Former Dallas ISD elementary students are returning to their roots to pass it on.
Through the Aspiring Teachers Program, high school students, including those from Hillcrest and W.T. White are becoming tutors, helping young learners thrive at schools they once called home.
The program, a partnership between United to Learn, Dallas ISD, and local colleges and high schools recruits future educators from college programs and Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools.
The tutors at Preston Hollow, K.B. Polk, Nathan Adams, Arthur Kramer, and Anne Frank Elementary earn paid, hands-on experience in classrooms while receiving specialized literacy training and teaching skills alongside the district’s instructional capacity.
According to May 2025 i-Ready English data, 91% of students who participated in United to Learn’s Aspiring Teachers tutoring showed an increase in their overall i-Ready scale score. And beyond improved reading scores, the initiative cultivated a new generation of “home-grown” teachers ready to serve their own communities.
“As for the STEAM connection? It all starts with words,” said United to Learn. “A strong foundation in literacy is the spark that allows students to ‘learn to read’ before they ‘read to learn,’ from coding to chemistry to creative design.”
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