Spotlight on Conrad High School

Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Dan Micciche, District 3

There are countless wonderful things happening in Dallas ISD, the most improved school district in the state. I want to dedicate today’s column to highlighting some of the amazing happenings at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Vickery Meadow.  

The students at Conrad come from all over the world. They speak more than 50 languages. Almost a third of the students in last year’s graduation class were refugees.  

Last year, Conrad ranked as the number one comprehensive high school on the district’s School Effectiveness Index. Conrad also earned three distinctions from the Texas Education Agency: Academic Growth, Math and Post-Secondary Readiness. 

Conrad boasts a leading collegiate program with more than 90 percent of juniors on track with their graduation plan. Conrad Global H-TECH at Richland College is an early college program that is tailor-made for students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

Conrad’s five NAF (National Academy Foundation) academies, Hospitality and Tourism, Finance, Engineering, Information Technology and Health Science, were recognized for their outstanding work. Conrad is only the second school in the nation to have earned all five Distinguished Academies. Thank you to students from the Academy of Business and Finance who provided free tax preparation to the Vickery Meadows community. Congratulations to the students in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism who have been selected to present their Breakfast Battle Project at the 2019 NAF Benefit in New York City next month.

I would like to thank our incredible community partners who help make the Conrad school such a success: BDO, Capital One, Children’s Health, Cisco, Corporate Counsel, Courtyard by Marriott, Dallas/Ft. Worth Semiconductor and Technology Council, Dave & Busters, E.A.G.L.E. Scholars, El Centro Junior College, Fairmont Dallas, GameStop, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Magnin & Associates, Magnolia Hotels, Medical City Dallas Hospital, Metrocare, NAAIA, National Videogame Museum. Richland College, SMU, SMU Guildhall, STEMuli Education, Texas A&M, Texas Instruments, TransAmerica, UNT Dallas, Pegasus Bank, UT Dallas, UT Southwestern and Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation. Special thank you to Martha Stowe, board member of Conrad’s NAF-Partners, Collegiate Academy Steering Committee member, and much more. 

Congratulations to students Adrienne Kelly and Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi, recipients of the Junior League of Dallas’  Women LEAD Scholarship. These bright young women took first and second place, respectively. This scholarship empowers female high school students in pursuing their dreams of higher education and creates opportunities for future women leaders.  

Congrats to “The Golden Threat” winners of the district’s 2019 Cooking Up Change Challenge. Six teams developed lunch menus deemed to be nutritiously sound, fantastically tasty and cost effective. Students Maria Cruz, Nicolas Leon and Leidy Morales wowed judges with their dishes and won a paid trip to the Texas Restaurant Association’s conference this summer in Houston. 

2nd Annual Trash Dash

On the path to building tradition for the community through environmental and social engagement, Conrad will host its 2nd annual 5K Trash Dash Walk at Fair Oaks Park at 8:30 a.m., May 11. Please register at trashdash5k.com.

Kudos

Congratulations to the nationally recognized robotics teams from Casa View Elementary and Sanger Preparatory on their first-place victories at the US Open National VEX Robotics Championship in Iowa earlier this month. 

Best of luck to Casa View and Sanger Elementary, and Robert T. Hill Middle School’s robotics teams as they advance to the robotics world championship taking place next month in Kentucky. 

Congratulations to the 2019 Superintendent Scholarship Award recipients, Angel Stepp and Ethan Walters from BA, and Rooha Hagharmehdiabadi and Leidy Morales from Conrad. 

Kudos to the BA Clean FreaX for coming in third place at state and advancing to the Global Finals of the Destination Imagination Tournament taking place in May.

Congratulations to Gaston Middle School students Rosa Rivas and Maribel Deleon who won first place at the regional national History Day competition with their project on Shakespeare. Best of luck as they advance to the state championship. 

Finally, I would like to thank all of District 3’s community partners for your invaluable support of our schools and students. And congratulations to the Dallas ISD 2019 Volunteer and Partner Awards finalists from District 3: Veronica Valles at Hexter Elementary nominated for Volunteer of the Year for Classroom Support, Ernst & Young at Larry Smith Elementary nominated for Outstanding Business Partner, Focus on Teens at BA nominated for Outstanding Non-Profit Partner and White Rock United Methodist Church nominated for Outstanding Faith-Based Partner.