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That’s right. This year, 2025, marks 65 years — and counting — of homes, high-fives, hearts and hoorays. You. Us. The homes of your dreams. The clients of ours. It’s proven every day: No other brokerage has the agents, connections, knowledge and know-how that we do. And no other can. So, here’s to us — and here’s to you. Thank you from the bottoms of our big, full hearts. There’s so much more to come. One hundred years is in our sights. See you in ’60.
BENEFITING COMMUNITY PARTNERS OF DALLAS
OCTOBER 1 – NOVEMBER 2
CENTERPARK GARDEN
Step into an enchanted world of 15,000+ pumpkins and gourds, autumn plantings, a wishing well, a gnome village, and more at the NorthPark Pumpkin Patch benefiting Community Partners of Dallas.
This fall fairytale destination will offer photo opportunities, storytimes with Bookmarks, a Dallas Public Library, and whimsical scavenger hunts that will spark imagination and creativity in little minds.
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Mark the arrival of the Silver Line at one of our station celebrations!
Join the fun as we launch the Silver Line with food, festivities and surprises at every stop!
Saturday, October 25 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Plus, enjoy FREE rides systemwide so you can check out every station celebration!
There’s more! DART is offering FREE rides on the Silver Line October 25 – November 8. Community
Artist Anthony Padilla (@anthonyzpadilla) created the mural outside Killer Joe in Old East Dallas. Read more on page 22. Photography by Lauren Allen.
3 PIECES OF LEGISLATION AFFECTING OUR SCHOOLS
Story by ALYSSA HIGH
CELL PHONES
Texas House Bill 1481 was passed this legislative session, requiring all school systems to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting the use of personal communication devices by students on school property during the school day.
The law took effect on June 20, with school systems having until Sept. 18 to have a written policy in place.
What does the law specifically require?
Students cannot use personal communication devices on school property during the school day. This includes:
•Cell phones
•Tablets
•Smartwatches
•Laptops (not district-assigned)
•AirPods/headphones
•Smart glasses
Districts can either prohibit students from bringing devices to campus or designate a method to “securely store the devices during the school day,” according to the Texas Education Agency.
School districts across the state are handling this in different ways. While neighboring districts like Plano ISD require students to put phones in their backpacks during the school day, Dallas ISD is following the most common solution — implementing Yondr pouches.
What are Yondr pouches?
Each student is assigned a pouch, which locks when their phone is placed in it at the beginning of the school day. At the end of the day, students have access to a magnetic device to unlock the pouches.
How were Yondr pouches funded?
To support the implementation of the new law, the Texas Education Agency was allocated $20 million in state grant funding.
What if I need to contact my student?
Students are required to use the school’s front office or request assistance from a staff member in case of emergency, according to Dallas ISD. Exceptions are given to students who have a documented medical need by a qualified physician or an individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan requiring the use of a device. (i.e., needing continuous access to a cell phone that is connected to a glucose monitor for diabetic students).
What happens if students are caught on their phones?
The bill provides specific requirements for discipline. After the first offense, a parent/ guardian can pick up the device without a fee, followed by a $5 increase in fee for additional offenses (no more than $15). After the second time, students can be sent to Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement.
TEN COMMANDMENTS
Senate Bill 10 was passed this legislative session, requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments in either a durable poster or a frame that is at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and from the King James Version.
While the bill is currently being challenged in court by the ACLU of Texas on behalf of several families and school systems, school districts that did not join in on the injunction, including Dallas ISD, must comply. Those that did, including Austin ISD, Houston ISD and Plano ISD, are not
LIBRARY MATERIALS
Senate Bill 13, effective Sept. 1, amended the educational code to require schools to provide parental access to the catalog of available library materials at each school library in the district or school, allow said parent to create a list of materials their child is not permitted to check out and provide access to a list of materials that said child has checked out.
The school board must also approve all materials donated or procured by the school library,
The bill also required the board of trustees of each school district to establish a school library advisory council if 10% of the parents of the
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required to comply while litigation is pending.
However, the Next Generation Action Network Legal Advocacy Fund filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas alleging that the law violates the students’ First Amendment rights, listing Dallas, DeSoto and Lancaster school districts as defendants.
The new educational code does not require all districts to purchase said posters, but requires them to accept any donations that fit the requirements and put up the posters if they are donated or purchased, with no exceptions.
students enrolled in the district or at least 50 total parents petition the school board for the creation of such a council.
What qualifications are needed of the council members?
There must be a member appointed by each trustee. A majority of members must be parents who are not employed by the district, though nonvoting members who are classroom teachers, librarians, school counselors or administrators, a member of the business community or a member of the clergy may also be appointed.
For more information, call 214-723-6770.
Sign up for email series
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Alex Sanger Preparatory School* (Forest Hills): B
Bayles Elementary School (White Rock Hills): B
Casa View Elementary School (Casa View): B
Cesar Chavez Learning Center (Old East Dallas): B
Charles A. Gill Elementary School on Ferguson Road: C
NEIGHBORHOOD CAMPUSES MAKE THE GRADE
East Dallas schools on this list received 10 ‘A’s, 16 ‘B’s, five ‘C’s, one ‘D’ and no ‘F’s. Again, ‘B’ was the most common grade compared to the last time scores were released, but the number of ‘A’s seems to have increased while ‘C’s and ‘D’s have decreased. Texas Education Agency’s 2025 A-F Accountability Ratings were calculated using data from 2024-25.
Performance on STAAR tests makes a significant impact on the grades for school districts and campuses, but readiness for career, college or military is also a factor. The scores are supposed to represent student achievement, progress and closing the gaps between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged student groups.
More than 70% of Dallas ISD schools earned an ‘A’ or ‘B.’
“While there is still work to be done, these results are a clear sign that we are moving in the right direction, and we will not stop until every school is achieving at a high level. It’s what our kids deserve, and it’s the legacy we are committed to build for every student,” Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde said in a press release.
