Maureen and Tucker
Kim Noltemy
Rahel Lulseged, Young Strings Musician Model
Dustin Holcomb and Nerissa von Helpenstill
Kate McCoy
(PHOTOS: JEFF SMITH)
Honorary Chair Claire Catrino with her four-month-old daughter Grace
Honorary Chair Cile McCormick with granddaughter Katherine Catrino
Michelle de la Valdene
Nikki Webb
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra League celebrated music and fashion at its seventh annual Fashion Notes Designer Award Luncheon and Style Show presented Nov. 4 by Veritex Community Bank at the Fairmont Dallas. Proceeds benefit the Dallas Symphony Association and its education and community outreach programs. “The idea of putting a violin or flute in the hands of a child who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument is heartwarming,” said event chair Karen Cox. As one of the few live events held this season, the DSOL acknowledged the safety and comfort with temperature taken upon arrival, only six guests per table, tables spaced more than 6 feet apart, and strict CDC protocol followed by hotel staff. Tickets were limited in order to adhere to CDC guidelines. Throughout the last 75 years, the League has donated more than $20 million to the Dallas Symphony
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 33
34 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
DALLAS JUNIOR FORUM SERVES ‘FROM THE HEART’ (PHOTOS: BONNIE CAMERON AND JULIE CROWLEY)
With the pandemic restricting opportunities to gather in person, Dallas Junior Forum members adapted fundraising and volunteer service to meet the needs of their nonprofit partners. The annual auction, originally scheduled for spring, went virtual on Oct. 22 with participants bidding by phone on hundreds of items that included shopping sprees, restaurant gift cards, spa packages, wine tastings, dream vacation resort travel, sports collectibles, and entertainment packages. The Rising To The Challenge raised more than $60,000 for such nonprofits as Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, The Ebby House, Family Place, Juliette Fowler Communities, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, Network of Community Ministries, and The Ronald McDonald House of Dallas. “Although we miss the personal contact, DJF will find the means and the hands to reach out with Ser vice From The Heart,” forum president Julie Crowley said.
FROM LEFT: Julie Crowley, Bonnie Cameron, and Pat Smothermon at the Dallas Junior Forum’s Rising To The Challenge auction.
FROM LEFT: Cynthia Farnham and Julie Crowley load donated merchandise into The Family Place truck.
FROM LEFT: Cooking team members Kristin Parrino and Nancy Malooly at The Ronald McDonald House of Dallas
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 35
36 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Living
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER
F
or longer than the four-plus years I’ve worked here, we’ve called this section Living Well. We’ve shortened the name to Living to align with our categories online but will keep the content much the same. WILLIAM The former monT AY L O R iker suggests both healthy living and living the good life of great food, fun, travel, and other opportunities. Both of those themes proved challenging in 2020, with a pandemic making many ill and restricting most of the usual opportunities to get out in Dallas and beyond. As New Year’s Eve fireworks light up the Dallas sky beginning at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31 for the Reunion Tower Over The Top NYE 360-degree, panoramic fireworks spectacular, so too will come hopes for a 2021 more free of such concerns and prohibitions. Of course, COVID-19 doesn’t vanish with the display of more than 4,000 pyrotechnic special effects and 259 LED lights. Getting the virus under control will require vaccines and other medical advances. News on that front appears increasingly promising, but it’s too soon to know just when life will return to what we think of as “normal.” In the meantime, we need to keep looking
out for one another. I’m not talking only about wearing masks and taking other precautions to reduce the spread. Stay in touch with others – though remotely – and be watchful for those who may be struggling. “The length of this crisis has depleted many of our emotional resources, and the need for physical distancing has changed our ability to use social connections to cope adaptively,” Dr. Kim Roaten, an UT Southwestern Medical Center associate professor, warned in the fall. Roaten also is with the psychiatry department for the Parkland Health & Hospital System. “Many of us are struggling with changes to our jobs, under-employment or unemployment, and a transition to virtual schooling,” she said. No doubt the holidays have exacerbated such stresses for many. “If you are worried about someone, speak up,” Roaten advised. “Let them know you’re concerned. Reassure them that seeking help is a sign of strength. Let them know they’re not alone, that you’re there for them.” That’s a good New Year’s resolution for us all. William Taylor, Editor william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com
The fifth annual Reunion Tower Over The Top NYE, presented in collaboration with Hunt Realty Investments Inc. and championed by SMU, will benefit Children’s Health via the newly formed Reunion Tower NYE Foundation. Fireworks light up the Dallas sky beginning at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31. Visit reuniontower.com/NYE for more details. (PHOTO: COURTESY REUNION TOWER)
What Will It Take To Close The Vaccine Acceptance Gap?
