Preston Hollow Elementary School

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Preston Hollow Elementary School
Location
6423 Walnut Hill Lane
Dallas, Texas 75230 Flag of the United States United States
Information
School district Dallas Independent School District
Principal Pete Chapasko
Students 601[1]
Type Public, Primary
Grades PK-5
Mascot patriot[2]
Color(s) hunter green and white[2]          
Information +1 (972) 794-8500[3]
Fax: +1 (972) 794-8501[4]
Trustee dist.  2, Jack Lowe[5]
Area   4, Dr. Robin S. Ryan[6]
Homepage http://www.phes.org

Preston Hollow Elementary School is a public primary school located in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of north Dallas, Texas, (USA). Preston Hollow Elementary School enrolls students in grades PK-5 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.

Contents

[edit] Preston Hollow in the news

In 2006, Preston Hollow Elementary School achieved notoriety after a lawsuit claiming the school's class-assignment policies violated the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision. Judge Sam Lindsay ruled in November that the school's practices were not legal because they attempted to keep white students together even if minority students had to be placed in inappropriate courses; this ruling was mis-cited in at least one local paper as indicating that all-white classes had been created.[7] Defense noted that not a single whites-only class existed in the school, and that placement was based on test scores; however, Latino claimants in the suit argued that their children were placed in bilingual or English as a Second Language classes even when test scores suggested they should be in a general education program.[8] The district's attorneys also argued that no harm had been caused to the minority students, prompting the judge to write, "The court is baffled that in this day and age, that [DISD relied] on what is, essentially, a 'separate but equal' argument."[7] The policies were criticized in the judge's ruling and in subsequent news articles as being an attempt to lessen white flight by attracting more parents from the surrounding, mostly white community to keep their children in the local public system rather than sending them to private schools.[9]

The school and the president of the school's Parent Teacher Association, Meg Bittner, were also called to task for development and use of a promotional brochure that — according to the suit and to e-mails from Bittner introduced into evidence — intentionally featured almost exclusively white children, despite the school's enrollment being predominately minority.[10][11] The ruling was affirmed by Lindsay in April, 2007, following his granting of a motion to amend a finding regarding the date on which the principal, Teresa Parker, had announced the planned ending of the special class assignments; the judge stated that this detail had not affected the decision and also denied defense motions to amend the conclusion of the judge's opinion and to amend the punitive damages assessed against Parker.[12] The judge criticized both motions as follows:

“ The court finds troubling that Defendants would attempt to retreat and recharacterize their 'separate but equal' arguments, and it insults the court's intelligence that they seek to reclassify these arguments in any other manner.

[Regarding the motion to reduce the punitive damages] The flip side of the coin can be argued, that is, that the punitive damages awarded ... are too low when one considers the purposes of such damages – to punish those who act with evil intent, or with reckless or callous indifference to another's constitutional rights, and to deter others from engaging in such illegal conduct. ... The court can think of no constitutional violations more damaging and indelible than those based on immutable characteristics, such as race and ethnicity at issue in this case.

 ”

Parker initially retained her position despite the court's having found her personally liable for violation of the 14th Amendment with regard to specific children. News stories near the Jan. 17, 2007, deadline for implementation of policy changes reported that Parker had been moved to an administrative position with the school district and the principalship would be taken over by interim principal Enid Rosenfeldt.[13][14]

[edit] Statistics

77% of the students at Preston Hollow are economically disadvantaged, 8% enroll in special education, 13% enroll in gifted and talent programs, and 42% are considered "limited English proficient."[15]

The ethnic makeup of the school is 66% Hispanic American, 18% White American, non-Hispanic, 13% African American and 3% Asian American/Pacific Islander American.[15]

The average class sizes at Preston Hollow are 17 for Kindergarten, 12 for 2nd grade, 15 for 3rd grade, 22 for 4th grade, and 30 for 5th grade.[15]

Teachers at the school carry, on average, 16 years of teaching experience and 0% of the teachers on staff are first-year teachers.[15]

[edit] Test Scores

Below is a list of percentages that represent the percent of students meeting or exceeding standards on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test.