WANT TO GET MORE INVOLVED WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS?
Keep up with the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees by attending board meetings at 6 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at 5151 S amuell Blvd. to address issues and make statements to the trustees.
On the board, Sarah Weinberg represents District 2 (includes Lakewood Elementary, Woodrow Wilson High School and other campuses between US-75 and White Rock Lake) and Dan Micciche is the trustee for District 3 (Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy and several campuses east of the lake).
In addition, Board President Joe Carreón’s District 8 includes a handful of schools in our neighborhood, particularly around Old East Dallas (Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy at James W. Fannin and both Solar Preparatory Schools for
Dan D. Rogers Elementary School (Ridgewood Park): A
Eduardo Mata Montessori School* (Santa Fe Trail): B
Edwin J. Kiest Elementary School (Ash Creek): B
Geneva Heights Elementary School (Lower Greenville): B
George W. Truett Elementary School (Ferguson Park): A
Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary School (Old East Dallas): D
Lakewood Elementary School (Lakewood): A
Martha Turner Reilly Elementary School (Lochwood:) B
Mockingbird Elementary School (Mockingbird Lane: A
Mount Auburn STEAM Academy (Old East Dallas): A
Oran M. Roberts Elementary School (Old East Dallas): C
Reinhardt Elementary School (Reinhardt): A
S.S. Conner Elementary School (Old Lake Highlands): C
Solar Preparatory School for Boys* (Knox- Henderson): B
Solar Preparatory School for Girls* (Knox- Henderson): A
William Lipscomb Elementary School (Junius Heights): B
Victor H. Hexter Elementary School (Old Lake Highlands): B
* Schools include both elementary and middle school grades
MIDDLE
SCHOOLS
Alex W. Spence Talented/Gifted Academy(Belmont Park): A
J.L. Long Middle School off Paulus Avenue: B
Robert T. Hill Middle School on Easton Road: B
W.H. Gaston Middle School (Ash Creek): B
HIGH SCHOOLS
Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy (Ash Creek): B
Innovation Design Entrepreneurship Academy (Old East Dallas) :C
Woodrow Wilson High School (Lakewood): B
Boys and Girls). A few schools just north of I-30 (Personalized Learning Preparatory at J.W. Ray Learning Center, Eduardo Mata Montessori and Harold W. Lang Sr. Middle School) are in District 9, led by First Vice President Ed Turner.
Here’s how to reach your school board representatives: (Note: Some trustees share phone numbers.)
Sarah Weinberg, District 2: sarahweinberg@dallasisd.org, 972.925.3721
Dan Micciche, District 3: danmicciche@dallasisd.org, 972.925.3744
Joe Carreón, District 8: joecarreon@dallasisd.org, 972.925.3744
Ed Turner, District 9: edturner@dallasisd.org, 972.925.3744
REVELATIONS IN STONE
Local artist discovers meaning of life through sculpture
Story by MADELYN EDWARDS | Photography by YUVIE STYLES
Sculptor Kat Warwick doesn’t always know what a block of stone will become until it tells her.
The longtime East Dallas neighbor explains her two approaches — either there’s a plan that is carried out, or she waits until the idea reveals itself. The latter has inspired her most meaningful work.
Warwick once tried to carve a stone into an octopus, but “it was not going to have any part of that,” she says. She tried to make it into a heart, but the stone refused again. She let the stone be before coming back to carve a female torso, and the stone accepted its identity.
For the record, Warwick knows that listening to an inanimate object sounds “woo-woo and far-fetched and kind of just crazy,” but she knows other stone carvers who operate like this.
“There is a partnership between you and the stone if you’ll listen,” she says.
Warwick recalled another project where she was in the process of carving a green marble stone into an abstract shape. The stone, named “Unencumbered,” demanded that she stop carving in a certain spot. “Leave my scars” was the message Warwick received. What she ended up with is a sculpture that is polished on one side and bare on the other — the manicured side of ourselves that we as people show to the world versus the rougher areas we hide.
She later realized that the piece was her own self-portrait.
“As I worked on that sculpture, I realized ‘unencumbered’ means we should be unencumbered by our scars,” she says. “We shouldn’t be afraid to show our scars to the public. It’s part of who we are, so don’t hide them. Don’t cover them up. Own them. Walk proudly through life with both your good side and your scarred side.”
Warwick says she’s been artistically inclined since her childhood. She took art classes in college, but her degree was in advertising, the latter of which didn’t suit her and wasn’t pursued as a career path. Warwick didn’t get an art job, either, though she volunteered her services for a Boy Scout troop. She took work with a label
printing company and then, (ironically) an architectural stone company, both of which included roles in sales, project management and customer service.
You may already be familiar with Warwick — she made headlines for carving stones in her front yard in the COVID-19 years. She did this after seeing families walking to the park and wanted to give them something interesting to see during their walk but ended up doing more than that. She taught stone carving elements to children from a safe distance as well as related math skills, like how to calculate a stone’s weight. Eventually, when social distancing mandates were lessened, she led some clay classes and pumpkin carving for Halloween.
This wasn’t Warwick’s entry point into teaching. She has always passed on her know-how to other people.
“It seems a sin to learn a thing and then not share that knowledge with others,” she says.
Professionally, Warwick started teaching another art form first — dance. She learned to swing dance in the late ’90s. Warwick and her husband had volunteered to teach classes, and after losing her corporate day job in 2008, she was able to make a living as a dance instructor.
“So here I am teaching dance at night, having my daytimes available, and I thought, well, I really miss art, and I really want to be sculpting,” Warwick says, noting that she was in her early 50s at the time. “It’s like, if I’m ever going to do it, I need to start now. I need to build up the strength; I need to build up the knowledge because it’s kind of late in the game to be starting a career.”
