26 August 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com
Schools
‘MISS LINDA’ AND THE LITTLE YELLOW CHAIR
Retired Wesley Prep leader inspired to do ‘right for children’ By Josh Hickman
NEW LEADERSHIP
Special Contributor
Meg Fahrenbrook, formerly assistant head of middle school at Episcopal School of Dallas, began serving as Wesley Prep executive director on June 1.
W
hen Linda Altick started teaching at Wesley Prep some 45 years ago, she could not have foreseen the story of educational success and expansion to come. Lovers Lane United Methodist became her home church when she moved from Houston, joined in 1964, and eventually became a volunteer. “My undergraduate degree was in education, and my master’s degree was in special ed,” Altick said. “In 1977, they said they needed a teacher, and I said, ‘I can do that.’” In 1981, she agreed to become preschool director, as long as she could also be the Mother’s Day Out director and combine the programs.
The whole reason I’m here is to be an advocate for the children, to be a voice for them. Linda Altick
Wesley Prep marks the retirement of longtime campus leader Linda Altick with a sculpture commissioned by Brad Oldham of the “little yellow chair” she used as a reminder to evaluate decisions based on how they would affect students. (PHOTOS: COURTESY WESLEY PREP)
Requests from families in the late 1990s prompted the school to expand into elementary grades. “It was a controversial move for the church at that time,” she recalled. In 1998
came the initial first-grade class, and in 2007, “Miss Linda” became executive director. Today, the preparatory school has expanded to sixth grade, averaging 450 students. Students are primarily from Preston Hollow and the Park Cities, though some have come from as far away as Lakewood and Irving. “I had always thought I would work until 70, and we had plans for that,” Altick,
now 71, said. COVID changed that. “I wasn’t going to abandon the school during COVID,” she said. “We closed for the required three months, but we knew, as educators, that children learn best in the classroom. The last two years have been the most difficult I’ve had in 45 years.” Her passion for the needs of the students
is as palpable as it is infectious. “The whole reason I’m here is to be an advocate for the children, to be a voice for them,” Altick said. “Our motto is the yellow chair. The yellow chair always sat in my office as a reminder of — Is this decision right for the children? — because we only get one shot with them.” But 12-hour days didn’t leave much time for relationships outside of the work environment, Altick admitted. She hopes that changes with retirement. Her last day at Wesley Prep was May 31. “I’ll be cleaning my house,” she said, chuckling, “reconnecting with friends, traveling, enjoying our granddaughter, and finding a way to give back. I’m not sure what that will be, but I’m certain it will be something advocating for children — to be a voice for them still, just in a different place.” Her legacy at Wesley Prep? She hopes that’s defined as “making a difference in people’s lives” and “just doing right by folks.” “I feel very honored and blessed to have been a part of this great school for 45 years — amazing teachers, friends, and the most wonderfully engaged parents,” she said. Indeed, some teachers have worked alongside her for more than 30 years. Pondering winsomely, she added, “I’ll miss the children — the hugs and the kisses.”
HPISD Picks English-Language Arts Materials For 2022-23 By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
Highland Park ISD will start the 2022-2023 school year with new English language arts materials for grades K-8. Highland Park ISD trustees on June 23 picked replacements for the Units of Study materials published by Heinemann for teaching reading and writing in grades K-8, which had been in place since 2019. They approved the adoption of the Open Court Reading Foundational Skills Kit materials from McGraw Hill for K-3 phonics, Open Court Reading materials from McGraw Hill for reading and writing in grades K-5, and SpringBoard ELA materials f rom CollegeBoard for grades 6-8. “In multiple conversations we had with the consultants, we talked about the fact that a resource is just a resource, and we’re writing our own curriculum, and they are going to peruse the resource carefully this summer,” trustee Bryce
Benson said. Benson serves on the district’s ELA subcommittee with trustees Stacy Kelly and Maryjane Bonfield; Lisa Wilson, assistant superintendent for education services; and Superintendent Tom Trigg. “For example, if there is a text for third grade that’s not as rigorous as the consultants think it should be, then we’re going to identify another text that’s appropriate, so I feel very comfortable about rigor and our own curriculum writing process,” Benson said. Trustees in April agreed to phase out the Units of Study materials, and the district hired consultants Robyn Hartzell and Dr. Thea Woodruff. Hartzell, a former teacher, has experience as an instructional coach, interventionist, trainer, consultant, and program coordinator at the campus and regional levels. Woodruff, a professor at the University of Texas and Meadows Center researcher, is the principal author of the Texas
Educators will use new English language arts materials approved in June for grades K-8 with a custom curriculum Highland Park ISD leaders are writing. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER) Reading Academies. School district officials estimated the cost of implementing the materials at between $1 million and $2 million, not including the costs of the services of the consultants. However, Trigg said the price would likely be closer to $1.5 million. HPISD will primarily use a portion of available Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) supplemental
funds to cover the costs of the new materials, and the purchase will not impact the district’s year-to-year budget. “One-time revenues like ESSER funds help the district fulfill this type of need without taking away f rom recurring expenditures like salaries,” Bonfield said. As for the consultants, district spokeswoman Tammy Kuykendall said a total of $42,000 was encumbered to cover the initial
costs of their services as the district worked through the materials selection and review process. Trigg said they will likely continue working with the district at least through the 2022-2023 school year. HPISD English Language Arts teachers in grades K-8 will receive targeted professional development on the selected materials in preparation for use with the start of the new school year.