SMU researcher: Convincing Americans will require ‘cause-and-effect’ conversation
November announcements about promising COVID vaccine candidates from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna sent stocks soaring and kindled hope worldwide. But a STAT/Harris Poll conducted just days before found only 58 percent of Americans said they would likely get a COVID vaccine if it lowered their risk by at least half, and those between the ages of 18 and 34 were less likely. Health experts say 70 percent of Americans need to be vaccinated to reach the “herd immunity” level that stops or slows the spread of the disease. SMU health behavior researcher Austin Baldwin said communication based on psychology research is key to Americans’ acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Research shows that individuals make health decisions based on their perceptions – interpreting information and turning it into meaningful knowledge – and their beliefs – acceptance of something’s truth or validity. To choose to take a COVID-19 vaccine, individuals must perceive the severity of the virus, perceive that a vaccine will be effective, and believe that they are at risk of contracting the disease, Baldwin said. Anticipated regret is also a robust predictor of how health decisions are made, he said. Humans can imagine how they would feel if they chose not to be vaccinated, then became infected with COVID-19 or infected someone dear to them. The most successful appeals for
health decisions are transparent, engage the individual, and help individuals to learn and remember information. Forget old-school propaganda and “you should” instructions. Instead, people are more likely to react positively to an appeal paired
Austin Baldwin
with questions, such as: What will happen if I get COVID? How will I benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine? How will my family benefit if I get the vaccine? How will the public benefit if I get the vaccine? “Asking questions makes it more likely people will actively engage with the information instead of being passive participants,” Baldwin said. Vaccines were a critical medical intervention in the last century, virtually eliminating smallpox, polio, diphtheria, mumps, measles, and rubella in the United States. The CDC credits state and local vaccination mandates for daycare centers, schools, and universities for
high vaccination rates in the U.S. But no mandate exists for a COVID-19 vaccine, at least not yet. In fact, there is no precedent for creating and distributing vaccinations for a virus that has caused a worldwide pandemic affecting all ages. Research shows that the vaccine’s newness, concern for longterm side effects, and the growing anti-vaccine movement could contribute to hesitation to take the vaccine. “We might see a quicker and more widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine if people perceive the outcome of getting the vaccine for themselves as a return to life close to what it was before the pandemic,” Baldwin said. – Staff report
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prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 37
Step Outdoors and Design a Porch That You’ll Love to Use Porches are enviable design features for a home, but decorating one comes with its challenges. If your porch is a little underutilized, here are some ideas on how to get the most out of it. A good first step to designing any outdoor space is to research outdoor-friendly furniture materials. Wrought iron, teak, and resin wicker are all common in outdoor decorating. It’s also important that your MARGARET outdoor furCHAMBERS nishings blend with your interiors and complement the paint colors on the outside of your home. Make sure to buy comfortable seating for you and your guests, or else you’ll rarely use it. Your largest piece of furniture should face outwards, while the rest of your seating in a conversation group should face towards it. Good lighting is also crucial, especially if you like to enjoy your porch as the sun is setting or in the evenings. Look into pendants, sconces, string lights, or lanterns, and remember that bulbs with a warm color are preferable here to bright white. An easy way to add color to porches is to decorate with vases, potted plants, and pillows. If privacy is a concern, you may need to add a screen lattice with climbing plants, a tall potted plant, or a shrub. If your porch is shadowy, brighten things up by painting TOP: Brown-and-white-striped cushions complement the earth tones in the stone exterior of the house. (PHOTO: the door a lighter color than the MICHAEL HUNTER) BOTTOM, FROM LEFT: This front porch features faux bois benches by Currey & Company. An outdoor rest of the home, then add a new area, such as this one in Kessler Park, should have a variety of comfortable seating options. (PHOTOS: NATHAN SCHRODER)
doorknocker. The door should ideally be the focal point of the porch, so flank it with symmetrical plants or furniture on either side. If your door is on the right or left instead, lead a visitor’s eye to your door with a lineup of potted plants. Swapping accessories out with the seasons adds a lot of charm to your porch. Include throw blankets on the outdoor furniture so you can enjoy the cooler months outside, too. A ceiling fan is also a smart investment for making your porch comfortable in hot summers.
An easy way to add color to porches is to decorate with vases, potted plants, and pillows. If you still have trouble getting your outdoor space to harmonize with the rest of your home, consider hiring a designer. Despite being called ‘interior designers,’ many of us consult with our clients about their outdoor areas too. A professional will know the best way to take advantage of your space and create a porch you’ll enjoy in all seasons. Margaret Chambers, a registered interior designer and member of the American Society of Interior Designers, leads Chambers Interiors and Associates. Her colleague Caitlin Crowley helped edit this column. Find more design advice at chambersinteriors. com/blog.
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38 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
SPECIAL ADVERTISING CONTENT BRIGGS FREEMAN SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
DAVE PERRY-MILLER REAL ESTATE
The agents of the No. 1 luxury brokerage in North Texas are tuned in to what buyers love — and don’t — especially when it comes to arguably the most important room in the house. In a year plagued by a coronavirus, when people are staying home more than ever, the kitchen has become more essential than ever. That’s why Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty has gathered some of its hottest available kitchens — and the homes that go with them — at briggsfreeman. com/yum. It is a unique and fun page: Not only does it feature some of the most beautiful kitchens across North Texas, it has kitchen trends and kitchen gadgets, too. The perfect side dish to it? The first-ever Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty cookbook, loaded with well-loved recipes from many of the brokerage’s agents. It’s all yours at briggsfreeman. com/yum. The kitchen at 5115 Ursula Lane in Preston Hollow is the elegant centerpiece of a French-inspired manse in Lobello Estates. The creamy white space brims with paneled cabinetry, chef-grade appliances and a breakfast-bar island. The home is represented by expert agents Pogir and Lisa Besserer for $3,500,000. To see all the exceptional homes, high-rises, ranches and land offered by the No. 1 luxury brokerage in North Texas, visit briggsfreeman.com.