She sought out the Creative Arts Center of Dallas, a nonprofit near Ferguson Road and I-30, and took clay sculpting classes in the 2010s before switching to stone sculpture. When this happened, Warwick “left clay behind in the dust,” she says.
Stone sculpture is not what you do if you want a gentle art hobby.
“It’s one of the roughest art forms you can have,” Warwick says. “Everything is heavy. Everything can hurt you.”
Warwick’s skills caught the attention of her art instructor, who was planning to move away and wanted her to take
over the stone sculpting class. When he asked in August 2018, Warwick rejected him at least twice.
“I told him no, and he accepted the no,” she says. “And about a week later, he asked again, and I told him no. ‘Why are you asking?’ And he says, ‘Well, why are you telling me no?’ And so we went back and forth a little bit, and all this was over lunch … I like to say he wined me and dined me at the Taco Bell.”
Warwick eventually told her instructor of her apprehensive feelings about performing techniques she wasn’t familiar with, especially considering the craft involves working with dangerous equipment. The instructor offered to mentor her before he left town. She agreed to that and took over the classes in June 2019 at 58 years old.
The pandemic ended up being a turning point. The media attention from her “art yard shenanigans” earned her a commission to create a sculpture memorializing Virginia Savage McAlester, an influential Dallas historic preservationist who died in April 2020.
From then on, she found a way to make a living from creating and teaching stone sculpture, including through more commissions and selling art on her website.
She attributes at least some of her artistic creativity to her mother, who painted but didn’t pursue it more than her own responsibilities, probably because of the culture around women’s opportunities of the time. Warwick praised her mother’s work and says she even gave Warwick suggestions on sculpture projects before passing away last year.
“I think that may be why I pursue it so heavily,” she says. “I don’t want it to be something that I just played around with. I want to make a statement. I want to make a difference in the world through teaching art, creating art, putting art out there that makes people go, ‘Hmm, what does that mean? What did the artist mean? What does it bring up for me?’”
Warwick is looking forward to creating sculptures that are 10 and 20 feet tall. The bigger the art, the bigger the statement.
“I want the world to be a better place, and this is how I’m supposed to do it,” she says. “It took me 60 years to figure that out.”
DOING IT FOR THE KIDS
Neighbors work toward opening The Museum School of East Dallas
Story by MADELYN EDWARDS
Far East Dallas neighbor and former Uplift White Rock Hills Principal Loren Colman always wanted to create her own school.
So she did — The Museum School of East Dallas.
The public charter school received approval from the State Board of Education and is expected to start up next fall. The Museum School of East Dallas will provide K-8 education for children in the 75228 ZIP code. Colman wants to find partnerships to include prekindergarten in the future as well.
The location of the school is still unknown at the time of publication as the school leaders look for potential locations. Colman is also wanting the school to stay as small as possible.
The Museum School of East Dallas includes an extended day structure, operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to accommodate working parents as well provide enrichment activities and special needs intervention services to children in
the afternoon. The core curriculum will be taught in the morning when students are best able to learn. Another idea for the schedule is merging lunch and recess together so that kids have time to eat instead of being rushed.
Colman’s idea to start a school has been in the works for two years as a grassroots movement, and she was able to get involved with “Build. Excel. Sustain.,” a national nonprofit that empowers local leaders to start charter schools. Before it was even named, she would wear a shirt at tabling events that read, “Want to start a school together?” And families became interested. Colman recruited parents and locals to serve on a design team that collected community input, and they set up pilot programs in the form of children’s camps.
Colman and board member Carrie Sneed, who has worked in special education, talked with us about their vision for the new school.
WHAT IS A MUSEUM SCHOOL?
LC: There’s a National Association of Museum Schools. There are about 50 nationwide, and so the three pillars of a museum school are immersive learning, documented student reflection and exhibition. If you think of project based learning, it is that and elevated into the community, so really using the community as assets to support and enhance the curriculum. We’re not necessarily writing our own curriculum. We’re using the state curriculum. Let’s say we’re learning about the 1950s. Oh, well, the local theater has a play going on that takes place during that time, so we coordinate with them, “Hey, can our kids be your dramaturgs for this play?” So then the kids, maybe they go once every other week, and somebody from the theater comes. It really brings purpose to the learning. We’re not just learning about the 1950s to learn about the 1950s. This is significant if you were a dramaturg, and so then it also really plants these seeds early on, too, of exposure to careers. One of the new terms is what we previously thought of as soft skills. It’s now thought of as durable skills. So getting kids a chance to really try that on while they’re doing the learning.
CS : A lot of immersive learning and project learning, traditionally, has been for older students. We’re starting in kinder -
garten, and scaling it as such, but they’re getting that exposure at a really early age.
HOW WOULD THE 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. SCHEDULE WORK?
LC: A lot of times when people hear that, they think that that one teacher is teaching 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and that’s not the case. They’re teaching straight through in the morning, then they have planning in the afternoon. There might be some days where they’re tutoring during that time, but they’re not teaching 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. And we’re leveraging these community partners. Let’s take LaBori Boxing. It’s a nonprofit boxing gym in East Dallas. They come in, and they do boxing every day. Kids normally get P.E. once, maybe twice a week. Our kids are getting it every day. They’re also getting this access to somebody who hasn’t been teaching boxing all day. They’re coming in fresh, bringing in this expertise for a few hours. We’re leveraging community assets because especially in Dallas, especially in East Dallas, there’s so much rich culture. There’s also Lake Highlands School of Music. We could hire a music teacher, or we could leverage this really incredible music program and bring them in for a few hours.
CS: Art shouldn’t be an extra. Art is part of a curriculum. It’s part of a child’s development, that exposure and experience with art. Same with music, same with language, physical activity. These are all necessary aspects of education. They’re not extra. So the idea that we have set, these need to be incorporated. They are as important as math. So how are we going to incorporate it in that daily school schedule? And that’s where the extended day came in because is it good for kids? Then let’s figure out how to do it. We can’t sacrifice what students need and what is really important without thinking outside the box. We can’t go, ‘Well, we only have this time.’ That’s the beauty of the charter school.
