The Texas Educational Agency released its 2017 Accountability Ratings, and the top-rated elementary in East Dallas may be a surprise.
Dan D. Rogers Elementary earned the most distinctions, six out of six, of any school in our neighborhood. The Advocate wrote about Rogers’ Principal of the Year Lisa Lovato, who brought in Personalized Learning and grew neighborhood support of the school. Rogers also received all six distinctions last year.
As a district, Dallas ISD did not receive any distinctions, though there were 30 schools that earned all distinctions, after only 17 earned all distinctions last year. One of the schools missing from the list was Woodrow Wilson High School, which earned all seven last year but dropped to six this year.
The ratings are based on standardized test scores and graduation rates, and look at student achievement, student progress, closing the achievement gap and readiness for the next level of education.
See how neighborhood schools have done below, and search the results of all Texas schools here.
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Article courtesy of the Lakewood Advocate

Fore more information on Dan D. Rogers, contact the Rogers Early Childhood PTA

In a major upset, Froot Loops were completely bypassed at the 13th Annual Big Tex Awards, announced at a judging ceremony in the Tower Building on August 27. And yet, one dish won two awards: Props to the Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger, the big winner, earning trophies both for "Most Creative" and for "Best Taste Savory." Winning for "Best Taste Sweet" was Gulf Coast Fish Bowl, a cocktail with blue punch.
The Big Tex Awards, aka the "fried food awards," is the splashy annual event in which concessionaires submit creations they'll serve at the fair that year. The contest has not only become one of the biggest publicity generators for the State Fair, it has lent a modern facade to what was previously a declining, dowdy event. Prior winners have included fried butter and fried Jell-O.
This year, Fair organizers increased the total finalists from 8 to 10. Also for the first time, they handed out three awards, instead of two. Previously, it was "Best Taste" and "Most Creative." This year, they broke the Best Taste category into "Sweet" and "Savory."
Would it be considered a backfire that one dish won two awards? Having one dish win two awards is surely not the outcome they anticipated. Meanwhile, that must be one heckuva Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger.

The full list of finalists included:
Deep Fried Chicken Noodle Soup on a Stick. Homestyle chicken noodle soup deep fried and served on a stick.
Deep Fried Froot Loops. Sweetened Froot Loops folded into marshmallow, dipped in batter, and fried.
Fat Smooth. Three mini cream puffs on a skewer.
Fernie's Fried Texas Sheet Cake. Chocolate brownie cake coated in panko and ground cocoa puffs and fried.
Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger. Burger with bacon and queso on two funnel cake "buns."
Gulf Coast Fish Bowl. A cocktail with blue alcoholic punch served in a round plastic cup that's meant to look like an aquarium.
Pinot Noir Popcorn. Cheddar-cheese flavored kettle corn dusted with a Pinot Noir burgundy wine powder.
Surfin' Turfin' Tator Boat. Baked potato stuffed with lobster and steak.
Texas Fajita Fries. Meat "fries" made of breaded beef fajita strips, seasoned with Sriracha and served in a bread cone.
The Tamale Donut. Pork tamale served in a doughnut shape.

While the additional number of entries amped up the volume, it also threatened to bog down the judging event. To "help move time along," each savory finalist was supposedly randomly selected to be paired with a sweet finalist.
Deep Fried Chicken Noodle Soup on a Stick was paired with Pinot Noir Popcorn. Texas Fajita Fries were paired with Fat Smooth. Surfin' Turfin' Tator Boat was paired with the Gulf Coast Fish Bowl cocktail. The Tamale Donut was paired with the Deep Fried Froot Loops. The two heaviest items, the Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger and the Texas Fried Sheet Cake, were last.
Could the pairings have had an effect on the ultimate winners? That seems like a definite possibility. Nothing against the Tamale Donut, but is it possible it dragged down the Froot Loops, which was surely the rightful winner?