This estate property sits on a heavily treed, one-acre lot in Old Preston Hollow. The timeless, modified ranch-style home at 10131 Hollow Way Rd. is listed for $3,200,000 by Kay Ellen Pollack with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate and Patricia Stampley with Ebby Halliday Realtors. The five-bedroom, 6½-bath home has two living areas and a three-car garage. Inside, there’s more than 7,235 square feet (per appraiser) of living space in the main house, plus a separate guest house with 1,582 square feet. Highlights of the interior include a dramatic museum gallery entry, large formal spaces, four fireplaces and high ceilings throughout. The owner’s retreat features a spacious bath with garden tub, skylights, large closet and sauna room. Three secondary en suite bedrooms are upstairs. The expansive grounds are dotted with rock sculptures, and the outdoor living space is complete with kitchen. To schedule a showing, contact Pollack at 214.727.7178 / kayellen@daveperrymiller.com or Stampley at 972.741.0770 / patriciastampley@ebby.com Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate (dpmre.com) is a division of Ebby Halliday Real Estate, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, with four locations that specialize in Preston Hollow, Park Cities, North Dallas, Lakewood, East Dallas, Uptown, Kessler Park and Farm & Ranch properties.
LENTZ LANDSCAPE LIGHTING
Residential Realtors Recommend Landscape Lighting To Enhance Marketability of Homes
ALLIE BETH ALLMAN
Building Memories in The Dining Room
Pending/Sold for 2020
5431 Ursula is being offered for $4,795,000 in Preston Hollow. The Perry-Miller Streiff Group of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate will close 2020 with over $165,000,000 in real estate sales/pendings. Despite the challenging pandemic, the #54 ranked team in the country outpaced their 2019 production by over 30%. While the past year has changed many things about the real estate industry, The Perry-Miller Streiff Group quickly adapted to ensure their sellers are still receiving the best and safest possible exposure for their homes. This elite 8-agent team has developed a winning formula that is founded on a collaborative and synergistic spirit, offering the best marketing, networking and deal making abilities to serve their exceptional clients. The Perry-Miller Streiff Group delivers what others promise: Results. Highly-experienced associates, a sincere focus on clientele, and collaborative leadership combine to deliver a first-class experience and record setting results. Visit DPMFineHomes.com to learn more or see our current listings. 5431 Ursula is a custom home on 1+ acre in Lobello Estates of Preston Hollow and offers a country club experience in one’s own backyard. Designed by Clay Nelson and built by Alan Nixon, this Country French manor boasts steel framing and all stone exterior to match strength with beauty. Contact Karen Fry (kfry@daveperrymiller.com), Jamie Kohlmann (jamie@daveperrymiller.com) or Ryan Streiff (ryan@daveperrymiller.com) for more information.
The dining room, second only to the kitchen has always been a focal point for entertaining friends and family. But the room set aside for festive dinners may not be your grandmother’s formal dining room. Dining rooms in contemporary homes are often left open, so they are part of the easy flow from one room to another and an integral part of the family room and kitchen. But in more traditional homes, particularly in the area’s most elegant neighborhoods, the formal dining room is still a fixture. Here are some fabulous houses with beautiful dining rooms that Allie Beth Allman & Associates believes will be perfect for many dinner parties to come. With a nod to its roots as a 1929 Tudor designed by Clyde H. Griesenbeck, the dining room at 4218 Fairfax Ave. features clean lines topped by an ornate chandelier. This Highland Park homes truly marries the charm of a historic home with the transitional aesthetic demanded today. A newly constructed, five-bedroom home at 11041 Lawnhaven Rd. in Preston Hollow has an open dining room that keeps it close to other living areas. It has large windows on angular walls that allow in a large amount of natural light. To find your perfect dining room, visit alliebeth.com.
5335 Meaders Lane 6 Bedrooms | 6.2 Baths | 12,612 SqFt Offered For $10,250,000 Designed by architect Elby Martin, a Tuscaninspired stone-clad estate home with Italian barrel tile roof, manicured 1.1-acre site with mature trees and landscape by Harold Leidner. Gourmet kitchen topped by a barrel brick ceiling is open to one of several family rooms. Custom Knotty Alderwood cabinetry with White Castle hardware provides storage. Two full-size SubZeros refrigerators, two Asko dishwashers, two gas Wolf ovens and warming drawer. Outdoor Kitchen equipped with a Wolfe outdoor grille and Subzero undercounter refrigerators, and electric screens. Resort like pool, cabana, turfed back yard, private guest house. Home is equipped with Geothermal HVAC and natural gas generator. For more information please contact Kyle Crews (214) 538-1310.
ALLIE BETH ALLMAN
Allman Sells Most Luxury Estates
ALLIE BETH ALLMAN
Build Your Next Home on a Perfect Lot
(PHOTO: CLARK CRENSHAW) Dallas, TX— Members of the local residential real estate community consider exterior landscape lighting an important feature to enhance the aesthetics, security and even curb appeal of a property. Madeline Jobst, a Realtor with Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, commented, “Professionally-installed outside lighting is very important when showing a residence in the evening. I compare it to putting jewelry on a home— it makes a pretty home even prettier, especially at night!” Jobst added, “I had outdoor lighting installed at my own home years ago with Lentz Landscape Lighting. The owner Richard Lentz helped guide me with his expert, personalized attention. “ Stewart Lee with Dave Perry-Miller and Associates said, “A lot of my clients specifically drive by homes at night so they can see what it looks like when the sun goes down. It’s always a plus to potential homebuyers when the homes are well-lit with tasteful exterior lighting.” Richard Graziano, Executive Vice President of Allie Beth Allman & Associates, said, “Outdoor spaces have become important now more than ever, and expertlyinstalled landscape lighting is a highly desirable amenity for a home.” Graziano added, “when I am showing homes after dark, a home often shows more beautifully at night and it also signals to buyers an added security feature. “ “What I like to do is to make the exterior space feel like an outdoor room,” said Richard Lentz, President of Lentz Landscape Lighting. It’s important the lighting on the outside of the home is subtle, but strong enough to be able to also see the outdoor features of your home from the inside.” For more information about exterior and security lighting, contact Lentz Landscape Lighting @ 972-241-0622 or www.lentzlighting.com.
