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Our middle school students created memorable experiences and developed new skills through The Congressional Award summit as part of Cityscapes Foresight Summer Camp!  Cityscape is proud to bring this first-of-its kind leadership program to our middle school students. This program traditionally engages students starting high school but thanks to a close collaboration with The Congressional Award, our middle students had the opportunity to participate in the prestigious national program.  “We are honored to partner with The U.S. Congressional Award Program to bring life-changing leadership experiences program to our first group of eighth graders at Cityscape Schools,” said Superintendent Elda Rojas. “The program will help our students grow academically and social-emotionally and will open an array of opportunities for them.”  The Congressional Award is the United States Congress’ only charity and the highest honor bestowed upon a youth civilian through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Mateo Magdaleno, from the Magdaleno Leadership Institute and member of the Congressional Award Program, introduced himself to our students by giving them an inspiring story and assuring them that they can do anything they want and introduced Mission I’m Possible, “Together, we can change the world.” This week-long program allowed our students to get a glimpse into what it’s like to be a college student. By focusing on issues, our students were challenged to come up with plans for the issues in question through an action plan. They started everyday with the whole group in which they all learned about the President’s Service Award and the Congressional award and its history. Then the whole group divided into small groups to work on their Issues to Action.  Our students participated in a college tour of…

We celebrated the end of a journey at Cityscape for our East Grand Preparatory 8th grade students last Thursday night as they graduated from middle school. The ceremony, which was the beginning of a new path for these students, brought tears to our students, staff and those who were present. With much excitement we celebrated the graduation of Cityscape's sixth 8th grade class. The first class of Cityscape 8th graders graduated in  2016. This year, we are proud to send off to high school our 64 students who graduated from East Grand Middle School.  The vast majority of students who graduated this year were part of the East Grand family since their elementary years, with some of them having graduated from kindergarten  at EGP. Four of our grads attended elementary school at Buckner Preparatory. Dr. Israel Garcia, Assistant Principal at East Grand Preparatory, says the eighth grade graduating class has a lot more challenges to face in high school.  “This is far from over, the journey for high school graduation is still ahead of them,” said Dr. Garcia. However, as challenging as it may be at times, our 8th grade students are equipped now with the right tools and the character to persevere and triumph. “The East Grand Prep grads who will be part of the high school graduating classes of 2027 will do amazing things, just wait and see!” With the strong academic foundation built at Cityscape Schools, the journey for our grads will continue to flourish at neighborhood high schools such as: Yvonne A. Ewell Townview School of Health Profession, Skyline’s both, Magnet and Early College, New Tech Early College, Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy, North Dallas PTECH. Three…

National Leadership Day was created  over 50 years ago and started as National Student Government Day. It wasn’t until 1979 that it was renamed “Student Leadership Day.”  In 1983 that the celebration was extended to a week, creating National Student Leadership Week to ensure all clubs and activities were included, such as student government clubs, honor societies, campus clubs and beyond.   We are proud to acknowledge our school leaders at Cityscape Schools,  as we celebrate NSLW across the country. East Grand Preparatory has grown in clubs and organizations. One of the student-led organizations where engagement has grown the most is EGP’s Student Council.  East Grand Prep’s first Student Council was formed 5 years ago, with the first president of this chapter being Brittney Martinez.  2022-2023 Student Council Officers Chief Officer of Culture and Climate, Dr. Billy Ferrell has been an instrumental leader in bringing this student leadership organization to Cityscape Schools.  “East Grand Prep's first Student Council was formed in the fall of 2018,” said Dr. Ferrell. “The Council was established to provide leadership and service opportunities to EGP students to more completely fulfill the district's mission and vision.” The impact that this leadership organization has had in Cityscape students is leading towards an expansion of the program.  “Next year, with the implementation of 7th grade at Buckner Prep,” said Dr. Ferrell. “We will also be looking at branching out and serving our local community beyond the campus and district level to serve the less fortunate in the East Dallas community.”  Student Council provides students at East Grand Preparatory many opportunities to demonstrate their leadership, scholarship, and citizenship qualities.  Mr. Commodore Bussey is the sponsor for EGP’s Student Council and…

In February 2023, Mr. Angel Rodriguez was designated as Recognized status in TEA’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. Born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Mr. Rodriguez was interviewed by Cityscape staff while living in Puerto Rico and came to Dallas for the sole purpose of teaching students at Cityscape Schools.  He currently teaches 8th grade ELAR classes at East Grand Preparatory. Mr. Rodriguez earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a specialization in teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. One interesting note is that he taught conversation English classes to adult business professionals at Berlitz School of Languages in Ponce. When asked about earning a Recognized distinction, he responded “For me, it’s all about community; building relationships with students, staff, and parents. When you establish relationships with your students, it opens the door for them to care about what you have to say as a teacher.”  He continued, “building community instills trust from the students and they don’t want to disappoint you, whether inside or outside of the classroom.” When asked what advice he would give to new teachers, he recommends that they not be afraid to reach out to their peers, both horizontally and vertically.  He stated, “Good communication channels with peers and instructional leaders is vital. Be humble.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your teammates.  Those relationships are key.” When asked for some words of commendation for Mr. Rodriguez, EGP Executive Principal, Ms. Celia Sanchez, said that, “Mr. Rodriguez is an outstanding individual that teaches from the heart. From giving up his personal time to eat with his students, to learning about his students’ personal…

Cityscape celebrates the induction of the new members of the National Junior Honor Society. A group of middle school students at East Grand Preparatory were inducted into the honorable organization for their outstanding academic accomplishments. The purpose of the National Junior Honor Society is to elevate a school’s commitment to the values and help middle-level students develop the knowledge and skills to become student leaders in their school, community, and beyond. It is with great pleasure to see how each year the list of our students at East Grand Middle School that participate in the NJHS Ceremony keeps growing. During this year’s ceremony, we were able to hear some prestigious words from our Principal, Celia Sanchez, Assistant Principal Dr. Israel Garcia, Counselor Natica Jones, and Chief Officer of Culture and Climate Dr. Billy Ferrell.  As part of the ceremony, students voted on six faculty role models that they look up to: Dr. Israel Garcia, Mr. Rodriguez-Colon, Mr. Paredes, Mr. Bussey, Ms. Chism, and Ms. Miles. The NJHS chapter of East Grand Middle School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization. Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in five areas of evaluation: scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship.  Students are selected for membership by majority vote of a five-member principal-appointed faculty council, which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the faculty of our school each year. The NJHS was established in 1929, to create an organization that would recognize and encourage academic achievement while also developing other essential characteristics to build productive, lifelong learners  Today, it is estimated that more than one million students participate in activities of…