Education
Preston Hollow Elementary was one of 16 schools in the state to be a Texas Reading First Demonstration School. Last year, schools from all over the state were invited to visit the school to observe effective instructional practice in reading. The school awarded 12 teachers with all-expense-paid state conference passes and donated $38,000 for reading materials to the library and classrooms.
Sharon Sandahl, a counselor at Preston Hollow Elementary School, was recognized two out of the last three years with the state CREST Award (Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas). This award is given by the Texas School Counselors Association.
Nineteen students from the W.T. White High School choir competed at the state UIL competition at the University of Texas. They racked up several awards in addition to the UIL Sweepstakes awards earlier in May. Of those 19 students, Griselda Cortez, Brittney Sewell, Jade Watkins, Caine Frederique, Juan Aguinaga and Racquel Jones were the six to receive first division medals.
Victoria Robinson of W.T. White was one of seven Dallas ISD students to receive the 2011 Mayor’s Chesapeake Energy scholarship. She is in the top 10 percent of her class at W.T. White and participates in several clubs, such as the LEAN mentoring program and National Honor Society. She plans to attend Texas State University and wants to become an anesthesiologist.
Will Wakefield of Franklin Middle School competed with more than 1,200 other students at the Texas National History Day contest, receiving a distinguished achievement award and second place in the oral history division for his documentary, “M14 vs. M16”. The competition, which is in its 31st year, involves elementary and secondary students who report on historical topics and present their research in various forms.
Barrett Cole of Hillcrest High School won first place in the “Retail as Art” competition hosted by UCR Realty for her photograph “Untitled”. The contest had more than 100 submissions from across Dallas ISD. A panel of judges selected the top three finalists, which included second- and third-place winners Tori Baker and Jessica Quezada of Booker T. Washington.
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