SINCE THIS IS A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL, THERE IS NO TUITION BEING CHARGED. HOW WILL THE SCHOOL BE FUNDED?
LC: It’s state funded. There is a gap in charter school funding in terms of we don’t have access to the local taxes for transportation and facilities. We don’t
have seed startup funding. We can have it in our budget once we have kids. Right now, we are fundraising, applying for a plethora of grants that are specific to capital funding, seed funding, to close the gap on our facility, and then transportation, and then even teacher pay.
WHY START A SCHOOL? WHY IS ANOTHER CHARTER SCHOOL NEEDED?
LC: I watched my mom persevere through hardships, raising kids as a working single mom, and I think that instilled in me early on this desire to see potential in others. That looked like volunteering with special needs kids, and then I ended up doing that all through college, and that was my major. I just had this heart to see others who maybe had some odds stacked against them and say, ‘Even though there’s odds here, let’s keep going. Anything is possible.’ I had taught in East Dallas and been a principal in East Dallas, and I had also been a principal in West Dallas, and I was able to see a difference. There just were resources that I could get in West Dallas that I couldn’t get in East Dallas. And there just wasn’t a recognition of a need. I think there’s this illusion of wealth. People think Lakewood, M. Streets, White Rock Lake, and then they skip to Fair Park. And there’s this whole other ZIP Code in between, 75228. When I became principal of Uplift White Rock Hills, I connected with Vikki Martin from Ferguson Road Initiative and was sharing with her my heart, and she was able to put words to a lot of that. She’s like, ‘This is forgotten far East Dallas.’ We are a medical desert, food desert, childcare desert, recreation desert. It was really my worlds colliding as an educator and as a parent and having conversations with other parents at daycare. … Especially after COVID, you had a lot of teachers running away, where I found myself running towards education saying, ‘We can do something.’ It became, ‘What if we start a school?’
(This provides) a new opportunity for students and families who might not meet the traditional mold, just really believing that a smaller, high quality option can and should be accessible for all students, no matter where you come from.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
paninis + rock ‘n’ roll
Killer Joe owners amass loyal customers while making plans for the future
Story by MADELYN EDWARDS | Photography by LAUREN ALLEN
OLD
EAST DALLAS COFFEE SHOP AND
CAFE Killer Joe is only a year old but feels like it has been around much longer.
With rock music playing inside, Killer Joe could probably fit in well in Deep Ellum or Lower Greenville but also isn’t out of place on the corner of Fitzhugh and Columbia Avenues. The small dining room features are rustic and minimal — wooden table tops, a concrete floor, seating that looks lived in. Major colors are black and orange, which is fitting since its grand opening was around Halloween last year.
Being a community hub is a focal point and an intention from owners Christine Sweet and Christian Napolitano. Sweet notices customers talking to each other even though they didn’t come to Killer Joe together.
The music plays loud enough to be heard but not so loud that you can’t have a basic conversation. The tunes may characterize Killer Joe as a place for punks and toughs, but the staff and some of the other customers are friendly.
The owners have catered for neighborhood teachers and hosted Coffee with Cops as well as events with local vendors, Sweet says. They’re planning an anniversary celebration called Killer Fest this month.
“(The neighborhood) just needed something that you can come to on a daily basis, on your way of commuting, and help
connect the intersections between Lakewood and Lower Greenville and Deep Ellum and Downtown communities together,” she says.
Since opening, loyal customers have been inspired to get Killer Joe tattoos. The cafe serves everyone from “retirees to young single mothers to attorneys to artists,” Sweet says.
“We’ve even started seeing people from Fort Worth and Plano drive down here, like 60, 70-year-olds rocking to the music,” Napolitano says. “That was kind of surprising to us.”
Sweet and Napolitano have been brainstorming hospitality concepts together for years. They met while working at the fine dining Lebanese restaurant ilili in New York City over a decade ago and are married today. Napolitano, a native New Yorker, learned all he could from his uncle who owned diners all over Manhattan. In his 20s, he continued working in restaurants and eventually graduated to management. He also previously opened Los Angeles concepts and ran Restaurant DeGolyer at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
Napolitano specifically remembers his uncle holding the door for customers walking in his establishments. Though he was the owner, that job wasn’t beneath him.
“I try to bring that to Killer Joe, holding the door for the customers, bringing food out to them, picking up the plates, asking
At Killer Joe, S.O.B. isn’t an insult; it’s sausage on a bagel with bacon plus scrambled egg, sharp cheddar cheese, tomato and Killer chipotle sauce ($13). You can order it with a fresh cucumber mint lemonade ($4.50-5.50).
them how everything is, welcoming them when they come in, making sure they get all their food, or if they’re waiting on something, checking in with them,” Napolitano says. “I care about that stuff because they’re coming to spend money; they’re coming to have a good time. So I want to give them that. I want to give them a sort of respite from the daily grind of life.”
Meanwhile, Sweet has worked in brand and product development and destination marketing, most notably for Visit Dubai. Her knowledge of food and flavors — which eventually helped her develop the Killer Joe menu — comes from her family members with roots in Italy, Finland, South Africa and France.
“I love culture, and culture is kind of rooted at the table first,” Sweet says. Initially, Sweet and Napolitano wanted to open a “punk rock taco shop” in New York, but the pandemic put a damper on their plan. When Sweet’s stepfather in Lake Highlands passed away unexpectedly around 2022, they came to Dallas. Noticing our city’s vibrancy, they decided to open their New York-inspired concept here.
Establishing Killer Joe has been a labor of love with emphasis on the labor. Finding the space took over a year because property owners wouldn’t take a chance on Sweet and Napolitano. They opened their cafe without loans, family money or outside investors. Both of them were working other fulltime jobs, with Sweet also clocking in on the weekends.
