By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 8B The Wilmer-Hutchins schools have lost the final appeal of their death sentence. The U.S. Department of Justice, in a letter to state officials Monday, said it would not object to the permanent dissolution of Wilmer-Hutchins. That clears the way for the district to be dissolved into Dallas ISD […]
Year: 2005
Column: If home-schooling counts, make it accountable
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B While other kids sat in their classrooms this fall, Roger’s 13-year-old granddaughter was roaming around the West Coast with her mother, staying up late and following their favorite band on tour. “I think they’re still somewhere around California,” he told me a few days ago. “I think they […]
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Hundreds mourn fallen FW officer; Kid who played cops and robbers became dedicated policeman
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B FORT WORTH – Hank Nava used to serve on the Fort Worth Police Department’s honor guard, the men and women who stand at perfect attention at the funerals of their fellow officers. “He always knew death was a possibility,” said his former partner on the force, Mike Montgomery. […]
Districts wanted more from court; While some thrilled, many fear funding won’t be boosted
By Holly K. Hacker and Joshua Benton Staff Writers Page 17A The mixed ruling from the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday prompted equally mixed reactions from Dallas-area school districts. As to how the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling will affect classrooms, stay tuned. The court ruled that part of the state’s $30 billion-a-year school finance system […]
TAKS welcomes three new additions to the family; Tests are state’s attempt to satisfy federal special-ed requirements
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B The TAKS test is only three years old, so it may seem a bit young to be starting a family. But the state’s main standardized test is preparing to welcome three new tests into the world: TAKS-I, TAKS-M and TAKS-Alt. And you thought there were already enough acronyms […]
Missing: 20,000 standardized tests; Of statewide total, DISD leads in exams lost, mostly TAKS
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B More than 20,000 copies of state tests – supposedly kept under lock and key – disappeared from Texas schools this spring, according to state data. Dallas schools lost more than 7,000 test documents, more than any other district in the state. State officials say they are reconsidering their […]
Column: Doesn’t take a genius to see that China’s catching up
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B SHANGHAI – Bill Gates has a question he likes to ask when he talks about globalization: Twenty years ago, would you rather have been a B student in Poughkeepsie or a genius in Shanghai? And how about today? (Texans can substitute Mesquite or Waco for Poughkeepsie, if it […]
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Students: Dress not offensive; Some say high school’s theme days crossed racial line
By Joshua Benton, Scott Farwell, and Kristen Holland Staff Writers Page 1B Students at Highland Park High School dressed as gang members, rap stars, maids and yard workers this month during homecoming week – a tradition one Dallas civil-rights leader says is racially insensitive. On senior Thug Day, students wore Afro wigs, fake gold teeth […]
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Column: TAKS push not so equal
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B Sometimes it takes an outsider. Something you’ve seen a thousand times may seem as normal as heat in a Texas summer – until someone new stops in and points out just how wrong it is. That’s how I felt when I read an academic paper by Jennifer Booher-Jennings, […]
Funds misspent, school audit finds; Money for kids used for love seat, locksmith
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B A baritone horn from a pawnshop. A $7,700 set of murals. A pizza crisper, cookie-dough scoops, and a Queen Anne love seat for the principal’s office. According to state auditors, those are some of the ways Wilmer-Hutchins officials spent more than $270,000 in federal education funds – money […]
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