United to Learn

We're proud to share that our CEO, Tim Hise's, commentary was published in The 74, reaching a national audience with a message close to our mission: community engagement isn't outreach—it's infrastructure.

For too long, schools have treated community engagement as a nice-to-have rather than a core system. But when schools have the partnerships, structures, and operational support to connect volunteers, businesses, and philanthropies to real campus needs, students win. Here in Dallas, we've seen this firsthand: over the past eight years, thousands of volunteers have contributed more than 13,000 hours across our partner schools, strengthening literacy, learning environments, and school communities along the way.

This piece highlights what's possible when Dallas ISD, United to Learn, educators, volunteers, and community leaders work together with intention—and we're grateful to The 74 for the platform to share it.

Read the full piece here: https://www.the74million.org/article/in-dallas-schools-community-engagement-isnt-outreach-its-infrastructure/

Dallas ISD Dallas ISD Partnerships and Volunteer Engagement

Hise: District and local nonprofit have built operational systems that make volunteer help useful, consistent and geared to what teachers want https://bit.ly/4vPwzDi

💙📚 Mentorship in action!

This year, our United to Learn Teen Fellows chapter at H.Grady Spruce High School has been supporting students at Julius Dorsey Leadership Academy as they prepared for their STAAR Reading exams.

What started as tutoring quickly grew into something more. Our Teen Fellows became mentors, role models, and trusted friends for their elementary student partners. The impact has gone both ways—high school students gained leadership experience while younger students built confidence and literacy skills.

The best part? Dorsey students were always asking, “When are the Spruce students coming back?” 😊

We’re so proud of our Teen Fellows for showing up, building relationships, and helping their younger peers succeed. 🌟

Dallas ISD

This week, United to Learn showed up to honor five teachers across Dallas ISD who were chosen by the people who know them best: their students and families.

Through our partnership with Honored Schools, a program of the College Football Playoff Foundation, students and families across our partner campuses were invited to submit "Honor Stories" — personal testimonials about a teacher who changed their life. This year, five of those teachers were named Life-Changing Teacher Award winners, each receiving $2,500.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate:

📍 Edwin J. Kiest Elementary School
• Beatriz Quiroz — Grade 1, All Subjects

📍Charles A. Gill Elementary School
• Melissa Perez — Grade 1, All Subjects

📍Alex Sanger Preparatory School
• Paul Gongora — Grades 7/8, Reading
• Roberto Correa — Grades 3–5, Science
• Kenedi Barbre — Grade 3, All Subjects (and a U2L New Teacher Grant recipient!)

Teaching is one of the most powerful forces for change in a child's life, and too often, that work goes unseen. Programs like Honored Schools exist to change that. We're grateful to the College Football Playoff Foundation for investing in teachers who invest everything in their students.

Congratulations to all five winners. Your communities see you, and so do we.

Extra Yard for Teachers

🍪💙 A little sweetness for the sweetest educators!
Throughout May, we’ve been surprising educators across our partner campuses with cookies and paletas to remind them just how appreciated they are by United to Learn. ✨

A huge thank you to our amazing local businesses, Jen's Place Bakery & Cafe and Paleteria San Marcos, for helping us bring these sweet treats to campuses across Dallas. 🍪🍧

From classrooms to front offices, our educators and staff pour so much into supporting students every day, and this was one way to say THANK YOU. 🍎

We’re so grateful for the educators who help Dallas students learn, grow, and thrive. 💙

Dallas ISD

What a night! 🥂✨
Last Thursday, we celebrated the individuals and partners who champion Dallas ISD schools and help students thrive.

Congratulations to this year's U2L Champions:
🏆 Principal Chara Pace, Educator
🏆 Francis Robles, Educator
🏆 Truist Bank, Investor
🏆 Joseph Cissell, Volunteer/Liaison
🏆 Renza Diaz, Volunteer/Liaison
🏆 Nori Romero, Teen Fellow

And a huge congrats to L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary for winning our drawing and taking home $1,250 for their educators next school year! 🎉

Thank you to everyone who joined us. Nights like this remind us what community looks like. 💙

Dallas ISD

We are not raising users or consumers. We are raising humans. 💙

This morning's Women's Forum on students and the future of AI left us with something bigger than a conversation about technology. It was a reminder of what actually matters.
The skills that will carry students forward are still deeply human ones.

Critical thinking. Communication. Confidence. Creativity. Empathy. Relationships.

AI can help us move faster, streamline tasks, and create more space for meaningful work. But learning still matters. Reading deeply still matters. Human connection still matters.

Thank you to everyone who brought such thoughtful energy to the room this morning. And a special thank you to our incredible speakers:
🎤 Keynote: Dr. Kerri Briggs
🎙️ Moderator: Gillea Allison
💬 Panelists: Angie Ga***rd & DeVon Lang
👏 United to Learn CEO: Tim Hise

The technology will keep changing. But the ability to think clearly, connect meaningfully, and show up for one another — that will always matter. ✨

Today, we cut the ribbon on something exciting at William M. Anderson Elementary School. ✨

We unveiled a brand new library and career exploration space, designed to spark curiosity, encourage hands-on learning, and help students connect what they're learning to where they could go. 📚

The space introduces students to Automotive, Construction, and STEM pathways aligned to Dallas ISD Career Institutes, built in collaboration with Stemscapes. But the moment that stopped us in our tracks? Learning that this partnership with Avondale Dealerships runs deeper than investment.

Avondale President Hesham Elgaghil shared that both of his parents were educators. And several Avondale technicians who joined us today are Dallas ISD alumni, spending time with Anderson students in the brand new Avondale Automotive Zone and showing them firsthand what their future could look like. 💙

That's what real community partnership looks like. Not just writing a check, but showing up, sharing your story, and helping kids see themselves in the possibilities in front of them.

We are deeply grateful to Avondale Dealerships for supporting this project from the earliest visioning conversations through multiple days of volunteering and today's ribbon-cutting. 🙌

Dallas ISD

It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and while we believe teachers deserve to be celebrated every single day, this week gives us the perfect excuse to make it a little louder. 🎉

At United to Learn, we are inspired daily by the teachers across Dallas who show up with patience, creativity, and heart.

The work you do inside the classroom ripples far beyond it, into homes, communities, and futures you may never fully see. 💛

To every teacher making a difference in a student's life: thank you. You are seen, you are valued, and your impact reaches further than you will ever know.

This week, take a moment to reach out to an educator who made a mark on your life. A former teacher, a mentor, a colleague, a coach, etc. A kind word or a simple thank you can mean the world. 🌱

Who is a teacher you're celebrating this week? Drop their name in the comments and let's show them some love! 👇

180 tutors. 31 Dallas ISD elementary schools. 1,000+ tutored students. 15,000 tutoring hours. 🎉

Last week, we celebrated the Aspiring Teacher Tutors who made the 2025–2026 school year one to remember. From high school tutors stepping into their very first classroom experiences, to college students deepening their practice, to retired educators sharing a lifetime of wisdom, every generation of educator was in the room. 💙

But this celebration was about more than milestones. Through workplace tours, our tutors got a firsthand look at the broader education ecosystem because great educators show up in nonprofits, advocacy, policy, family engagement, and community partnerships, too.

Thank you to the organizations that opened their doors and helped our tutors see themselves as part of something bigger:
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🎨 Latino Cultural Center
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To every Aspiring Teacher Tutor, thank you for your commitment, your consistency, and the real impact you made on Dallas students this year. We can't wait to see where this journey takes you. 🌱