“When we opened last year, my customers would see me here every day opening and closing the shop and say, ‘Oh, this must be really hard.’ It’s like, ‘You don’t understand how hard it was to get to this point. This is the reward,’” Sweet says. “I’ve been working every single day for the last two years to get to this point.”
Napolitano says Killer Joe isn’t just a coffee shop, and the cafe’s food is made with fresh ingredients, like real eggs, and housemade sauces.
Sweet adds that the microgreens are grown locally, and breakfast is served all day. She describes the menu, which has vegan and gluten-free options, as approachable and familiar with an
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The new ordinance that amends the definition of “smoking” to include electronic smoking devices (Vaping) goes into effect at midnight on Thursday, December 11, 2025. Any area that currently prohibits smoking, now includes vaping of any kind. These areas include all indoor and enclosed spaces within fifteen (15) feet of building entrances, and on park property. For more details, visit us at the link or contact us at greendallas@dallas.gov. The public and business owners and operators please note the date to come into compliance is December 11, 2025. Visit greendallas.net to view the ordinance.
added twist of international flavors. Lunch paninis include the K-Pop Cuban ($13) that pairs applewood smoked ham and provolone cheese with kimchi pickles and wasabi mayo.
The Birria Panini ($15), originally featured on the summer specials menu, “is like a birria taco in a panini form,” Napolitano says. He’s not wrong. The crispy panini combines salt and pepper steak with roasted tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo.
One of the breakfast offerings is The Ladybird ($12), your basic croissant sandwich with scrambled eggs, bacon and smoked onion jam but with seared pear for a touch of sweetness and blue cheese for a twist.
And as the name suggests, Killer Joe does brew cups of joe in addition to tea and matcha. For those who prefer sweeter coffee, there’s the French Toast Latte ($7-$7.75) that is made with organic espresso, Vermont maple syrup, organic cinnamon syrup, fresh cinnamon and your choice of milk.
The owners plan to extend their hours and start serving beer, wine and new menu items. They are also working on establishing a New York-style pizza restaurant with a walk-up window and speakeasy cocktail bar near the intersection of Main Street and Carroll Avenue in the coming months.
Sweet and Napolitano also want to open an East Dallas bar and small dumpling kitchen with a walk-up window.
In her previous jobs, Sweet had to dress formally, but she’s now free to be herself by “playing the Ramones, wearing jeans and Converse.”
Perhaps this sentiment seeps into the vibe at Killer Joe. Customers sometimes sing along to the music, and their children will dance to it.
Sweet says, “We might be playing System of a Down, but everybody is happy and jamming together.”
Photo by Josephhaubert.com
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Hillcrest Campus (PreK - 2nd)
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TRADITION & INNOVATION
COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER FOR GENEVA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RENOVATION
Story by KATHY LEE
Geneva Heights Elementary School in Lower Greenville wasn’t just a structure in need of an upgrade. It was a legacy ready to be reimagined.
Originally named Robert E. Lee Elementary, Geneva Heights has stood as a beacon of education and community pride since opening its doors in September 1931. Designed by renowned Dallas architect Mark Lemmon, the school’s striking art deco façade was considered cutting-edge for its time, symbolizing a bold future, and nearly a century later, it still does.
Nestled in a walkable, tree-lined neighborhood, the school has
shaped generations. But, in recent years, declining enrollment raised serious concern about its future. The district’s sweeping $3.5 billion bond program initially slated the building for full replacement, a decision that would soon be challenged by the very community it served.
Few people embody the school’s legacy quite like MC Carbajal. A lifelong resident of the neighborhood, Carbajal first walked the campus’ halls as a young student alongside her sister. Years later, she returned as a parent, sending all four of her children through the same doors, and now as a grandmother, she has
watched three generations of her own family thrive on the same storied campus. Today, she serves as Geneva Heights’ data controller, a role that keeps her deeply involved in the dayto-day heartbeat of the school.
Surrounded by several of Dallas’ 15 designated conservation districts, Geneva Heights sits in a neighborhood rich with historical charm. Yet despite its longstanding presence, the school itself was never officially recognized as a landmark. When Dallas Independent School District proposed replacing the building as part of the 2020 bond initiative with equity-focused
The renovation of Geneva Heights Elementary, which opened in 1931, strikes a thoughtful balance between modernization and preservation. Photography by Parrish Ruiz de Velasco.
planning in mind, the response was swift and passionate. Vocal community members, alongside Preservation Dallas, rallied to protect the school’s legacy, and their advocacy became the cornerstone of the project’s success.
Over the years, families had built cherished traditions on the campus’ grounds: lively carnivals, the beloved annual Cinco de Mayo celebration and spaghetti dinners served before school meetings so parents could participate without the stress of rushing home to feed their families. These moments fostered connection, belonging and a shared sense of pride that made Geneva Heights more than just a place to learn.
Shaped by robust community engagement, much of it conducted virtually during the height of the pandemic, the final design strikes a thoughtful balance between modernization and preservation. Through online forums and remote charrettes, neighbors and parents championed not only state-ofthe-art learning environments but also, the protection of the school’s historic character. Dallas ISD and BRW Architects listened and aimed to capture the community’s aspirations and translate them into a design that honors the past while embracing the future.
BRW Architects Principal and K-12 Education Leader Anne Hildenbrand recalls the clarity and conviction that
emerged from the community input sessions.
“We had to think big,” she says. “The message was clear. The community wanted a school that could grow with its students, preserve its close-knit feel, remain a neighborhood gem and reflect the vibrant diversity of the families it serves.”
Today, a new classroom wing supports up to 750 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, offering flexible classrooms designed for collaboration and inquiry-based learning. Specialized spaces for arts, STEM and wellness reflect a commitment to whole-child development. Outside, the central courtyard blooms with gardens and outdoor learning spaces.
