Dallas ISD launches 'Lit Initiative' to recover from learning loss during pandemic

Dallas ISD says core subjects like reading saw a drop of almost 6% on the STAAR test from 2019 to 2021. So the district is launching its new ‘Lit Initiative’ with a focus on literacy to help students catch up.

North Texas pediatric hospitals seeing spike in COVID-19 cases among kids

The delta variant is causing a huge pediatric surge that is similar to November 2020, right before the massive spike at Christmas time. Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth is reporting case numbers at rates not seen since February. While the numbers are small compared with the population, it is the increase that has doctors concerned.

EPA alerts Garland ISD about potential lead concerns near elementary school

Late Sunday evening, Garland ISD acknowledged for the first time that the EPA has alerted the district of a potential environmental hazard. The hazard is related to the Globe-Union battery manufacturing plant. The EPA found elevated levels of lead near the banks of a creek outside the fence of Park Crest Elementary.

Zaila Avant-garde breezes to National Spelling Bee win

Whether dribbling a basketball or identifying obscure Latin or Greek roots, Zaila Avant-garde doesn't show much stress.

Chicago mom and her 3 kids graduate this year: ‘A long time in the making’

The 2021 graduation season has been a busy one for Chicago mom Alisa Perry Johnson. All three of her children graduated this year -- and so did Perry Johnson herself.

Child advocacy groups closely watching agenda for upcoming Texas special session

Child advocacy groups say they made some headway on childcare and healthcare for families during the 2021 legislative session. Now, they’re looking ahead to the special session and beyond with a lot of unknowns.

DeSoto ISD to give $3k bonus to all current, new employees

DeSoto ISD is giving a $3,000 bonus for all current and new employees. Beyond that, there are even more ways teachers can get much larger checks this year.

Frisco teen selected for Apple scholarship after creating skin cancer app

A 16-year-old student from Frisco was accepted into Apple's prestigious scholarship program after creating an app that warns about the dangers of skin cancer.

Virtual learning negatively impacted STAAR test scores, results show

Across the state, the failure rate for the reading portion of the STAAR test increased by 4% compared with 2019, and it was 16% higher on the math portion. Nearly 4 out of 10 students are not even close to being ready for the next grade. The biggest impact was felt by virtual learners.

State of Texas to invest $94.6M to support higher education

The state will be investing $94.6 million in addition to the $175 million Abbott allocated last year to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Dallas Mayor's Back to School Fair will help families for a 25th year

The Dallas Mayor’s Back to School Fair program started 25 years ago serving 1,000 families. It now supports more than 35,000 families.

Dallas high school valedictorian becomes third sibling in his family to graduate top of class

Noah Macias followed in the footsteps of his older brother and sister to finish first in his class. He is the third valedictorian from his family in the past five years from Sunset High School.