PUBLIC SCHOOL CRUSADERS

W.T. White’s biggest advocates don’t have children in school. Why do they care?

By ELISSA CHUDWIN

Photos by RASY RAN

The 50th anniversary commemoration isn’t until 2020, but Louisa Meyer already made the save the dates. They aren’t for a wedding or an institution, and she isn’t even celebrating for that matter.

The anniversary is for W.T. White High School Portable Classroom No. 033. Nearly 50 years ago, Dallas ISD placed it behind the campus to temporarily relieve the overcrowded school. It’s still there, however, and one of 32 portable classrooms waiting to be replaced.

Meyer is part of the W.T. White community that rallied this past year to argue for more funding and swifter action to relieve the high school’s overcrowding and update its 50-year-old campus. W.T. White and its feeder schools are somewhat unique in DISD to draw this kind of grassroots advocacy.

What makes it even more unique is that the loudest voices in this effort, Meyer among them, are not recent graduates or staff members. They don’t even have children at the school, although they are parents.

The ones who attended DISD board meetings and analyzed data, who established the Renovate W.T. White Facebook Page and petitioned the administration, aren’t directly impacted by district policy. Their children already attend college or have started their careers. That hasn’t made them care any less, though.

“The gist of it, to me, is we ended up loving the schools, and because of that, we got involved,” says Lee Higginbotham, who founded the Dads Clubs at Marsh Preparatory Academy and W.T. White. His wife, Melissa, runs DallasKidsFirst, an organization that monitors school board policies and supports candidates they deem qualified during the election.

Roughly two dozen former W.T. White parents advocate for the school district and the high school in some capacity, whether it’s serving on a committee or simply volunteering in the feeder pattern.

“I think their common thread is their kids went to DISD, their kids got a really solid education and went on to solid colleges and universities,” says North Dallas DISD trustee Edwin Flores. “We have all been in a room where we mention we sent our kids to Dallas public schools, and someone gives us a look like we have horns and fangs, and Child Protective Services should be called because we’re awful parents.”

Meyer’s sons graduated from W.T. White in 2006 and 2010, and to say she’s remained involved in DISD is an understatement.

“This is my community,” she says. “This is my family. These are the people I love being with.”

Meyer is a member of W.T. White’s committee that advises the principal and launched the “I Will Graduate” campaign to give every DISD student a T-shirt with their future graduation date — all in addition to working on Portable No. 033’s anniversary.

If all goes well, the commemoration may be canceled. Sixteen of the portables are being removed this June when the construction of a 30-classroom wing is completed. W.T. White and other North Dallas schools will receive additional construction updates sooner than initially scheduled because of the community’s determination, Flores says.

“It’s because they’re effective, they stick to it.” miles from Carrollton to the high school to volunteer, even though they’re empty-nesters.

Influencing policy isn’t the only factor that has motivated former parents to stick around. They form connections with the students, something that’s been hard for Cathy Hodge to shake. She is W.T. White’s senior liaison overseeing student activities, but she first was introduced to the school in the late 1990s when her children enrolled there.

“After now having kids in high school, maybe I have something to offer after this experience,” Painter says.

Chuck Stewart started roaming W.T. White’s stands with a camera because he was a terrible fan. Photography is the Dallas Morning News multiplatform design editor’s hobby, and snapping photos was an effective tactic to keep him from ostracizing the referees. Seeing so many athletes without parents in attendance bothered him, so he started to dole out his work to the students as mementos.

“It’s heartbreaking to see these kids in the game without anybody in the stands,” Stewart says. “I’m trying to be a bonus dad and be there for the kids.”

The teens who may not have someone to advocate for them makes their efforts worth it, and it only benefits the community, several say.

“I always felt parent involvement made a huge difference, no matter where you went,” Painter says.

Our Neighborhood

By LAUREN LAW

Partying for the future

Junior Assembly brings eighth-graders from private schools together to get to know each other before high school

Many children in the Preston Hollow area may have attended the same private schools for 10 years or more, from pre-k to eighthgrade. Moving on to high school for these eighth-graders can be daunting, but the idea of going to a completely new high school and meeting new kids can also be exciting.

