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Girl Power: Kamie Halfmann's Track Career is Off and Running 5/24/13
Partnership Aims to Help Students in West Dallas 10/28/12
Associated Press
October 28, 2012
DALLAS (AP) - A new initiative involving schools and social-service agencies has been formed with the aim of supporting families in an area of Dallas that suffers from persistent poverty.
The Dallas Morning News (http://bitly.com/XCSbzb ) reports that the initiative called the School Zone will support families and students in a variety of ways, ranging from after-school tutoring, mentoring and arts programs to food donations, parenting classes and therapy.
Southern Methodist University, the Dallas school district and 20 nonprofits have teamed up for the project.
In January, a team from SMU will begin a seven-year study of 300 pre-kindergartners and sixth-graders in West Dallas. Researchers will analyze which academic and social programs best keep the younger students on track to graduate and which help prevent the sixth-graders from dropping out.