EGP

Cityscape Schools is excited to recognize for the first time students who completed five or more consecutive years of dual language instruction in elementary school.  This student achievement is part of Cityscape’s commitment to growing global leaders, empowering them with the skill of learning two languages and being bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural.   In 2023, The U.S. Department of Education launched the “ Being Bilingual is a Superpower” Initiative to promote and further the understanding of bilingualism and biliteracy as an educational and economic imperative for student success, global competitiveness, and engagement.   The department of education’s goal resulted in the bolstering of high-quality language programs and a diverse multilingual educator workforce across the country. The dual language program sets students up for success in the future by increasing their academic achievement, cognitive development, problem-solving skills, and stronger sense of identity and self-esteem. In addition, bilingual and biliterate skills are in high demand and not many people have them, so employers offer higher salaries to attract and retain bilingual employees. This was the first Dual Language annual ceremony for East Grand Preparatory’s  fifth grade students, as most of them enrolled in the program in first grade. It is a proud sentiment for the teachers and district leadership to show off their students' dedication throughout the Dual Language program.  This year, 34 students were awarded with a “Biliteracy Medal and Certificate” and some are even moving to middle school with high school language credits!  At East Grand Preparatory’s dual language ceremony, the executive principal and 5th grade dual language teachers gave a speech to share their thoughts on why learning a second language is important to them.  Mr. Juan Ornelas shared a memory…

Four EGP students get accepted into Townview Center. This year was not only the first year with most applicants from East Grand Preparatory at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, but it was also the first year with the most students accepted!  Carlos Frias, Daisy Lopez, Johanna Rosas, and Diego Ramirez are the four EGP students who will begin high school this fall 2024 at Townview.  Townview is known to be one of the most prestigious high schools in the country. The admission process is quite laborious and requires assessments, essays, and interviews.  Something that differentiates Townview from other schools, is that students are able to apply for  different schools within Townview, which allows them to select one that focuses on their career interest. Each EGP student who applied to Townview for high school, had a different way of testing in accordance to the school they were applying for.  Carlos found the most challenging part of his application process to be creating a portfolio of himself and what he wants to pursue in the future. Johanna felt that creating an interview-video to perfection to be the hardest part for her. Daisy and Diego thought that the testing was the tough part.  Carlos is excited to start learning more about the career he is trying to pursue in the future.  “It’s such an honor to continue my education at Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management in townview high school!” said Carlos.  Daisy will be a part of the School of Science and Engineering and is already thinking about what she plans to do in the future!  “I’m really excited to continue my education at one of the most prestigious schools…

Students in the National Junior Honor Society - Leonard Brannon and Glenda Brannon Chapter -   bring a new light to Cityscape’s East Grand Preparatory.  At East Grand Preparatory, it is an honor to be selected to join the society. Eligible candidates must be in seventh or eighth grade, or the second semester of sixth grade, and must have completed at least one semester at East Grand Preparatory.  Sixteen middle school students make up this chapter and have worked very hard to be a part of it.  The honor society encourages students to be more focused on their academic scores. The minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) requirement is a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Candidates are also evaluated based on their service, leadership, character, and citizenship qualities.  Membership in NJHS is awarded by a committee of five school community members, led by the chapter adviser, following the National Junior Honor Society bylaws. East Grand Preparatory leaders and  to nurture leadership and organizational skills in our members, equipping them to become leaders in our school, their communities, and any other environment they find themselves in. “My primary goal is to raise the visibility of the chapter on our campus. It's important that our EGP students are aware of our activities and objectives, inspiring them to become future leaders in our school,” said Mr. Angel Rodriguez-Colon, EGP teacher and coordinator for the NJHS. NJHS is successful in enforcing their members to understand that embodying their core values (scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship) will result essential in any career or profession they choose to pursue.  East Grand Preparatory aims to foster school spirit by having the school community support the students…

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-learning changing leadership experiences program to our first group of eighth graders at Cityscape Schools,” said Elda Rojas, Deputy Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer. “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…

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…