ALLIE BETH ALLMAN URBAN
One-acre retreat offers pool, $165,000,000+ in
A kitchen that is sport court, room galore manor-house magnificent
5115 Ursula Lane, represented by Pogir and Lisa Besserer for $3,500,000.
THE PERRY-MILLER STREIFF GROUP
As the first owner of the home, you can design and build in your choice of amenities, energy-efficient systems and clean building materials. And in the competitive North Texas home market, you will not have to bid against other potential buyers. The first step in the process is finding the perfect lot. Here are some outstanding lots in Preston Hollow that Allie Beth Allman & Associates recommends. In Old Preston Hollow is a one-of-a-kind lot on convenient Walnut Hill Lane with two sides on Meadowbrook Creek. The lot at 5222 Walnut Hill Ln. is a completely private home site that has natural limestone rock formations, unlike any other lot in Dallas. The park-like grounds are lighted, have a water well, a sculpture garden, willow and wisteria arbors. A rare waterfront lot at 7141 Brookshire Dr. has almost 1.2 acres, 105 feet wide and 403 feet deep. It sits on a tranquil lake, maintained by the owners of five properties around it. Demolition of the previous home is done, making it ready for new construction. To help you find the perfect lot and a list of vetted and well-recommended candidates to your homebuilder, contact Allie Beth Allman & Associates.
Allie Beth Allman & Associates continues to be the luxury estate leader among Dallas County residential real estate firms, bringing the buyer or representing the homeowners in almost one third of all transactions valued at $5 million or more through Q3 2020. For estates priced at $3 million and up, the Allman firm held 25 percent of the market, listing or selling 36 estates. For estates priced at $4 million and up, the firm had 30 percent of the market, listing or selling 21 estates. For the most expensive estates priced at $5 million and up, Allman listed or brought the buyer for 14 estates. A few spectacular estates on the market: The grand estate at 23 Ash Bluff Ct. in the private Glen Abbey neighborhood was renovated by Anton Korn, the architect of some of the most impressive Highland Park homes. Considered to be one of the Top Ten best architectural properties in the state, the six-bedroom home at 3805 McFarlin Blvd. sits on 1.15 acres and overlooks Williams Park. The Mediterranean masterpiece at 10203 Hollow Way Rd. in Old Preston Hollow was built by Cole Smith Jr. from a design by architect Larry Boerder in 2007. To find your estate, visit alliebeth.com.
prestonhollowpeople.com | January 2021 39
SPECIAL ADVERTISING CONTENT ALLIE BETH ALLMAN
Discover Midway Hollow
Few Dallas neighborhoods are as popular as Midway Hollow with young professionals who are buying their first home for themselves or to raise a family. Midway Hollow lies just west of pricier Preston Hollow neighborhood. Close to downtown, great dining, shopping and entertainment, it also has good access to both
airports, especially Love Field. Here are two Midway Hollow homes that Allie Beth Allman & Associates believes are great buys. The remodeled, four-bedroom home at 4130 Walnut Hill Ln. sits on a large corner lot. The home has multiple living areas and lots of open space. The large, well-equipped kitchen has stainless-steel appliances, white cabinetry, a huge island and wood flooring. It opens to a large den with a fireplace. The master suite is downstairs, with three bedrooms upstairs. The backyard is large enough for a pool. On a cul-de-sac in the gated Walnut Meadows community, a three-bedroom home at 4105 Walnut Meadow Ln. has hardwood, marble and ceramic-tile flooring. The home has a newly updated kitchen with a large island, stainless-steel appliances and white cabinetry. The huge family room features a beautiful fireplace. The downstairs master suite has an updated bath. To find your next home, visit alliebeth.com.
EBBY HALLIDAY REALTORS
Morning News’ 12th-annual Top 100 Places to Work event, which took place online in mid-November. The Ebby Halliday Companies placed No. 10 in the Large Companies category. The annual contest is overseen by The Dallas Morning News’ research partner, Workplace Dynamics, a leader in measuring the health of U.S. companies. Companies are graded in performance of leadership, sense of mission, career opportunities, culture, and pay and benefits. “It’s so meaningful for the Ebby Halliday Companies to be named one of the Top 100 Places to Work by The Dallas Morning News as we celebrate our 75th anniversary of serving the residential real estate needs of North Texans and those choosing to move here,” says Ebby Halliday Companies President & CEO Chris Kelly. “This is a great honor for us as a company. I’m most proud that our people are so passionate about the workplace they’ve helped build together.” For information about Ebby Halliday Companies brokerage, mortgage, insurance and title services, visit ebby.com.
