By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B Diana Aguilera just wanted to be a cheerleader. Not such an unusual hope for a 14-year-old girl, even in the turbulent spring of 1969. But Diana’s skin was brown, and the white folks who ran Crystal City High School would allow only one Hispanic on the cheerleading squad […]
Read More… from Column: Walking out of class, into civil rights lore
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Wilmer-Hutchins has too many employees, district officials say, and its overflowing staffing is largely to blame for the district’s ongoing financial crisis. But those same officials also say the district doesn’t have enough teachers to fill its classrooms and meet state class-size requirements. It’s the latest in a […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B In August, Wilmer-Hutchins board President Luther Edwards described the troubled district’s leaders as a “team of nine” – the seven-member school board, Superintendent Charles Matthews and district lawyer James Belt. On Monday, the team’s roster shrank to seven. Under intense pressure from state officials, the school board fired […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B The Wilmer-Hutchins schools may soon be cutting ties with some of its most troubled figures. James Damm, the district’s interim superintendent, has recommended terminating the contracts of Superintendent Charles Matthews, maintenance director Wallace Faggett and district lawyer James Belt. The school board will consider the recommendations at its […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 2B The principal of Wilmer Elementary School has decided to move up her resignation and make it effective immediately. Geraldine Hobson had said she would leave at the end of the current semester. Her sudden departure comes after a Dallas Morning News analysis found strong evidence of organized cheating […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B The principal of Wilmer Elementary has decided to resign, less than two weeks after a Dallas Morning News analysis of TAKS test scores found strong evidence of organized cheating at the school. But Geraldine Hobson told district officials that her decision is based on family circumstances, not the […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 7B A Wilmer-Hutchins custodian is the third person indicted in the ongoing criminal investigations into the district. Willie Dunn is accused of stealing 18 laptop computers from the district’s administration building this summer. The charge, issued by a Dallas County grand jury on Thursday, is a third-degree felony and […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B After being introduced to the Wilmer-Hutchins school board they will govern, one of the district’s new state-appointed managers had something to tell trustees. “God help us,” businessman Albert Black said. His statement – which prompted supportive noises from the audience at Monday night’s meeting – reflected the size […]
Read More… from Team meets trustees; State-appointed managers positive about job ahead at W-H
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A James Wright was having some trouble with the science TAKS test last year at Wilmer-Hutchins’ Alta Mesa Elementary. He says his teacher was willing to help. “The teacher would walk around the class during the test and be like, ‘Hey, that’s wrong,’” said James, now a 12-year-old sixth-grader […]
Read More… from A little help on TAKS; Exclusive: At W-H, students say teachers gave answers
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B A prominent business leader and a former interim Dallas superintendent will be the state overseers in Wilmer-Hutchins. The Texas Education Agency announced Friday that the district’s two-person management team will be Albert C. Black Jr., a former chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and Robert Payton, […]