Have some thoughts on what qualities you want in the new Dallas ISD superintendent? There’s another chance to be heard at DISD’s next community meeting seeking input on the position. Save the date for 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 9 in the W.T. White auditorium. It’s one of five meetings around the city.

The Board of Trustees and the district’s search firm, PROACT, are conducting a series of surveys, meetings, personal interviews and focus groups with DISD stakeholders.

Here’s hoping that this meeting has better attendance than the last one in our neighborhood at Midway Hills Christian Church where about 20 people (including reporters) showed up, and everyone stayed at the back of the room.

Can’t make it to the meeting? Take the online survey here.

Apple pie at Tootie Pie Co. - available in time for Christmas at the Preston/Royal location. (Courtesy photo)

Remember way back in in early April when we reported that Tootie Pie Co. was opening one of its Gourmet Cafes at Preston and Royal? I almost forgot about the place until I drove by over the weekend, and to my surprise, the store didn’t look open.

The folks at the corporate office tell me that the full cafe won’t be up and running until January, but you can still order pies and pick them up at that location – even this week in time for Christmas.

The holiday hours are: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 21-23 and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 24. It is closed at all other times.

Tootie Pie is famous for its flaky crusts and fresh fruit fillings. Flavors include apple, buttermilk, coconut, pecan, chocolate and berry, just to name a few. The cafe will feature coffee and tea, bagels, pastries, sandwiches, salads and soups, including its signature red pepper and smoked Gouda.

The new Preston Hollow location is at the southwest corner of Preston and Royal.

The Orpheus Chamber Singers come to Preston Hollow Tuesday night. (Courtesy photo)

The Orpheus Chamber Singers present Carols & Candlelight at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church. It’s the last in the holiday series at area churches, and priority tickets have already sold out. You can still grab regular tickets while they last.

Under artistic director Donald Krehbiel, the choral ensemble performs Christmas carols in a candlelit room, the voices reverberating throughout the sanctuary. The program includes several classic holiday songs that aren’t overplayed yet such as “A Great and Mighty Wonder,” “Wexford Carol” and “Joy in the Morning.”

Tickets are available online for middle to rear seating ad $30 each. Seniors get in for $25, and students are just $5.

Before

Last week, we told you about Preston Hollow resident Leslie Ezelle who donated her design skills to help transform a South Dallas home.

The result was a clean, black and lavender color scheme with new, sleek furniture and textiles. The lucky homeowner was Zakiya Payne.

Ezelle, who was a finalist on HGTV’s “Design Star,” was featured in our October issue for her unique campaign for breast cancer awareness in which she designed a huge metal bra sculpture that popped up at various locations around the Dallas.

After

She did the home maker through the Elves in Disguise program run by New Hope Foundation, which helps impoverished families overcome life’s setbacks. Elves in Disguise provides basic needs like bedding, first aid supplies and toiletries. The public can help by dropping off items noon-6 p.m. at the Empowerment Center. Or call 214.942.6110.

Latin American dancers, singers and musicians perform their native holiday music in Preston Hollow Sunday.

NorthPark Center hosts Treats of Christmas 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday between Nordstrom and Macy’s. The event features handmade cookies, pies and cakes from local chefs. Admission is $10, and proceeds benefit the North Texas Food Bank. Also, did you see CBS 11 News’ piece last night on the NorthPark Santa? He’s still visiting with children through Christmas Eve.

Saturday is the last day to see live reindeer at the Shops at Park Lane’s Reindeer Sightings event. There’s also a Christmas Village and other activities. Donations benefit Scottish Rite Hospital.

The sixth annual Navidad Latinoamericana concerts include a stop at 2 p.m. Sunday at Unity Church of Dallas in Preston Hollow. The show spotlights Latino holiday traditions and musical ensembles.

The Spanish have been making vin ordinaire for what seems like forever, but given that Spanish wine has traditionally been overlooked in the U.S., the only cheap Spanish table wine that most of us know is Sangre de Toro.