Ebby Halliday Companies Named Top Place to Work
Chris Kelly The Ebby Halliday Companies, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, has been named one of the Top 100 Places to Work in North Texas in the Large Companies category by The Dallas Morning News. The announcement came at the
C L ASSI FI EDS To place your ad in People Newspapers, please call us at 214-523-5239, fax to 214-594-5779, or e-mail to classified@peoplenewspapers.com. All ads will run in Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People and online. Pre-payment is required on all ads. Deadline for our next edition is Monday, Jan. 4. People Newspapers reserves the right to edit or reject ads. We assume no liability for errors or omissions in advertisements and no responsibility beyond the cost of the ad. We are responsible only for the first incorrect insertion. BURIAL PROPERTY
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40 January 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
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© MMXX Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. All Rights Reserved. An Equal Opportunity Company. Briggs Freeman Real Estate Brokerage, Inc. is independently owned and operated.
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SCIENCE • TECHNOLOGY • ENGINEERING • ART • MATHEMATICS JANUARY 2021
HANDS-ON LEARNING EXPANDS HORIZONS
What happens way up in the air in that weather balloon? By William Taylor People Newspapers
S
how students video of high-altitude balloon missions and give them new perspectives on their world. “You can really see that the horizon is curved, so we squashed some rumors that the Earth was flat that every sixth-grader has heard,” teacher Susan Eve observed.
When kids realized their prediction was correct, they would go, ‘Yes!’ So it felt a little like watching a football game but in science. Susan Eve The Greenhill School students also learned about helium and how a balloon could float, but when their science lessons turned to potential experiments, learning took off beyond the stratosphere.
“The kids started asking questions like what would happen if,” Eve said. “What would happen to a pickle if we sent it up?” What about radish seeds? Markers? Batteries? Or a memory card loaded with photographic files? Thanks to a program available from the educational company StratoStar in Noblesville, Indiana, students in six classes taught by Eve and colleagues Sharon Charlebois and Tim Lohr could seek answers through real high-altitude experiments. Eve was looking for ways to keep science instruction both Susan Eve hands-on and equitable for her mix of in-person and virtual students when she discovered an offer from StratoStar – stratostar.com – to fly up experiments for the cost of shipping them to the company and back. The project hits on each of the STEAM categories:
SCIENCE – Coming up with questions and theories to test; TECHNOLOGY – Employed in launching the balloon and tracking it in real-time; ENGINEERING – Designing experiments with containers for the samples that would go up and control samples that wouldn’t; ART – Creating mission badges like those worn by astronauts; MATHEMATICS – So many numbers to monitor and predict as the balloon goes up and comes back down. The classes held a launch party on Nov. 11 – after rain de(COURTESY PHOTO) layed the launch by a day. Students checked back every 15 minutes to see where the balloon had gone and what had changed. It took nearly three hours to surpass 100,000 feet, where it popped and returned to the ground in 15 minutes. Along the way, temperatures ranged
from 60 degrees to minus 25, and humidity from 55 percent to below 1 percent. Students also made their best guesses about where it would be at specific points. “When kids realized their prediction was correct, they would go, ‘Yes!’ So it felt a little like watching a football game but in science,” Eve said. “This year highlights for me that the future of teaching science is really about teaching skills: how to think about what you are doing, how to plan and run an experiment.” As this issue of the newspaper went to press, students were still experimenting with the returned balloon payloads. They had a few wild guesses about what upper atmosphere radiation levels would do to what sprouts from those seeds. “I think they are going to be mutants,” one suggested. “I think they are going to have eight leaves and be purple,” another offered. What about Eve? “I suspect the radish seeds that went up in the flight will not sprout.”
A weather balloon carrying Greenhill School sixth-graders’ experiments took nearly three hours to exceed 100,000 feet and 15 minutes to return to the ground. (PHOTO: COURTESY STRATOSTAR)
B2 January 2021 | STEAM
WHAT DO SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS LOOK LIKE? WELL, YOU Orange is the new white lab coat, only much, much better
IF/THEN Ambassador Jennifer Stimpson takes sabbatical from Hockaday to write federal legislation By Maddie Spera
People Newspapers
Magaret Black
Jennifer Makins Orange statues made with 3-D printing show off the diversity of backgrounds, talents, and fields of the 125 IF/THEN Ambassadors named in 2019 to promote science, technology, engineering, and math careers to girls. (PHOTOS: NORTHPARK CENTER)
By Kelsey Shoemaker People Newspapers
T
he 3-D printed statues produced after scanning 125 female innovators named American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Ambassadors in 2019 have at least this much in common – they are orange. But leaders of backer Lyda Hill Philanthropies see in them the diversity needed to inspire girls and advance women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers.