Grade 3[16]
Year Reading Math
2006 89% 91%
2005 79% 69%
2004 85% 94%
2003 — 81%
Grade 4[16]
Year Reading Writing Math
2006 83% 96% 96%
2005 80% 93% 83%
2004 73% 85% 72%
2003 78% 79% 79%
Grade 5[16]
Year Science Reading Math
2006 68% 81% 82%
2005 — 70% 76%
2004 — 72% 84%
2003 — 71% 82%

[edit] School uniforms

All DISD elementary school students [1], including Preston Hollow students [2], are required to wear school uniforms.

The Texas Education Agency specified that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform [3]; parents must specify "bona fide" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.

[edit] Feeder patterns

As of 2007, Preston Hollow feeds into Benjamin Franklin Middle School and ultimately into Hillcrest High School.[17]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Texas Education Agency - School Directory - type in school number "057905195" and select "view report." Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  2. ^ a b Dallas ISD - Preston Hollow Elementary School. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  3. ^ Dallas ISD - School telephone numbers. (PDF). Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  4. ^ Dallas ISD - School fax numbers. (PDF). Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  5. ^ Dallas ISD - Schools by Trustee. (PDF). Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  6. ^ Dallas ISD - Schools by Area. (PDF). Retrieved on 22 February 2007.
  7. ^ a b Kent Fischer. "Ruling: Classes divided by race: At Preston Hollow, principal tried to appease affluent parents, halt white flight, judge says," The Dallas Morning News, November 18, 2006
  8. ^ Matt Pulle. "Split Decision," Dallas Observer, January 11, 2007
  9. ^ Judge Sam Lindsay's complete opinion
  10. ^ "School ‘crossed line’ on student recruitment: Dallas public school illegally tried to attract white students, attorneys say," MSNBC, August 6, 2006
  11. ^ "Racial segregation alive and well in Dallas public schools ...," Daily Kos, November 19, 2006
  12. ^ Tricia Scruggs. "Judge Upholds Ruling in Segregation Suit: Meanwhile students, teachers focus on education, not litigation," Preston Hollow People, April 27, 2007
  13. ^ Tricia Scruggs."Preston Hollow Elementary Welcomes Interim Principal: In wake of segregation ruling, parents, district ready to move forward," Preston Hollow People, January 12, 2007
  14. ^ "New PHES Principal Wants ‘School Without Disruptions’: Enid Rosenfeldt takes charge in aftermath of discrimination lawsuit," Preston Hollow People, January 25, 2007
  15. ^ a b c d Great Schools - Preston Hollow Elementary School - Dallas, Texas. Information originally from the Texas Education Agency. Retrieved on 4 January 2007.
  16. ^ a b c Texas Education Agency - TAKS Aggregate Data System. Results are not on a static webpage, you must request them using the system. 4 January 2007.
  17. ^ Dallas ISD - 2007 School Feeder Patterns - Hillcrest High School. Retrieved on 25 April 2007.
  18. ^ Matt Pulle. "Split Decision," p. 3
  19. ^ The First Ladies of the United States: Laura Welch Bush, Stockholm Embassy, November 2001

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Dallas Independent School District
High schools … full list Adams | Adamson | Carter | Conrad | Hillcrest | Jefferson | Kimball | Lincoln | Madison | Molina | North Dallas | Pinkston | Roosevelt | Samuell | Seagoville | Skyline | Smith | South Oak Cliff | Spruce | Sunset | W. T. White | Wilson
Middle schools … full list Anderson | Hill | Marsh | Quintanilla
Elementary schools … full list Hooe | Preston Hollow
Magnet schools Townview magnets: Government, Law, & Law Enforcement | Science and Engineering Magnet | Talented & Gifted | Business and Management | Education and Social Services | Health Professions
Other High Schools: Washington HS for Performing and Visual Arts | Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet | Skyline
Middle/High: Rangel Young Women's | PreK-8: Dealey Montessori | Stone Montessori | 4-8: Travis Academy/Vanguard