Which is too bad, since the company behind Protocolo does a more than decent job as well. The red was a little boring — mostly fruit that had been too heavily handled, though not nearly as overdone as some. The Blanco ($7, sample, 12 1/2 percent alcohol, widely available), on the other hand, was a nice little surprise in the midst of holiday wine tasting. It’s made with two Spanish grapes — airén and macabeo, which is also used to make cava. The Blanco had a little lemon fruit, some earthiness and even a bit of minerality, though not as much acid as I expected. This was probably because it was a previous vintage; even so, it held up well.

Chill this and keep a bottle handy for wine with dinner (chicken comes to mind, though takeout that’s not too spicy would work, too). It’s mostly a warm weather wine, but I’m not going to pass up a chance to drink good cheap wine just because it’s cooler in December.

Every Friday in December, you can grab lunch at not just one but a fleet of food trucks in one spot. They’ll stop 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Shops at Park Lane off Park Lane and Central Expressway.

The next dates are Dec. 16, 23 and 30. You view the full schedule here. Food truck participants include all the popular chefs: Gennarino’s, Jack’s Chowhound, Greenhouse Truck, Ssahm BBQ, 3 Men and a Taco, Trailcakes, Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe and Nammi.

Pet lovers have been re-routed to a small, temporary space next door as City Pet Life undergoes a full renovation on its store at Preston and Royal. There are plans to re-open by Thursday after adding a full-service veterinary clinic with City Vet, the shop’s parent company.

The expansion also includes a pharmacy, prescription pet food and holistic services. The store will continue to offer grooming services and pet supplies, including toys, crates, carriers, accessories and more.

A neighborhood high school and middle school are on the state’s “unacceptable” list due to results of the Texas Education Agency TAKS testing conducted in 2010-2011.

Hillcrest High School and Franklin Middle School join 43 DISD campuses on the latest list of underperforming schools. (Test results are listed in detail below. And if you’re a misery-loves-company type, Woodrow Wilson High School and J.L. Long Middle School in Lakewood/East Dallas also are listed as “unacceptable”.)

Also, remember that all it takes for a school to be on the list is for one subgroup (African-American, Hispanic, white, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, “two or more races” or “economically disadvantaged”) to perform below 50 percent passing on Reading, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies or the tests combined in two of the past three years. A quick glance at the numbers for each school, for example, doesn’t show any subgroups below the 50 percent line this year, indicating that the “unacceptable” ranking is likely a carry-over from a subgroup’s performance last year.

In fact, the TAKS results show progress in most of the subgroup categories year-over-year, so even though both schools are headed in the right direction, they’re still tagged with an “unacceptable” rating.

As I have told myself and anyone else who would listen over the years, our public schools have a lot of challenges, and the test results simply point out the disparities in who is learning what each year. Your kid and mine can still get a great education in any of these schools, even if they’re sitting next to other kids who aren’t doing as well — and it can be absolutely no fault of the instructors or administrators.

The school and its instructors can only do so much — if a parent isn’t holding a kid accountable at home, that kid is just about guaranteed to be on the wrong end of these statistics every time. And there are enough family units that fit this description every year that it’s a big hole to dig out of — and apparently, the hole was a little too big last year.

You can review the results straight from TEA by clicking on each school’s name:

Hillcrest

Franklin

The Family Place’s annual Partners Card campaign brought in a record-breaking $1,040,937 during the 10-day shopping event. The neighborhood nonprofit exceeded last year’s amount of $1 million.

The campaign, which ran Oct. 28-Nov. 6, involved local businesses that offered discounts to those who shopped with the Partners Card, which was purchased for $60 each. All proceeds benefited victims of domestic violence. More than 750 stores and restaurants participated.

The Family Place has a resale shop in Preston Hollow, which is another avenue for fundraising. We featured it in our December issue about gifts that give back.

“The situations we have seen in families seeking help this year have been overwhelming,” says executive director Paige Flink. “The results from this campaign help support the life and death services provided at The Family Place. With our goal of not turning away clients who need safety, these funds will help close the funding gap we have for 2011.”

The Family Place provides resources for domestic violence victims who have fled dangerous living conditions and are working to restart their lives, usually without money and few possessions. Over the past 34 years, the organization has counseled more than 175,000 through outreach programs and has provided shelter to more than 18,000 women and children.