Robert E. Lee Elementary students returned for the fall to a larger and updated school.
A wing with 12 new classrooms and a science lab with new equipment recently was added to the school, says Dave Patton, division executive for DISD’s Facilities Bond Program Department, which oversees school construction projects.
The new wing means the numerous portables on the school’s property will be removed and the students will get their playground back, Patton says.
Lee’s construction is just one of many projects that will be happening in our neighborhood during the next two years. DISD passed a $275 million bond program in December 1992 to fund construction projects throughout the district, Patton says.
Two new schools will be built to relieve overcrowding at Bonham and Fannin Elementaries. Currently, students from these schools are bused to Reinhardt Elementary to help alleviate overcrowding, Patton says.
The first of the two schools will open in August 1996 at the site of the former Merchant Bank Building at Ross and Henderson. The building will house a learning center for students in the fourth through sixth grades.
Learning centers provide enhanced curriculums with an emphasis on music, art, science and computers, Patton says. There will also be a smaller teacher-to-student ratio of one to 18.
The second school will open in August 1997. The old Health Magnet on Ross will also be converted to a learning center for fourth through sixth graders.
The Health Magnet program was moved to the new Townview Center, which opened last month and serves as a state-of-the-art central location for most of the district’s high school magnet programs.
A new school also will be built at La Vista and East Grand to alleviate overcrowding at Lipscomb and Mount Auburn Elementaries, Patton says.
Lipscomb and Mount Auburn will probably be converted to pre-kindergarten through third grade schools and the new school, which will accept 800 students, will serve fourth through sixth graders, Patton says.
When all construction is completed, DISD will have 16 new schools, and many more schools will have received renovations and additions, Patton says.
But the construction addresses only the district’s immediate needs, Patton says. Each year, DISD is growing at a rate of 3,000 new students.
“I think as we open these new schools, people are going to be coming back,” Patton says. “When people see a new school, they want to go to it.”
News & Notes
SCHOOLS IMPROVE ATTENDANCE: Five neighborhood schools received cash awards from DISD for improved student attendance during the last school year. Alex W. Spence Middle School received $8,873; J.L. Long Middle School received $4,201; Lakewood Elementary received $3,703; James B. Bonham Elementary received $3,679; and Alex Sanger Elementary received $3,561. The awards are presented as an incentive to improve attendance rates.
DISD RATED BY STATE AGENCY: The Texas Education Agency recently rated DISD schools based on 1995 spring scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test, attendance and dropout rates. A school could be rated exemplary, recognized, acceptable or low performing.
Neighborhood school Victor H. Hexter Elementary, 9720 Waterview Road, rated recognized. All other neighborhood schools rated acceptable, except for Woodrow Wilson High School and J.L. Long Middle School, which received low performance ratings due to Hispanic dropout rates above six percent.
Recognized schools have an attendance rate of at least 94 percent and a dropout rate of 3.5 percent or less. At least 70 percent of the students not in special education must pass each section of the TAAS. In each grade, at least 70 percent of the students must also pass.
Acceptable schools also have an attendance rate of at least 94 percent and a dropout rate of six percent or less. At least 25 percent of the students must pass each section of the TAAS, as well as 25 percent of students at each grade level.
CHAMBER HELPS STUDENTS GO BACK TO SCHOOL: The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee, chaired by Ron Burch of Whiteside Associates, is holding an ongoing drive for students who can’t afford school supplies. The supplies and hygiene products will be given to nurses and social workers for distribution to needy students. Items needed include toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, combs, hairbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, paper, pencils, crayons, notebooks and pens. Donations can be made at the chamber’s monthly meetings at the Lakewood Country Club or at the chamber office, 6301 Gaston in the First Interstate Bank building. For information, call Burch at 828-4300.
AFTER-SCHOOL CARE: The East Dallas YMCA is registering students at Lakewood, Dan D. Rogers and L.L. Hotchkiss elementaries for its after-school programs.
The programs, which are held in school cafeterias, provide children with a snack and supervised activities from the time school ends until 6 p.m.
Registration for the program is $25. For YMCA members, the program costs $36 per week. Non-members pay $48 a week.
Call 824-8139 for information.
FACULTY HONORED AT BISHOP LYNCH: Two neighborhood residents on the faculty at Bishop Lynch High School, 9750 Ferguson, recently were recognized for their achievements.
Kit Hoolan Sawyer, a Bishop Lynch graduate in 1977 and a teacher at the school for 13 years, received the 1995 Alumnus of the Year Award. Under Sawyer’s direction, the Bishop Lynch Student Foundation has been awarded grants by the Meadows Foundation totaling more than $11,000, and the group was nominated as a 1995 Volunteer of the Year by the Volunteer Center of Dallas. Sawyer also serves on the curriculum council, the faculty council and is a department chair.
Jim McIntyre, a freshmen academic advisor, was awarded a Meadows Fellowship by the Meadows Foundation for a 15-month program in Educational Administration at East Texas State University in Commerce. McIntyre is a 1987 graduate of Bishop Lynch and a former government teacher.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EVENTS: The Lakewood Early Childhood PTA, a group for parents with young children, starts the school year with a luncheon and fashion show featuring pre-school clothing from the Children’s Collection. The meeting is scheduled Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. at Lakewood Country Club, Abrams and Gaston. The PTA also will host a Decadent Dessert Party for potential new members Sept. 7 at 6523 Lakewood Blvd. On Sept. 14, the PTA is hosting an outing to Lakewood Park on Williamson Road at 11 a.m. Parents should bring a picnic lunch. Play groups will be organized. In the case of rain, the event will be rescheduled. For information, call Violet Deatherage at 821-6836.
