The education committee of the Dallas Northeast Chamber of Commerce wants to connect business people with students in the Dallas and Richardson school districts.
Headed by Chairman Ron Burch, the committee is recruiting volunteers for a speaker’s bureau designed to introduce a professional perspective to classrooms.
A veteran of the Dallas real estate market and agent with Coldwell Banker Whiteside Associates, Burch has been a volunteer speaker at schools for two years. His specialty is mathematics and its connection to real estate.
“Sometimes it’s hard to make the students understand how what they’re learning will relate to the business world,” Burch says.
“Sometimes if they can see a business professional explain why certain topics are important, it will help them to learn.”
The speaker’s bureau is expected to start putting volunteers in classrooms in January. Burch and Jane Didear, a DISD communications specialist, have been working since August to sign up individuals from the vast pool of Dallas-area professionals.
Once the initial recruitment process comes to a close in December, the committee and school districts will compile a list of participants and send packets of information about each speaker to neighborhood school principals. Speakers will cover a range of topics, from their role in the business world to personal experiences and hobbies, Didear says.
“There are so many areas of expertise in the area that this program will be beneficial not only to the students, but also to the teachers,” she says. “The teachers will now have a resource they can tap to help them help the students understand their lessons.”
Neighborhood resident Lynda Ender, one of the 15 business people enrolled in the program, has agreed to speak to students about state government.
As the regional coordinator for State Sen. David Cain in Dallas, she enjoys sharing her job experiences.
“We all have lots of knowledge that can enrich the learning experience,” she says. “And I am glad I have the opportunity to lend the knowledge I have to people who can really be benefited by it.”
Applications and guidelines are available through the chamber office, 718 N. Buckner, Ste. 332. Or, for further information, contact Burch at 214-828-4300.
NEWS & NOTES
Excellence In Education: Alex W. Spence Middle School-Academy was one of 24 Dallas Public Schools to be recognized for exceeding expectations last school year. Each of the 24 winning schools will receive $2,000 for their school activity fund, plus $1,000 cash awards for professional staff and $500 for support personnel. In addition, the schools will receive an award and the 1997 Flag of Excellence.
Woodrow Improves Attendance: Fifty-four Dallas Public Schools will receive more than $400,000 in cash awards for improved student attendance during the 1996-97 school year. The largest award, of about $19,000, went to Woodrow Wilson High School.
New SMU Students: Seven Lakewood-area students are among the 1,251 first-year students at Southern Methodist University this fall. They are: Sarah Davis, Melissa De La Garza, Dovie Harris, Ian Lyon, Michael Ricketts, Andrew Robbins and Michael Xuereb.
Band Clinic: World-renowned musician and composer Wynton Marsalis recently conducted a band clinic for 110 students at Spence Middle School. He also visited several classrooms and the cafeteria. The visit was sponsored by Southern Methodist University.
New Additions: As part of the Microsoft/Toshiba “Anytime, Anywhere Learning” program, Liberty Christian High deployed 65 laptops to the new students in the school. The 79 returning students received upgrades to Microsoft Office97. Liberty recently received the software needed to enable students to access library information from any classroom internationally. Liberty also has added three teachers to its staff: Gloria Hook, Letha Harshman and Frances Cooper.
Vision Program: The Vision program for Dallas Public Schools is looking for monetary support to provide visually-impaired students the opportunity to participate in a specially-designed karate program. A black belt instructor with experience teaching the physically challenged has agreed to teach the class. For more information, call Julie Glover at 972-982-1218.
Computer Donation: The Bradfield Computing Lab of Southern Methodist University, following an upgrade, has donated 10 computers to the journalism lab at Woodrow Wilson High School. These computers are all compatible with the systems being used in the lab.
Invention Fair: Nearly 70 students entered inventions in the Hamilton Park Magnet Invention Fair, which celebrates the process of recognizing and solving a problem through creative thinking. First-place winners for kindergarten through sixth grade are: Karin Claussen, Luke Ruatta, Leigh Pierson, Zein Nakhoda, Katherine Moffett, Angelina Upshaw, Sam Claussen, Alex May and Austin Dennis. These winners advanced to the district competition held at Berkner High School in November.
Commended Students: Woodrow Wilson seniors Sarah Shepherd and Michael Green have been named “commended students” in the 1998 National Merit Scholarship Program, which means they placed among the five percent of more than a million students who entered the 1998 Merit Program by taking the 1996 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Homecoming Court: These students were elected to the Homecoming Court during the Woodrow Wilson Wildcats’ victorious Homecoming game against the Samuell Spartans: Juan Santana, king; Lupita Macius, queen; Edgar Lopez, prince; Maria Ubina, princess; George Davila, count; Sylvia Galindo, countess; Rolando Hernandez, duke; Yvette Gonzales, duchess.
Sanger Stars: Students at Sanger Elementary are working on a community service project of collecting pennies to help needy children this Christmas. Each grade is raising money for a different child.
