Preston Hollow People (Newspaper) - October 13, 2006, Dallas, Texas COMMUNITY MATTERS Walnut Hill Rec Center kicks it 2A H WEDDING Another week another 1 do H WEEKEND Its popcorn season IB 1 FRIDAY OCTOBER PRESTON VOL 3 ISSUE Schools Interest District links student success to family support By Sarah P Henry Staff Writer School officials say that involving parents in cam pus activities including their own childs academic progress can be one of the hardest tasks in running a school and one of the most important Mike Ralston director for parent and family involve ment in the Dallas Independent School District said if a parent is involved in a childs educa tion a child has a much bet ter chance of succeeding Forty years of very intense research has found that par ent involvement is the most critical factor in a childs suc cess Ralston said This in turn boosts a perform ance lifts the morale of stu dents and teachers alike and creates a rich learning environment But getting there can be challenging Many parents do not speak English making it hard for them to help their children study or partici pate in school activities However Ralston said the greatest stumbling block is that many parents simply arent interested in school affairs Its the most difficult problem to overcome Parents take their children to school and leave them there expecting teachers to take over and do every thing he said Kay Flabiano has a fifth grader at Kramer Elementary and a sophomore at Hillcrest High School She said parents have a responsibility to help teach ers and should be actively involved on campus The parents up there all the time can be the eyes and the ears of the teacher As parents we have a big voice in a lot of things We can get things done on our cam puses but the only way to know the problems is if youre walking the halls she said Flabiano said theres a population of students at Kramer whose parents are hardly involved in the school As a PTA mom shes worked to try to include them but the problem is not easily solved Im not blaming those parents she said Some of them are working two and See FAMILY Page Passion for Citys Overlay Tool Cools Despite tough talk on residents balk at implementing new rule MICHAEL Above Decked in a makeshift skirt Ben Meyer 4 tests his balance on a mechanical surfboard at the Lamplighter Luau Left Julia Goodwin 5 catches some air time while riding in a hydraulic slingshot at The Lamplighter School Fall Carnival Lamplighter Luau held Oct 6 Athletic Track Marquee Statue Show PTSA Efforts Kirby Warnock heads team which plans to renovate Hillcrest auditorium By Tricia Scruggs Staff Writer In the fall of 2005 officials voted to support apian armed at giving homeowners a chance to regulate develop ment such as the height of fences the size of front yards and placement of garages A year later neighbor hoods have yet to implement the ordinance but some resi dents say its a good idea since much of the original housing in and Preston Hollow continues to be torn down and replaced by large struc tures changing the look and feel of neighborhoods Kim McBride whos e family moved into their Preston Hollow ranch two years ago said her biggest concern is that some new homes are being squeezed into lots sitting closer to the street and in some cases leav ing very little for a backyard This neighborhood is one of the few left where you can have outdoor space in the city she said I would love it if there were some really clear restrictions According to city of Dallas records discussion about and their incom was first addressed during a comprehensive plan See OVERLAY Page SA By Tricia Scruggs Staff Writer The last time a man held the helm of the Hillcrest Parent Teacher Student Association was in 1970 the same year two women became the first female generals in the US military The women took over President Kirby Warnock said of the run of lady lead ers at the Preston Hollow area high school They just took the bull by the horns It was a sign of the times Checking his email remotely from a restaurant near the school on a recent Tuesday afternoon Warnock noticed he had two messages one from Hillcrest Principal Marty Crawford informing him that two defibrillators the PTSA acquired for the athletic department had arrived and another from beautification committee Chair Margaret Parks con firming the school also had received a plaque to be mounted on the Panther statue thats perched on the front lawn Im just kind of a traffic cop Warnock said when asked how he keeps up with the various duties board and committee mem bers have got it down to a science Todays PTSA is reaping the benefits of a deeply rooted organiza tion that for several decades has been instrumental in improving the educational environment at the Dallas public school Everything is pretty much on automatic pilot said counselor Jane Solimani who has been a longtime STAFF PHOTO MICHAEL BROADBENT Hillcrest PfA board members Dawn Hall Jane President Kirby Warnock Suzanne Bibb and Kathy Wine at Franklin Stadium for game against Woodrow Wilson on Oct 6 Gilbert Pacheco looks plans for a home under construction in the 6700 block of Deloache Plan Battle on Deck Resistance to Forward Dallas expected teer at each of her childrens three schools Kramer Franklin and now Hillcrest She said when she first became a member of the PTSA in 1997 hardly any stu dents applied for a scholar ship program but that num ber has jumped to more than 50 thanks to a revamped application form and getting the word out that scholar ships are available Now roughly two dozen scholarships are being given annually to students Solimani said Thanks to the efforts Hillcrest has racked up quite a bit including the recent addition of a new ath track an electronic mar and the Panther statue which is surrounded by new landscaping consisting of native Texas plants which showcase the front of the Hillcrest Road campus As the ladies would say We want to enhance our curb appeal said Warnock a football dad who said he wouldnt have thought of the beautification project and instead might have suggested new lockers He said the primary goals are to advocate and encourage students and help Hillcrest purchase needed equipment and though there are parents who have many years of experience at Hillcrest Warnock said there are still numerous opportuni ties for interested parents to get involved You dont need an invita tion he said Just show up Well find something for you to do This year one of the associ ations biggest goals is gar nering support for renova tions to the schools auditorium The group is also discussing with alumni from the Class of 1957 how to estab lish an organized alumni association for all graduates I meet so many people who say they graduated from Hillcrest said Dawn Hall who served as the 200506 president There are an untapped number of people See PTSA By Peter Simek Staff Writer The Forward Dallas Comprehensive Plan didnt exactly pass smoothly through the Dallas City Council earlier this year After months of debate capping a drafting process the council juggled various amended versions of the plan before finally adopting it At the time opponents said they feared the plan was a trojan horse that would undo decades of work on the part of some of Dallas more sta ble neighborhoods by reworking city codes and reordering the future of parts of the city while proponents said it was only a blueprint to guide future planning efforts But even though the adop tion of the comprehensive plan had no immediate impact on the policies and codes that govern the growth of Dallas neighborhoods as implementation of the plan begins changes may soon become apparent Peer Chacko planning manager for Dallas long range planning department said that even in the early stages of implementation some codes will likely be rewritten The kickoff of the public process for the area plans will be fairly aggressive Chacko said Chacko acknowledged that approach is likely to stir up some controversy We think it will generate a bit of debate he said Although he expects con Chacko believes the three neighborhoods that have been chosen as the first subjects of new area plans exemplify the usefulness of the comprehensive plan to steer growth away from sta ble neighborhoods In fact the first targeted neighborhoods the Stemmons Hospital District the University of North Texas Dallas Campus in South Dallas and the Westmoreland DART station in Oak Cliff have suffered sporadic and unmanaged development or are underde but will soon experi ence rapid growth The area plans will address future development See BATTLE Page m WEEKEND Hi found out INT meant interior EXT meant exterior and wrote a script Someone I never met submitted it to Sundance which picked it and brought me to the labs and then we made a movie Director on making A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints m WEATHER re Parity Cloudy LO Ftw Showers Ftw Showers H179F
