Dallas ISD is looking forward to brand new programs later this year, one of which could help transform the Oak Cliff community.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School is expanding its campus to bring in some programs that have a huge emphasis on public health and public safety. School leaders say with the pandemic, it couldn't be more timely.
Starting next school year, 2021-2022 the high school is adding in programs for patient care technician training, firefighting and EMT training, and other courses in the humanities and arts to help train the next generation of public health leaders.
Those programs will go into a 70,000 square foot building that's being renovated right now on the Roosevelt HS campus. Construction is expected to be finished in the summer.
The expansion was made possible in part by a one-time $50,000 Innovation Engine Program grant awarded by the Office of Transformation and Innovation to campuses with innovative educational programs.
RHS principal Troy Tyson said this new effort is the result of meaningful conversations they've been having with the community surrounding the school. It's a grassroots effort dubbed “Roosevelt Next Level.”
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"Just having community conversations, that’s always at the forefront of our meetings. We're in a food desert, we have a lack of resources around us. So we started to talk with alumni and the community, and ideas just started to come," he said. "People said, 'Why not make Roosevelt the hub or the center for health care?' Why not? We don’t have anything that truly stands out right now in the community in that aspect, so we’re looking to take that market share and actually have it right here at our high school."
Students interested in attending Franklin D. Roosevelt High School can apply online by clicking here.
Meantime, Dallas ISD is also partnering with Paul Quinn College to open a new 6th through12th International Baccalaureate school on the college campus.
Paul Quinn College, which has been located in Southern Dallas since 1872, is the only institution that has received the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) accreditation within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Trustees approved the agreement in November in an effort to provide rigorous programs and more school choice options for Southern Dallas students. The school will work toward becoming an IB campus through the IB school authorization process.
“As we think about the opportunities for our students, one of the things that we talk about all the time is the need for our students who oftentimes need the most, to get more,” Dallas ISD Chief of Strategic Initiatives Brian Lusk said during the October board briefing. “This fits right into that space. We believe that it’s the right thing and a good fit for the community. It adds to all the great offerings that we already have in Southern Dallas.”
The program is now accepting applications for students entering 6th and 7th grade next school year. Families can apply no matter where they live.
Students are selected through random lottery. Transportation is provided if they live with DISD boundaries.
If families are interested in applying for the IB program at Paul Quinn College, click here to fill out the online application.