Shaped in partnership with the Texas Trees Foundation Cool Schools initiative, 90 new trees and native plantings introduced throughout the campus’s landscape create a biophilic environment that nurtures both mind and body.
“The kids love the playgrounds, but my favorite place is the learning garden,” Carbajal says. “I often arrive very early in the mornings just to watch the bunnies.”
She beams with excitement as she says of her office, “I have the best view in the school.”
With a focus on restoring the original beauty and honoring the cast-in-place concrete entrance as a cultural and social landmark, the design team thoughtfully ensured the new addition would complement the historic art deco zigzag moderne architecture. Through its earth-toned material palette and varied scale, the design seamlessly incorporates a hardened storm shelter, providing a safe space for the entire school during severe weather events.
Site constraints, including limited space, heavy traffic and adjacency to residences, required thoughtful planning. The design team maximized every square inch of the building footprint and prioritized pedestrian safety. Vehicular circulation was also improved through traffic studies, street parking solutions and multiple student drop-off points. The building was strategically oriented east-to-west for optimal solar orientation, providing lots of natural daylight, energy efficiency and minimal impact on neighboring residences.
“From the beginning, delivering
real value was paramount,” Hildenbrand says. “Our design embeds environmentally responsible strategies that reduce negative environmental impact and promote longterm campus performance with utility cost savings.”
Since its completion, Geneva Heights has garnered widespread recognition for its thoughtful design and commitment to preservation. The school has received both state and national honors, including the prestigious Preservation Dallas Achievement Award, celebrating its architectural excellence and its role as a benchmark for integrating historic character with forwardthinking innovation.
Through a voice thick with emotion, Carbajal reflects on the powerful impact the renovation and addition had on her when she first saw it.
“My students and my grandchild now touch the same staircase railings and walls I did as a student here,” she says with pride.
She describes the moment she spotted the refurbished vintage chandelier still hanging as it did so many years ago just outside of her favorite teacher’s office, a surprising detail that made time feel suspended.
“It was like coming home again,” she says of walking into the new building for the first time.
During the long-awaited dedication ceremony on Dec. 14, 2024, Dallas ISD Chief Construction Officer Brent Alfred said, “Students, enjoy your new playgrounds, gardens, classroom and collaborative learning spaces. As you walk the hallways and enjoy the outdoor play spaces, remember it’s all been customized just for you. There is no school anywhere like Geneva Heights. And parents and community supporters, thanks for coming back to us. We hope the wait was worth your while.”
Geneva Heights Elementary’s living story was written by architects, educators, families and students who believe in the power of place. The transformation is a testament to what’s possible when community voices, thoughtful design and shared vision come together.
“My one wish is that the community takes this school and runs with it, holding tight to its legacy,” Carbajal says. “It may be a stateof-the-art building now, but it’s the families that make it truly special. This is home.”
Kathy Lee is a senior associate and business development leader for BRW Architects’ K12 Education Studio.
LONG IN THE TOOTH
A look back at Texas A&M University College of Dentistry’s 120-year-old history
Story by MADELYN EDWARDS
THE YEAR IS 1905 At the turn of the century, Dallas led the Southwest’s book, drug, jewelry and wholesale liquor market plus the world’s inland cotton market and the manufacture of saddlery and cotton-gin machinery. Businessmen were trying to grow our city’s population, and then-U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt came to visit Dallas in good spirits.
And on Oct. 3 of that year, the State Dental College opened its first fall session in a grocery store where the Adolphus Hotel is now in Downtown.
We now know that school by a different name — Texas A&M University College of Dentistry, currently on Gaston Avenue, just north of Deep Ellum. Before that, the institution had the Baylor
name attached to it for decades. This year, the college is celebrating its 120th anniversary.
THE EARLY DAYS
Forty students came to the State Dental College in 1905, according to Baylor College of Dentistry: The First 100 Years (which was used to map out the school’s past in this article). Four — one Texas resident, two from present-day Oklahoma and one from Japan — graduated the next year, having already studied at other schools prior. Tuition at the time cost $100 for the year and $65-$75 for dental equipment. Room and board was available at boarding houses for $15-$25 per month.
The college was established because Dr. David E. Morrow, a previous faculty member of a former St. Louis dental school, had been studying Dallas to see if our city could support such an institution. Dallas seemed like a good place for this concept because of the energy and growth at the time, but there was some opposition from local dentists. Many Texas dentists didn’t think our state needed a dental school because students could attend in other states.
Also, not all Texas dentists (less than half) had a college education at that time because they preferred apprenticeship training instead. The First 100 Years claims that some dentists didn’t want to invite competition via a dental school.
Still, Morrow persevered with the support of two local dentists (Dr. W.G. Rice and Dr. Henry L. Adler) and was aided by another St. Louis dentist, Dr. T.G. Bradford. With Bradford, Morrow applied for the charter and raised $4,500 to open the college.
“We soon decided that the organization should be completed without the aid of local men,” Morrow wrote in a board report, according to The First 100 Years.
The State Dental College did not have runaway success. Some of
In our neighborhood dental college’s 120 years, many things have changed, but Dean Lily T. García hopes to maintain the best parts of the school’s culture. Photos courtesy of Texas A&M University College of Dentistry.
the challenges included lower than expected enrollment, students dropping out because of another financial panic in 1907, the school borrowing money to cover costs, and multiple dean changes. This included Morrow’s resignation as the first dean in 1907, which was suspected to be motivated by low enrollment. He did come back in the 1908-09 school year after another dean left, but he didn’t stick around to lead as dean.
However, State Dental College’s graduates were passing the state board exam, and the school had the largest freshmen class in the region in those early years.
In 1915, the State Dental College’s board of directors elected eight local dentists to serve on an advisory board that would oversee faculty and curriculum. The advisory board vice president, Dr. Bush Jones (Dallas dentist, one of the college’s educators and leading advocate for legislation regulating dentistry), became the college’s next dean.