To help ease this transition, a group of Dallas parents formed Junior Assembly of North Dallas back in the 1940s, to provide an opportunity for their eighth-graders attending private school to meet their future classmates in a safe and fun setting.

The membership base has evolved over the years and includes a little over 500 kids from Christ the King Catholic School, Good Shepherd Episcopal School, Prince of Peace Catholic School, St. Monica Catholic School, Alcuin School, St. Rita Catholic School as well as a few other parochial and private schools in Lakewood and East Dallas — St. John’s Episcopal School, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and Lakehill Prep. Other Junior Assembly (JA) organizations have also been formed that include other private schools in the area.

JA is a completely volunteer-based organization and is run by parent sponsors who form a board and represent each school, including a president, secretary and treasurer. The participating school parents divide up and the teams plan and coordinate parties throughout the year beginning in the fall and finishing in the spring of each eighth-grade year. Participating school parents are also asked to attend the parties to help chaperone.

Junior Assembly of North Dallas President Tara DePompei says, “Being involved in JA is opening up a new world not only for my son but for me as well. Many of these kids have been togeth- schools to be able to join in the fun,” says Christy Wilson, JA treasurer. er since they were 3 years old and are excited about what’s coming next. It’s nice to be part of this transition to help our eighth-graders and those from other schools to meet, as well as to help me and other moms and parents from these other schools get connected.”

Prior to each party, the team members meet monthly beginning after the school year starts and get busy planning the parties — agreeing on a theme, designing invitations, finding the venue, planning the food, arranging for DJs and security and choosing the attire.

The first party of this school year was held at the Frontiers of Flight Museum and was a Jerseys and Jeans theme, which had been successfully done during past JA years. Since this was the party where all the students would meet for the first time, the party coordinators helped break the ice. Each attendee was given a person, place or thing sticker and they were to find their counterpart within the crowd (salt/pepper hot/cold, up/down, left/ right, east/west, etc.). Once the matches were made, the kids were entered for a chance to win iTunes gift cards.

For those eighth-graders who unable to pay the three-party fee, scholarships are available and families do take advantage of this offering each year. “We want all eighth-graders in the participating

“We wanted the icebreaker to be a fun way for the kids to meet each other without being intimidating. We feel it was a success and helped integrate more of the kids together,” says Cheri Auletta, Prince of Peace mom and one of the party one coordinators.

The second party was held at Edison’s Dallas, a 15,000-square-foot venue east of downtown Dallas. The theme, as in previous years, was Winter Wonderland and included heavy appetizers, snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, a wintry photography set and, of course, a DJ. Each participant was handed an individually wrapped snowflake cookie as they were picked up by parents.

The final party took place last month at Group Dynamix, an athletic venue where the kids can play glow-in-the-dark dodge ball and bow tag, fly down a zipline or climb a coconut tree.

“A lot of the things available at this venue encourage team building and will help solidify the relationships that they will carry on to high school,” says Christy Reed, St. Rita mom and one of the party three coordinators.

Junior Assembly isn’t all fun and games. Most private schools require students to do some level of community service each year, so the board decided to put a charitable spin on the last two

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parties. Participants were asked to bring canned foods or other dry goods to the Winter Wonderland Party. A total of 483 pounds of food was donated which helped to provide access to 403 meals for the North Texas Food Bank. The eighth-graders were also asked to bring gently used athletic shoes and new socks to the Group Dynamix party, which will be donated to underprivileged kids in Nicaragua and Mexico.

“We want to help remind our kids that no matter where they are in life, high school, work, in transition, or wherever, that there is always an opportunity to help others no matter what they’re doing. We can all have a big impact on someone else,” DePompei says.

Lauren Law is a former health care marketing executive, and is a neighborhood resident, marketing consultant, writer, wife, mom and volunteer. She writes about neighborhood issues or community areas of interest. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her llaw@advocatemag.com.

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