March 4, 2016
Engaged Community                       
Destination: Success
When Steven and Mallissa Daniels heard about Destination Success, a college planning event offering workshops on everything from financial literacy to SAT/ACT prep, they didn't think twice about pushing aside earlier plans and heading over to Sam Houston High School. "We wanted to sit in on the workshops and see what we need to do and when we need to do it," Steven said. "It's something we need to be thinking about." Even if - actually, especially since - their daughter is a seventh grader at Shackelford Junior High. | State Representative Chris Turner speaks to a packed house at Sam Houston High School for Destination Success/Parent University.

Engaged Community                            
Ditto 50, APD 48    
As sixth graders go, R.J. C. isn't a tiny guy. He towers over quite a few of his classmates at Ditto Elementary. Yet R.J. doesn't come close to 6-foot-7 Tim James, an Arlington police officer who is not only quite tall but also quite skilled. Several years ago, James was a first-round draft pick for the Miami Heat professional basketball team. So imagine R.J.'s thrill during an exhibition basketball game against James and fellow officers from the Arlington Police Department and Arlington Fire Department when he stole the ball and dribbled the length of the court to score the winning basket in overtime, 50-48. | Ditto Elementary sixth graders defeated Arlington Police Department officers in the Basketball Challenge 50-48 in overtime.

Inspired Learners                            
Bungee-Jumping Barbies  
When Williams Elementary sixth-grade teachers wanted to challenge students with academic projects, they devised a way for them to complete a different project each week. And when they started, they had no idea the projects would involve tossing eggs off the top of the school building or bungee-jumping Barbie dolls. Each week a different sixth-grade teacher assigns a project for the students who research and execute the project. | Williams Elementary sixth grader Kendra L. prepares to drop her Barbie doll for the bungee jump.
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Effective Leadership                            
CRASH at Martin   
It wasn't that Landon H. was oblivious to homelessness in Arlington or anywhere else, but the day he learned that a classmate sitting next to him might actually be homeless, it sparked one of those "aha" moments. The Martin High School senior was listening to a guest speaker discuss homelessness at a Mayor's Youth Commission meeting when the numbers she was spewing hit close to home. Landon is the president of the Mayor's Youth Commission. "She was talking about how over 300,000 kids are homeless in Texas and how there are homeless teens in AISD," he said. "I just started wondering what could be done to help with that." | Martin High School seniors Landon H. and Tom O. started CRASH, a non-profit organization to raise money and bring awareness to local homelessness.
News Briefs
Register now for March 5
LIFE Academy
Registration for the 2016 Arlington Coalition for Education's annual Leaders Inspiring Families for Excellence Academy for high school and junior high students and parents is now open. LIFE Academy is a free, one-day forum on developing life skills that includes workshops for parents and students. LIFE Academy will be held Saturday, March 5, at Seguin High School.
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AISD-UNT Health Science Center announce partnership

The Arlington ISD and the University of North Texas Health Science Center announce an exciting partnership that will provide select students interested in health-related occupations an accelerated, real-life learning experience beyond the classroom.
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AISD partners with UNT to offer fine arts college credit
The Arlington ISD and University of North Texas announce a partnership that will allow AISD students to earn dual credit in fine arts. By partnering with UNT to offer college-level courses such as music history, music theory and piano, AISD students will be able to graduate with college credit in fine arts for the first time.
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Applications for 2016-2017 new transfers begin March 7
New transfer applications will begin being accepted at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 7 and run through 3 p.m. on Friday, March 11. All transfer requests are done online, and parents need a valid email address to apply for a transfer.
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Upcoming Events
March 14-18: Spring break
March 25: Student/staff holiday
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AISD Achieving Excellence is produced weekly by the AISD communications department.

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Ken Perkins
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