Dr. J.J. Simmons, former Dallas County Dental Society president, initially pushed for local dentists to get involved in the college and headed up the advisory board.
“He went to work and brought order out of chaos, and there has
never been a time in Dallas in many years when conditions were so good professionally speaking,” wrote Dr. C.C. Weaver, the college’s former secretary, in a letter, according to The First 100 Years
UNDER THE BAYLOR UMBRELLA
Dallas’ Baylor University College of Medicine acquired State Dental College in 1918. The change was prompted when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, and the idea of drafting students from schools not affiliated with universities was being considered.
Early in its existence, State Dental College moved around to South Ervay Street and then to where City Park is now. Once acquired by Baylor, the college moved to 1420 Hall St. in a Southern Methodist University-owned former medical school building.
Becoming the Baylor University College of Dentistry lifted the school’s profile in the 1920s. It was nationally recognized by the Carnegie Foundation and received a Class A accreditation rating, the only dental school in the Southwest to achieve that distinction for many years.
What was less than ideal was the college’s facilities. Problems included exposed steam pipes raising the temperature and chronic flooding. It didn’t help that Baylor University College of Medicine moved to Houston in 1943, leaving behind the dental school but taking science faculty and property.
“In moving, the medical school took with them not only the scientific instruments, apparatus and supplies necessary for teaching the basic science courses, but most of the furnishings of the buildings including electrical and plumbing fixtures,” biological chemistry professor Dr. Charles R. Steward wrote in a 1952 Baylor Dental Journal article, per The First 100 Years . “The old dilapidated buildings, now stripped of most of their furnishings, looked like the wrecking crews had already started to work.”
Baylor University College of Dentistry’s next dean, Dr. George L. Powers, brought on facilities improvements, new faculty and a new dental clinic building at 800 Hall Street, finished in 1950. Four years later, another construction project to rebuild the basic science wing was completed, and space for graduate and research
studies was added in 1960. Renovations to double the building size took place in the 1970s, and the main entrance was moved to Gaston Avenue at the address it has today.
The science wing also gave way to the creation of the dental hygiene school, helped by a $30,000 gift from W.W. Caruth Jr. to buy equipment needed. The first class started in 1955 with 32 students, who were reportedly all female.
The dental school has been known under multiple names over the years. One of these changes came in 1971 when the college disconnected from Baylor University and just became Baylor College of Dentistry, which was needed to sever ties with the Baptist denomination to accept subsidies from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as well as federal funding. The subsidies were an incentive for Texas students planning to practice dentistry in our state as a means of dealing with a dentist shortage.
Then, in 1995, the college joined the Texas A&M University System to ensure long-term financial security.
RETURN OF THE ALUMNI
Two of the dental school’s prominent staffers today once attended when the college still had the Baylor name attached to it. One was Dr. Lily T. García, a South Texas native who became the college’s first female dean in 2022. In the 1980s, García came to Dallas for dental school after already attending the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate studies.
“I felt welcome here,” she says of the school at the time. “I always tell students, ‘Go where you think you’ll be succeeding.’”
García’s education at the dental college allowed her to build connections as she proceeded in her career, which led her to taking on administrative roles at other universities. At first, she wasn’t interested in returning to Dallas to be dean at our Texas A&M University College of Dentistry. She was leading the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine at the time, but eventually realized what a great opportunity she had to “maintain the integrity and raise the profile” of her alma mater.
“This is a valuable asset for this DFW region when you think of
Over the years, our dental college has diversified.
Juanita Wade was the first woman to graduate in 1917. Lavern Jordan Pitts (now: Holyfield) and Jerry Lewis Mathis were the first AfricanAmerican students to attend in 1974.
Photos courtesy of Texas A&M University College of Dentistry.
some of the impact of what our faculty do, when you think of our surgeons are both physicians and oral maxillofacial surgeons and dentists,” García says. “They handle the majority of facial trauma in the DFW area, many of which patients are uninsured, so they handle some major cases. You come back, and you go, ‘This is a great place, and I don’t want us to be a hidden secret.’”
Another alumnus who returned to be on the faculty is Dr. Amp Miller, director of comprehensive dentistry and professor. The Dallas native, 78, is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and is a current Lake Highlands neighbor. He attended dental school here from 1969-1973 and earned a prosthodontic certificate in 1980.
“It was mainly the guys in the classes,” Miller says of his time as a student at the college. “We had very few women at the time, and that’s gradually increased. The class size was pretty similar to what it is now. I think we had 100 in our class, and we got 106 in our classes that are entering now.”
Miller never really left the college. He’s been teaching here since the 1970s and even taught García when she was a student. Miller practiced dentistry, particularly prosthodontics, but says he has also enjoyed helping students learn, especially seeing them apply their knowledge to treat real patients, which is done under supervision from licensed faculty.
“They sort of come in here tentative and not really sure what’s going on, and then as they go through the second year and the third year and the fourth year, you watch them gain skills,” Miller says. “Maybe they get a little bit of swagger as they begin to know more things and begin to gain confidence in their abilities and what they know and how they would manage patients. That’s always kind of a neat thing.”
While new techniques are taught at the college, third-year dental student Michelle Wu says old-school methods are also covered, like silver fillings.
“There still is value in learning fundamentals, also the science and biology behind oral health, our gums, our teeth, the biology of the cells and all that stuff,” Wu says. “I think all that is still important
before we start treating patients because then we can really understand why we’re doing certain things for treatment for patients.”
THE COLLEGE TODAY
Adriana Vega, who is from Garland and expects to graduate from the dental college in May, draws compassion from her personal dentistry background when working with patients. As a child, Vega “needed quite a bit of dental work” and had her first root canal done as a 15-year-old.
