Education + Enrichment

When Rhea Rajani saw her little sister Reena drawing on the walls out of anger, she didn't see an act of disobedience. Instead, she saw an opportunity to help.

Dhroov Bharatia felt anxious as he finished the Dallas Sports Commission’s 63rd annual Dallas Regional Spelling Bee.

The personal testimonies posted anonymously on the Dear Plano ISD Facebook page are all different. They come from different schools, and students from many different years. But they follow common threads, and together, they tell a singular story.

Applications for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas’ scholarship program for 30 local high school seniors are open, according to a press release from RMHCNTX. The scholarship gives over $60,000 total to awarded students.

Last week, when Summer Smith, Plano mother of 13-year-old SeMarion Humphrey, posted videos and screenshots of Haggard Middle School football players bullying her son on Facebook, it was because she was out of ideas.

A shaky nine-second video taken at a sleepover shows a 13-year-old Black teen in pajamas. A White teen that he thought was his friend tilts a Starbucks cup full of dark yellow liquid to his lips. In the background, other kids laugh.

Lisa Wong, director of technology, STEM teacher and mentor at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, had no idea she and her husband’s trip to London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary would help her prepare TCA for the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 2016 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that only 26 percent of Americans were able to name all three branches of government; 31 percent of surveyed people couldn’t name a single branch.

In a Dec. 10 Facebook post, McKinney Independent School District announced that it was closing Reuben Johnson Elementary due to a COVID outbreak. The ISD is moving classes online until Dec. 18, but expects to resume in-person classes Jan.

When Reagan Rodgers of Plano voted for the first time last week, she felt prepared. Her government teacher, family and friends had been talking about the elections for months.