You might have purple hair and dive with sharks, or you’re a beta engineer for songs on Spotify. Magaret Black Each statue has a plaque with an ambassador’s name and career and a QR code to the IF/THEN Collection, a large, free online repository of photos, videos, and stories of women in the program and their journeys to get to where they are today. “There’s great photos of some of the
ambassadors together, so it gives the visual rainbow of diversity represented by the group,” said Jennifer Makins, one of 10 ambassadors selected from North Texas and director of STEM education at the Parish Episcopal School. “The other thing, really powerful too, is just showing kids that if you have an interest in STEM, you can find a way,” she said. “We have old and some with physical limitations, but they have a passion for STEM, and the kids can see it.” The statues went on display at NorthPark Center in 2020 before giving way to holiday decorations and displays. Aviation-themed ones were expected to go up at Dallas Love Field in December, and plans to install some at Central Park in New York City were in the works. “Statues were nowhere on our radar when we launched two years ago,” said Magaret Black, director of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. But then, as foundation leaders looked for more ways to communicate their message, they learned that less than a half-dozen real women are depicted by statues on display in publicly accessible places in major cities. “You hear that stat, and you just never look at statues the same way.” A few of the ambassadors are also registered with Nepris, an online group
connecting professionals with teachers, homeschool groups, and students. “The idea is to have a Zoom call with the expert to have the questions directly,” Makins said. The ambassador program also partners with other organizations, including PBS and the Geena Davis Institute, for Mission Unstoppable. The television show will start its second season in January and continue to educate and demystify STEM for children. “I think the notion is to open up our hearts and minds of young girls to A: that these careers exist and B: that they’re relevant, that they’re social, that being a STEM professional does not mean that you have an old white lab coat in a basement working alone. You might have purple hair and dive with sharks, or you’re a beta engineer for songs on Spotify,” Black said. “It’s about opening up and making it more visible that these things even exist. You need to see it and see yourself reflected in the job to even be able to consider to pursue them.”
LEARN MORE Visit ifthencollection.org to read more about the IF/THEN Ambassadors and the IF/THEN Collection.
Jennifer Stimpson is on a mission: She wants to change what people picture when they think of a scientist. In 2019, the middle school science teacher was among 125 female innovators named American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Ambassadors as part of a Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ effort to inspire girls and advance women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. This year, Stimpson is on sabbatical from the Hockaday School while serving as an Einstein Fellow selected by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science in Washington, D.C. “Science teachers around the U.S. can compete to spend a year in D.C. working in a variety of federal agencies,” Stimpson said. “I happen to be in the House, and what all of our jobs are is to impart our science and our teaching expertise on how science education can be made better in the future. I’m working with Congress to write legislation to ensure STEM equity, and for all kids to have an adequate understanding and access to science to build science literacy.”
Science is everywhere, and because of that, STEM is for everyone. Jennifer Stimpson The program is extremely selective, and Stimpson is the only Texas teacher out of 15 applicants chosen. In addition to her work as an Einstein Fellow, Stimpson also sees her role as an IF/ THEN Ambassador striving to open young women’s eyes to the opportunities that await them in the STEM fields as crucial. “When we thought of scientists even five years ago, people were still thinking of an old, white male,” Stimpson said. “And no disrespect to Bill Nye, but that’s all kids saw. And what IF/THEN is trying to approach is that anyone can be a scientist. The variety [of IF/THEN] is overwhelming in such a positive way that if we don’t change the trajectory of science, I would be surprised.” Like most things, Stimpson’s work looks a little different these days due to the pandemic, and she has participated in many virtual panels and presentations. “Science is everywhere, and because of that, STEM is for everyone,” Stimpson said. “It doesn’t stop because we are in a pandemic. It’s actually all around us right now. So what IF/THEN has done is provide the opportunity for educators, organizations, and outreach programs to ensure girls can have information about science despite the pandemic. We are intentionally changing the narrative of STEM, and I’m so excited to be part of that because I think it’s not only revolutionary, it’s just the way of the future.”
peoplenewspapers.com | January 2021 B3
B4 January 2021 | STEAM
TO THE MOON AND BEYOND: EDUCATORS EYE
For better results, ask better questions
I
f you’re a baby boomer, like me, your science education likely involved coming to terms with boldface words and not having any engineering, building, or prototyping experiences. Perhaps there were science fairs in the upper grades or schoolyard excursions gathering leaves, insects, and rocks RICHARD DUSCHL for lower grades. If your school district adopted the 1960/1970 inquiry models, you experienced ‘hand-on’ instruction, but not necessarily ‘minds-on’ learning. Labs and investigations were predetermined, questions and procedures preselected. Everyone followed the same ‘cookbook’ in an instructional model driven by this guiding question: ‘What do we want students to know and what do they need to do to know it?’ In the 1980s and 1990s, education researchers reframed the question: ‘What do we want students to do and what do they need to know to do it?’ A simple word exchange, but a compelling change to learning outcomes. Unpacking ‘doing’ reveals an array of knowledge building science practices
and problem-solving-based design and engineering practices. The new policies embraced testing capacity for ‘using knowledge:’ e.g., constructing, comparing, and evaluating explanations, models, and theories. Science and engineering (S&E) education needed to engage students in the struggles of making decisions and using evidence and ideas to explain, model, design, and engineer. For summer 2020, the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education, with generous support f rom the Hamon Foundation, adapted in-person on-campus learning to online learning. We used online breakout rooms – one counselor with three to five youths – to create Education Pods and, in turn, a community of practice. Our plan focused on exposing and developing S&E skills and practices; seventh and eighth graders built a solar oven, ninth and tenth a windmill, and 11th and 12th a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) urban public restroom facility. They first scrutinized how to acquire ideas and evidence and then used the evidence for designs. Think of using tools and technology for measurements, using evidence to build prototypes, arguments, designing investigations, and developing strategies for observing, examining properties of
materials, etc. Think of guided discussions among pod members sharing and wondering how to alter and improve the prototype and design. Social group/community practices foster learning how to communicate, create, collaborate, critique, and represent ideas and information via language, images, and graphical representations. The shift at all classroom levels, elementary, middle, and high schools, is to engage youths in the dynamics, and the accompanying struggles therein, of knowledge building and refining learning environments. These struggles are complex for learners but even more so for counselors and teachers who must manage the breadth of ideas and information students both encounter and generate. The quest for a COVID-19 vaccine has made apparent the community nature of the sciences and engineering disciplines. Reforms in education and cultural attitudes over the past three decades have begun to bear fruit. Scientists and engineers are learning how to learn. Educators, teachers, and parents are learning how to learn about learning. Richard Duschl, Ph.D., is the executive director and Texas Instruments Distinguished Professor for the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering.
