United to Learn held its Community Campus Day on Saturday, March 23 and impacted 23 Dallas ISD elementary schools, thanks to more than 450 volunteers and sponsors.

Community Campus Day was created as a hands-on opportunity for volunteers from local businesses, high schools and the community to get to know the Dallas ISD schools in their neighborhood and to form a lasting relationship. The end result goes far beyond just a physical transformation of the campus. All projects are intended to support the social-emotional health of students and faculty, advance literacy efforts on campus, or create a more inspirational school environment that will lead to higher academic performance, reduced teacher turnover, fewer disciplinary programs and higher attendance.

The morning started with a kick-off rally at Walnut Hill Elementary School with bounce houses, breakfast, characters, tattoo artists, giveaways and a DJ. The Chapel Hill and Gooch Elementary dance teams performed for the attendees who cheered and clapped.

Abigail Williams, United to Learn’s founder and executive director, thanked the volunteers and sponsors for their tremendous impact in the community. “Thanks to the generous $135,000 investment from 38 community sponsors as well as the dedication of more than 450 volunteers, we impacted 23 Dallas ISD elementary schools, enhanced 35 hallways, constructed 21 outdoor projects, renovated 11 classrooms, modernized 6 teachers lounges and coworking spaces, installed more than 11 student-inspired murals, and provided technology upgrades that value nearly $20,000.” 

Meredith Ajello, UTL’s volunteer coordinator, added, “Thank you to our amazing sponsors for transforming our public elementary campuses into the inspiring environments ALL children deserve. In total, the 23 schools represent 13,500 students and 975 educators that we’re positively impacting.”

Schools, projects and sponsors include the following:

• Adams Elementary: creating a Zen room.
• Anne Frank Elementary: painting murals and applying hallway enhancements.
• Burnet Elementary: creating library and SEL space in classrooms, Leader in Me mural.
• Bush Elementary: installing student-designed mosaic tile mural, enhancing front office space.
• Caillet Elementary: gym improvement with new whiteboards, replacing gym wall pads and transforming the garden and outdoor learning spaces.
• Chapel Hill: performing landscaping in the garden; replacing stair decals.
• Cigarroa Elementary: revamping outdoor spaces, updating teachers’ lounge and office space.
• DeGolyer Elementary: decorating blacktop, providing kindles and cases.
• Foster Elementary: remodeling front office space, upgrading irrigation system and outdoor classroom clean up.
• Gooch Elementary: painting murals and providing 10 iPads and cases.
• Junkins Elementary: remodeling the teachers’ workroom, providing youth playground.
• Knight Elementary: painting blacktop and two rooms, unpacking and organizing school supplies.
• Kramer Elementary: repairing and enlarging outdoor pond, painting stencils and renewing All in Learning license.
• Marcus Elementary: hanging decals on windows, removing and planting trees, installing feather flags and landscaping.
• Joe May Elementary: enriching outdoor playscape, creating mobile Lego wall, building mobile libraries.
• Pershing Elementary: applying inspirational decals to hallways.
• Polk Elementary: providing projectors for classrooms.
• Preston Hollow Elementary: modernizing teachers’ lounge.
• Rogers Elementary: improving continuous learning lab, applying inspirational decals, hanging photos.
• Saldivar Elementary: improving curb appeal with fence cup installation, painting and landscaping.
• Walnut Hill Elementary: landscaping and outside clean up.
• Withers Elementary: installing makerspace items, cleaning and painting doors.

Special thanks to sponsors:

Teacher: Crow Holdings

Counselor: AT&T, Beck, Centennial, Central Market, Civitas, Deborah Walker, G. Stacy & Ashley Smith, Granite, Highland Capital Management, Ken & Tanya McDonald, The Michael Young Foundation, NexBank, The Plant Concierge, LLC, Sound Image, Texas Capital Bank, Thackeray Partners, Vizient, Weaver, The Williams Family Foundation.

Tutor: Bernstein, Cambridge, Hazel’s, Stream, Vinson & Elkins LLP.

United to Learn is a coalition of public elementary schools, private institutions and engaged community members who have come together to create meaningful learning opportunities for every student to learn and lead. In North Dallas, where great privilege and poverty coexist but rarely overlap, many of the city’s most prestigious private schools and wealthiest neighborhoods are concentrated alongside public schools, where 9 out of 10 students qualify for free and reduced lunch. United to Learn builds relationships across our community and forges bonds to share resources and eliminate gaps in opportunity and understanding. For more information call 469-848-7420, visit unitedtolearn.org, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/unitedtolearn/, Twitter or Instagram @unitedtolearn, or email info@unitedtolearn.org.