Skyline Architecture Cluster, Dallas ISD

The Skyline Architecture Cluster is a college preparatory magnet program for DallasISD students interested in pursuing a career in architecture and design related professions.  Students learn to analyze and evaluate the built world while developing their design skills and creative potential.

The Skyline Architecture Cluster provides an opportunity for DallasISD high school students to explore the field of architecture and learn the basic principals and skills of architectural design in a college preparatory setting.

The Cluster focuses on critical thinking and creative problem solving skills while promoting student interaction with design professionals and the community in which they live.

To learn more visit  www.skylinearchitecturecluster.org

Dallas Mapping Project

The Dallas Mapping Project website was created by the 11th grade students in the DallasISD magnet architecture program at Skyline High School, the first magnet high school in the United States, and at 4,500 students, one of the largest high schools in Texas.  The Skyline Architecture Cluster  includes approximately 100 students in grades 9-12, and this award winning, college-prep program prepares students for future careers in architecture and other design related fields. 

The goal of the Dallas Mapping Project is to create a portrait of Dallas as seen through the eyes of students.  The portrait you see attempts to depict a "sense of place," and includes a wide range of architectural, topographical, historical, and cultural information.  The data was collected and edited by the 11th grade Skyline Architecture Cluster students beginning in January 2013, and includes drawings, collages, and diagrams they created along the way.  Their goal was to create a multi-faceted portrait of the city revealing it's character- and, like the changing face of the world we live in, the website itself is a work in progress, and continues to evolve and change over time.

As you navigate the site, you will find familiar and unfamiliar buildings and places, interviews with student's family members and with famous Dallasites, and a feel for the neighborhoods of Dallas and the people who live there.  The project was undertaken as the starting point of a similar mapping project of Cape Town, South Africa.  Before departing for Cape Town as the recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Award, architect and teacher Peter Goldstein and the Skyline Architecture Cluster students created this map of Dallas to tell the story of their city, and share it with students in South Africa.

The ultimate goal of the Mapping Project is to reach across boundaries and foster common ground through the study of architecture and the built environment.  Through their investigations of the architecture and built world around them, this map of Dallas created by the 11th graders in the Skyline Architecture Cluster explores and celebrates the rich cultural diversity of Dallas, and the people and places that make Dallas unique.  Our hope is to create connections with students in other cities as they explore their neighborhoods and history, and tell the stories of the place they call home.

To learn more visit www.dallasmappingproject.org

Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program

Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program provides funding for highly accomplished U.S. primary and secondary level teachers to take part in an intensive professional development program for three to six months abroad. The Institute of International Education (IIE) administers he Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

Teachers of all subjects, guidance counselors, curriculum specialists, curriculum heads, Talented and Gifted coordinators, Special Education coordinators and media specialists/librarians may apply to this program for the opportunity to go abroad for three to six months to study in an overseas research center or university, work within local schools in the host country, and to complete a capstone project that should enhance their learning and have practical applications to their teaching (see the Capstone Project page for sample projects). 

IIE works with U.S. Embassies and consulates, Fulbright Commissions and other organizations to link U.S. teachers with a host institution in their preferred country. Once abroad, academic support will be provided by a host institution advisor who will support the U.S. teacher and help contribute to the design and activities of the project. Project support will also be provided via an online module led by staff at a U.S. university. Upon returning to the U.S., participants will be expected to share the knowledge and experience gained on the program with teachers and students in their home schools and within their communities.

PROGRAM BENEFITS TO PARTICIPATING TEACHERS

As part of the program, Distinguished Fulbright Teachers:

• Design and carry out a Capstone Project overseas. Projects may relate to the teacher’s content area, curriculum development, educational policy, standards or other key issues relevant to the home and host educational system abroad.
• Study and observe international best practices in education;
• Share professional expertise with educators and students in the host country;
• Develop leadership skills and understanding of educational policy;
• Enhance their ability to work in diverse and multicultural environments.

PROGRAM BENEFITS TO U.S. SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES

Upon return, Distinguished Fulbright Teachers:

• Integrate international best practices in education in the U.S. classroom, school and community;
• Integrate Capstone Project findings into the U.S. classroom or school;
• Expand global and intercultural awareness of students and colleagues by sharing their Fulbright experience and infusing their experience into classroom content or curriculum;
• Develop partnerships and joint projects with schools and classrooms abroad.

To learn more about the Fulbright Teaching Awards Program go to http://www.iie.org/Programs/Fulbright-Awards-In-Teaching. 

School Year:  Learning, Poverty, and Success in a South African Township

In this year-long series,  Anders Kelto follows the fortunes of a public high school in Cape Town. The Centre of Science and Technology is a magnet school that serves families in the low-income township of Khayelitsha.

ABOUT THE REPORTER

Anders Kelto is The World's Africa correspondent. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, he reports largely on health and economic development, and he also covers education in the developing world. He will spend much of 2013 producing radio and multimedia content for this series. Originally from Michigan, Anders spent several years as a soccer player and coach before beginning a career in journalism.

To see Anders Kelto's stories for PRI go to http://www.theworld.org/schoolyear/

NOTE-  this is not an official Department of State website or blog, and the views and information presented do not represent the Fulbright Program of the U.S. Department of State, or any of the organizations or groups mentioned in this site.