“When it comes to patient care, the patient will always be like, ‘Oh, my teeth are really bad,’” she says. “I’m like, ‘You are here now, and that’s all that matters.’”
Since García was hired, she says her focus has been on talent, culture and facilities — hiring quality staffers, helping the college continue to be a special place, and investing in and taking care of the college’s spaces. She also nodded to the community members who receive treatment at the college, which helps train the students.
“We take the best of what we have and keep moving forward,” she says about the college’s culture. “We still show care, compassion, but we’re still demanding. And this is what a profession is, and that’s what the public expects you to have. It’s almost a higher level of integrity and accountability, which is really tough sometimes.”
The college’s leaders are also willing to make changes to better students’ experiences, says Wu, who is president of her class.
“There can always be those challenging conversations, but at the end of the day, I always have the feel that the administration is willing to hear us out and try to improve things for us,” Wu says.
To Vega, the culture of Texas A&M University College of Dentistry is supportive, both from the faculty and her fellow classmates. She’s grateful to those, including dentists who work with students, who keep the college functioning.
“Whether you’re first through fourth (year), everyone is trying to help everyone,” she says. “I remember receiving help back then from upperclassmen, so I really try to do the same for underclassmen here.”
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OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
By PATTI VINSON
HAUNT SCARE BEWARE
EAST DALLAS COUPLE HOSTS GHOST TOURS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
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Neighbors, it’s almost Halloween. No doubt you’ve noticed the plethora of giant plastic skeletons and fake tombstones displayed in yards. But have you considered the possibility that Dallas, with its long history, has true, spooky tales to tell? Maybe it’s time you learned more about the spirits that haunt our city. And maybe East Dallas couple Mark Roberts and Cari Weinberg can fill you in.
Mark and Cari, residents of Casa View, have owned and operated I See Dallas Tours since 2018. With Mark’s background in advertising/marketing and Cari’s as a TV news reporter, they found their skills transferred quite seamlessly to the new venture. They both love a good city tour, especially those that delve into the paranormal, and they’ve enjoyed ghost tours in London, Charleston, Philadelphia, Savannah, New Orleans, Galveston, Brooklyn, Vancouver, Detroit and other cities.
“When traveling, I’ve always loved collecting books of local ghost stories,” says Cari. “Ghost tours encompass stories with things we can all relate to — feeling like you’ve hit it big, feelings of deep loss, true love, heartbreak, etc., but it’s processing through the lens of specific eras and locations that make these tales unique.”
And in case you’re wondering: “Mark is the more skeptical half of our duo, but we both love a good yarn,” Cari laughs.
It was in 2017 that the couple began to think of conducting tours themselves. “While recovering from surgery,” explains Cari. “I had to stay still. My body was tired, but my brain was not. To entertain myself, I decided to use the Dallas Public Library’s online newspaper database and tried to read every single relevant local ghost story that had run in The Dallas Morning News archives. I also read local ghost story books, neighborhood histories and asked everyone I knew to tell me any ghostly stories they had.”
All the research led to a lightbulb moment. “On a lark, Mark and I put together the ghost tour and have been rolling ever since.”
At the beginning, they conducted tours from Mark’s 1978 longhorn-adorned Cadillac limo, with Mark driving and Cari narrating. They eventually transitioned to a school bus, but they now transport curious clients in a new passenger van.
Tours meet up at Lakewood Growler and generally wind their way through the White Rock Lake area, down Swiss Avenue, through Deep Ellum and Downtown. Note that traffic and other issues may affect the route on any given night.
The first order of business, of course, is everyone’s favorite local spirit, The Lady of the Lake. “We take guests to the dock by The Filter Building and share her story there,” Cari says.
She explains that The Lady first made news back in the 1950s when Texas journalist and author Frank X. Tolbert wrote about it in one of his books and in his Dallas Morning News column, telling stories of people who had encountered the ghostly hitchhiker.
The tour usually stops next at Cox Cemetery where Cari and Mark tell the story from 1967 about a radio DJ who invited listeners to ghost hunt at the lake. Without giving too much of the story away, let’s just say a riot squad was called out.
Cari might even mention a famous actor who lived in Dallas at one time and saw The Lady. Plus, Cari has her own story from a close friend who saw the spirit.
In between stops, you might hear about the Lakewood resident who, decades ago, placed a real estate ad in the newspaper to sell his home, describing it as “formal and haunted.”
As you make your way Downtown, expect to hear stories of the former cover girl and model for the statues at Fair Park. She was the toast of Dallas society long ago and refused to leave her beautiful Swiss Avenue home even as her health failed – and might linger there after her death.
The next stop is likely Sons of Hermann Hall in Deep Ellum. More than one person has seen a bride and groom in Victorian-style clothing walking in the building. But are they of this world? Cari and Mark will also relate tales from some of the staff at the hall who’ve heard footsteps behind them and upstairs when they’re alone there.
Mark and Cari like to tell a couple of other stories which fall under the unsettling/creepy category instead of paranormal. “The tour also encompasses sordid tales of Dallas’s past,” says Cari. One of the stops is at a lot where a café used to be, one that Bonnie Parker worked at. You might recognize her name from Bonnie and Clyde notoriety.
Another of their stories, though not ghostly, concerns “The Amazing Petrified Man.” It’s the shameful, creepy tale of a man who died in Dallas in 1913 after a fall from a boxcar. His embalmed body went unclaimed, and it eventually ended up in the wrong hands. You’d better believe there’s so much more to the story.
Our city has tales to tell, neighbors, and some not so pretty. “I do love a good city tour,” Mark says. “And it’s fun to show Dallas with more context than the ‘Eat Shop Play,’ which our city seems to focus on.”
Maybe a better motto, at least around Halloween, is “Haunt Scare Beware.”
PATTI VINSON is a guest writer who has lived in East Dallas for more than 20 years. She’s written for the Advocate and Real Simple magazine.
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