If you lose someone’s diam you can go buy them another ring, but if you lose someone’ you really can’t go get them. Chris Miller
Highland Park Middle School principal Dr. Chris Miller did training about how to handle lunar samples and more. (COURTESY PHOTOS)
For a virtual learning camp offered by SMU, students designed solar ovens, windmills, and urban public restrooms. (PHOTOS: COURTESY CARUTH INSTITUTE FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION)
SHELTON PRIDE STEM + Full STEAM Ahead Fostering exploration, innovation, creation, collaboration Something for everyone:
ENGAGE ENRICH EMPOWER
• Robotics Team, Grade 6-8
• Engineering classes/club
• Coding, Grade 1 and above
• Problem-solving experiences
• Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality • Gaming and 3D animation • Robust summer and after-school offerings • Maker space, 3D design, modeling • Expansive fine arts offerings and printing • HTML and web design
• 12 science labs, 4 STEAM rooms
• High school film program
• Genius Bar-style IT center
Shelton School and Evaluation Center 17301 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75252 SHELTON.ORG
SINCE 1976
peoplenewspapers.com | January 2021 B5
OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING, DISCOVERY
mond rings, r diamond ’s moonrock,
HPMS principal gets his hands on lunar rocks By Rachel Snyder People Newspapers
Highland Park Middle School principal Chris Miller is planning for a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) night that’s out of this world: He’s planning to have moonrock and meteorite samples from NASA to show. The March 8 STEAM night will likely include both rock and dust from various parts of the moon’s surface, as well as meteorite samples with information about their origins. “I’m guessing, when we have that in March, no one in the North Texas area will have those samples, so we’ll be probably one of the only games in town for that,” Miller said. “(The students) kind of don’t believe (the samples) are real at first, and then just (ask)
all kinds of questions... It’s a great opportunity for science teachers.” He said he hopes the STEAM night will be open to each classroom as well. “Every classroom will be looking through the lens whether it be creative writing looking at Texas history and Texas’ impact to the space program, or national history,” Miller said. “U.S. history classes will be looking at the space race between Russia and the U.S. “It’s going to be really neat that we kind of just hijack everybody’s curriculum for a couple of days,” said Miller, sounding like the former science teacher who participated in training with a NASA mentor at the Johnson Space Center on how to handle the samples. “For my last few summers of being a science teacher here, I worked with NASA on zero gravity, the LiftOff program,” he said.
Security training was vital, Miller said. “If you lose someone’s diamond rings, you can go buy them another diamond ring, but if you lose someone’s moon rock, you really can’t go get them.” He’s hoping more teachers can participate in the weeklong training at Johnson Space Center soon. The training at Johnson Space Center features everything from learning how to handle lunar and meteorite samples to working with engineers and networking with other math and science teachers from across the region. “I’ve had other teachers certified and also go to these different LiftOff trainings at NASA at my previous districts where I was a principal, and they just come back, and they’re supercharged,” Miller said. “They’re so fired up about teaching science.”
Pandemic provides a senior project at TCA Talk about homework taking a real-world turn. After the pandemic sent students home last spring, it also became an assignment for Texas Christian Academy engineering class seniors. In a typical year, their final projects at the Addison campus involve designing and building items to improve the lives of children facing illness or disability – perhaps a wheel-
chair lift or other tool to give to families with special needs children. But with learning shifted online during the spring 2020 shelter-at-home orders, the final project became virus focused. Engineering teacher Lisa Wong tasked her seniors with building prototypes for tools to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and to do so for less than $20 with items already in their homes. “By teaching her students how to use engineering in the real world, (Wong) hopes to show her students that they can use what they
learn in the classroom to make a difference,” campus spokeswoman Ashley Mungiguerra said. In 2015, Wong, a Lockheed Martin mechanical engineer turned director of technology at TCA, saw a need to get teens involved in engineering. She started the first engineering class at TCA and the upper and lower school STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) clubs she still manages. “Lisa is not focused on simply building the engineering pipeline,” Mungiguerra said. – Staff report
Texas Christian Academy seniors tasked with building inexpensive tools to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 came up with an array of projects, including a personal touchless door opener, a hand sanitizer holder for a car vent, a social distancing stick, a UV lightbox for disinfecting, and a battery-powered air purifier mask. (PHOTOS: COURTESY TCA)
You are invited to virtually dissect the human body, build a prototype with a 3D printer, take immersive classes in the arts and the sciences, and learn from teachers dedicated to your success. You are invited to discover your future. Explore Ursuline by visiting www.ursulinedallas.org/admissions. Won’t you join us?
URSULINE ACADEMY OF DALLAS
Ursuline Academy creates experiences unlike any other.
