27 Apr 2010
Dallas Independent School District honored its top volunteers during the April 22 meeting of the Board of Trustees. Outstanding Volunteer Award recipients were recognized April 22 during the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees meeting. The honorees represent just a few of the many dedicated volunteers and partners. As of the week of April 19, the district's online reporting system has recorded 22,587 volunteers and 1,505 partner contributions on campuses throughout the district for the 2009-10 school year.
Virginia Greene, the local campus volunteer and partner coordinator for Celestino Mauricio Soto Elementary, received the 2009 Outstanding Partnership Coordinator Award. Greene's efforts resulted in the greatest percentage of overall volunteer use, a high ratio of volunteers per student in the volunteer program and documented partnership contributions.
Malena DeLeon, a full-time volunteer at Raul Quintanilla Middle School, received the 2009 Outstanding Secondary School Volunteer. DeLeon is at the school every day, making copies, decorating boards, monitoring hallways, serving as office receptionist and tutoring. Always willing to help where needed, her work allows teachers and staff to concentrate their efforts on the students.
Margie Quintal, a volunteer at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary, received the 2009 Outstanding Elementary School Volunteer. Quintal has been credited with fostering improved volunteerism through her hard work, dedication, upbeat demeanor, patience and courtesy. Her great-granddaughter, Mikayla Derrick, is the third generation of her family to attend Reilly. (Photo: MargieQuintal.
The Mercy Street Mentor Program was named 2009 Outstanding Partner. For more than 12 years, the program provides teacher and student incentives, sponsors educational field trips, mentors and makes home visits to reduce truancy during TAKS testing. Mercy Street provides 225 mentors at Thomas A. Edison Middle Learning Center alone, and more than 500 volunteers where West Dallas students are enrolled. Many of the mentors were assigned to students in the fourth grade, and will follow them through high school graduation. Mercy Street partnered with Watermark Church, which recently secured more than 400 church volunteers who spruced up the school. (Photo: MercyStreetMentor.
Metroplex Garden Design, whose employees volunteer at Harry C. Withers Elementary, was named 2009 Outstanding Business Partner. For nearly 10 years, the company supported its employee and parent Doug Wolfe by providing volunteers, funds and resources to rehabilitate the entire exterior of the school, including the creation of an outdoor learning garden. (Photo: MetroplexGardenDesign.
Little Kids Rock! was presented the 2009 Extra Mile Award. The organization began working in
Dallas ISD in 2007, with a workshop for 24 teachers who received 500 guitars to start a program in their schools. Since then, Little Kids Rock! has provided 2,000 guitars, 300 keyboards and stands, 40 drum sets and three annual workshops with training and curriculum for 120 teachers. More than 8,500 students in 85 schools have been touched by the program. Representatives from the organization will receive the award at the Dallas Little Kids Rock! JAM Summit in May.
St. Simon's After-School Program received the Superintendent's Award. St. Simon's works with students ages 5-9 whose families qualify for free lunch, and who do not have adults available to care for them after school. The students are provided a safe place, a nutritional snack and encouragement and assistance with academic and social development. The program has been successfully serving families for more than 50 years.
"Dallas ISD is pioneering a college readiness warning system and we are proud to lend our support to it," in announcing a $3.77 million grant.