As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 164,500 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 19,234 employees including 10,500 teachers in 218 schools.
5 Oct 2001
TEXAN /RUSSIAN ART EXCHANGE OPENS DOORS OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN CHILDREN
DALLAS—There is a fine line between imagination and reality, and teacher Don Lawrence is counting on it to highlight the best of two cultures. Lawrence is an art teacher at J. W. Ray Learning Center. After a study of Russia, his students will draw pictures of how they perceive life in that country. On the other hand, their Russian counterparts will create art which depicts life in the United States, as they imagine it.
"Russia and Texas Through the Eyes of Russian and American Children" is the brainchild of DISD Distance Learning Specialist Tatiana Zimakova and J. W. Ray art teacher Don Lawrence. They have worked with Pavel Shevelev, an art teacher in Moscow, to facilitate the exchange.
Lawrence and Zimakova sent books, magazines and films to Russian students to provide them with visual materials. They also sent drawing paper. The Dallas students have begun making sketches for their final works based on information the students have acquired from DISD-produced videos on Russian history, art and culture.
The students' work will be exhibited in Dallas from December through February and in Moscow from March through May. Awards will be presented to district participants at the Russian Festival sponsored by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs on February 24 at the Majestic Theater. Former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev and the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States Yuri Ushakov will deliver a message of appreciation to the students during the ceremony.
Photo Opportunity: Teacher Don Lawrence welcomes visitors to his art class at J. W. Ray Learning Center where students are working on preliminary sketches of their work. The school is located at 2211 Caddo St.