All-Girl, Catholic, College Prep, Grades 9-12 4900 Walnut Hill Lane | Dallas, Texas 75229 469-232-1800 | www.ursulinedallas.org Ursuline Academy admits qualified students without regard to race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
A P P L I C AT I O N D E A D L I N E J A N U A R Y 8
B6 January 2021 | STEAM
Innovation and Transformation
Dallas ISD aims to make an impact at campuses near and (just a little bit) far
where we have lost market share,” she said. One of the schools that made the cut? The Midtown STEAM Academy, which will be the district’s first pre-K through 12thgrade school and is co-designed in partnership with the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
By Bethany Erickson People Newspapers
Dallas ISD’s magnet schools have long been popular with families, but in recent years, the district also has worked to create choices designed to attract parents and students in a very crowded field of options. Take, for instance, your neighborhood school, which just might be making some changes this year. Foster Elementary in Midway Hollow, Pershing Elementary in Preston Hollow, and 19 other schools received $50,000 Innovation Engine grants in November to pursue innovation to increase interest in the neighborhoods they serve. Foster Elementary will pursue a personalized learning curriculum, while Pershing is exploring a STEAM college and career exploration track. Nearby DeGolyer Elementary is also aiming for a STEAM track but in design thinking. Last year, the Dallas ISD Office of Transformation and Innovation began its Innovation Engine Grant Program. Its goal: helping neighborhood schools better position themselves as the first option for families weighing charter schools, private schools, and even public magnet schools.
We are planting seeds of innovation throughout Dallas ISD. Shakeatha Butler Pershing, Foster, and DeGolyer elementary schools celebrate receiving $50,000 grants from Dallas ISD’s Innovation Engine program. (PHOTO: COURTESY DALLAS ISD) “We are planting seeds of innovation throughout Dallas ISD,” said Shakeatha Butler, director of the Office of Transformation and Innovation. “Sometimes, it takes money to innovate. A school team might have the passion and might have the ideas, but they need the funds to make those ideas a reality.” The selected schools can use the funding in a variety of ways to support innovation on their campus.
But OTI is also working to increase its pool of what the district calls “choice” schools. A relatively new program allows communities to “pitch” campuses – and even lobby for what type of school. The process starts with an idea. Educational professionals and community groups form a plan and then begin exploratory meetings with the district’s Office of Transformation and Innovation. If they
decide to apply, they submit a letter of intent and then a final proposal. Last year, the district received 53 letters of intent in its Public School Choice 6.0 program and 26 proposal applications for review, district spokesperson Nina Lakhiani said. The hope is that the district will get a better idea of what the community wants and needs, she said. “We’re creating additional bestfit schools in quadrants of the city
“The keys to the success of the Midtown STEAM Academy application was the wealth of experience and community connections that TAMUC and NDCC brought to the project,” said chamber events and membership director Megan McQuery “I would encourage an organization that sees an educational need to apply,” she said. “The Innovation Schools and Choice programs are great tools to create learning opportunities for students that are their best fit.”
peoplenewspapers.com | January 2021 B7
What’s a Not-So-Little Healthy Competition Between Robots During a Pandemic? VEX World Championships still headed to Dallas but with added precautions, virtual options
access to robotics during the COVID-19 outbreak,” Mantz said. “The pandemic has magnified the critical need for robotics and STEM education. More so, it has revealed that now more than ever, that world needs critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators like our diverse community of one million students around the globe.”
By Maddie Spera
People Newspapers The robots are in full competition mode and on their way to Dallas for The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation’s VEX Robotics World Championship, presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation in April. The annual championship comes to Dallas in 2021 through 2024, pitting the world’s top middle school, high school, and college robotics teams against each other in various challenges. More than 11,500 teams from 45 countries play in over 900 local, regional, national, and international tournaments to claim top honors, according to vexrobotics.com. While circumstances have changed dramatically since the championship first planned to come to Dallas, VEX Robotics has strategies in place to safely hold this competition for anyone who wants to be involved. “Health and safety is our number one concern,” said Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation. “We’ve worked diligently on finding a multitude of options for teams to participate this season. If teams are unable to participate in
THE CHALLENGES
The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation promotes STEM instruction through its competitions. (PHOTO: COURTESY REC)
typical in-person robotics competitions, we have other ways that they can compete this season.” These other ways include Remote Skills-Only Events, which allow event partners to host remote skills-only matches, and Live Remote Tournaments, where competition can occur remotely using a Live Remote
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Tournament interface. Mantz and the VEX Robotics program hope this event promotes and encourages STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning in the area. In addition to the championship, VEX Robotics has also made sure to foster STEM education with other innovative
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programs. Among these are online challenges, online learning resources and activities, and the VRAD (virtual aerial drones) program, the world’s first global multiplayer virtual aerial drone competition. “It is important to us to continue creating programs so that all students and teachers have
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Tell Us More Is your school competing for a chance to face off in the VEX Robotics World Championship? Send photos and information about your efforts to editor@ peoplenewspapers.com.
S H E P H E R D !
From our youngest students in Pre-K to our 8th grade graduates, our exceptional students pursue their educational journey through questioning, exploration, and curiosity.
SPARQ, Solving Problems Asking Real-world Questions, drives our students and teachers to take the essential time needed to push the boundaries in a creative environment.
Working together, studentteacher teams apply design thinking to overcome obstacles in and outside the classroom.
At Good Shepherd Episcopal School, STEAM/ STEM thinking is just one way we bring innovation to life in our SPARQ program.
L E A R N
Standard Matches: Two alliances of two teams each playing against each other Robot Skills Challenge: One robot playing alone against the clock Online Challenges: Unique contests using CAD, animation, essays, and more Visit vexrobotics.com/v5/ competition for more details.
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B8 January 2021 | STEAM
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