Article courtesy of Culture Map

Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, a personalized learning campus in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), has been named the 2017 winner of the Golden Psi Award by the Board of Educational Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA).
“The committee was most impressed by Rogers’ attention to promoting a positive social environment – mindfulness, social skill development and good decision making – all of which supports child and academic development,” said Tammy Hughes, chair of the Golden Psi Award selection committee.
Rogers was selected in part for its emphasis on positive discipline and encouraging students, teachers and parents to address conflict in a healthy and productive manner. The selection committee was also impressed by Rogers’ focus on school safety, which promotes community development and support.
Mindfulness practices, including deep breathing, focus techniques and yoga were added into the curriculum last year to help students cope with negative emotions, according to Jeanne Juneau, counselor at Rogers Elementary School. Activities from identifying sounds to writing feelings down have helped teachers and students better reflect on their emotions.
“The ultimate goal of our mindfulness implementation is for the students to better self-regulate their emotions,” Juneau said. “This has resulted in fewer reported cases of negative behavior, such as bullying.”
The Golden Psi Award is based on factors that include educational adaptations shown to be appropriate for a school’s demographic makeup, the use of evidence-based interventions, measureable academic and/or social-emotional growth and monitoring of an individual’s or group’s progress.
“The traditional forms of student discipline such as detention do not apply to Rogers,” Hughes said. “At Rogers, discipline is about teaching students, teachers and parents how to communicate their needs to each other properly.”
Rogers received an award trophy and a check presented by the APA for $1,000.

​Article courtesy of The Hub

Many of us just stopped driving down Lower Greenville in 2016. More than a year of construction work to improve the pocked roads made it a traffic nightmare that was best avoided. More and more drivers headed to Skillman or Ross to skip the headache.
“We’ve heard so many neighbors say that,” says Sammy Mandell, owner of Greenville Avenue Pizza Company (GAP Co.).
As a member of the Lowest Greenville Collective, Mandell helped create “Experience Lowest Greenville,” a day of events this Saturday meant to showcase the street and its businesses in a new way. More than 20 neighborhood spots will be offering unique experiences, and the best part is, most of them are free. Want to screen print your own shirt? Head to Bullzerk. Got a sweet tooth? Katherine Clapner of Dude Sweet Chocolate will host chocolate pairings while talking treats during three classes throughout the day (noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.).
“We wanted to do something totally different, some that gave people an experience,” Mandell says. “With most of these, the owner themselves will be doing the experience. That’s really rare, to get to learn from Brooks [Anderson] from Rapscallion or Katherine [Clapner] over at Dude Sweet.”
Some classes, like learning to shuck oysters with Anderson, do have a fee attached ($50 which includes seven oysters, a shucking knife, gloves and a drink). Many also are limited to a certain number of participants, so registration is required to secure your spot. Events will take place from 8 a.m Saturday till 2 a.m. on Sunday (see the full schedule here, including how to sign up for selective classes).

​For full Advocate Article CLICK HERE

It's not about what it is, it’s about what it can become,” says the Lorax, Dr. Seuss’s sneakily radical environmentalist, disguised as a children’s book character. In much the same way that the Lorax saw seeds as trees, East Dallas artist Carrie Sharp sees rocks as canvas for art.
Sharp, who is entirely self-taught, had been quietly painting and selling her rocks for a few years when she decided to up the ante. She posted plans for her first-ever “rock hunt” last Halloween on the “Lakewood, Dallas” Facebook page.
After delicately detailing rocks with hand-painted “Peanuts” comic characters, grinning pumpkins and other spooky designs, she walked the blocks, hiding them for neighborhood children (and art-loving adults) to find. Parents showed their gratitude by posting photos of their grinning kids clutching rocks emblazoned with Snoopy and witches.
She’s planning another hunt, appropriately scheduled around Easter — but more on that later.
Sharp’s path to the paintbrush was winding and unexpected.
Artist Carrie Sharp started on canvas and incorporated rock painting into her pallette. The painter spends about an hour painting each rock, and hides them in local parks for children to find. (Photo by Rasy Ran)While she grew up in Rockwall, most of her weekends were spent at White Rock Lake with family and friends. When she married Little Forest Hills resident Matt Sharp 28 years ago, they made East Dallas their home. College came in fits and starts, but Carrie Sharp earned an associate’s degree in accounting. “Of all things,” she laughs. “I never used it.”

For full Advocate article CLICK HERE