A unique, new Scholar Tag Program is connecting students at W.T. White High School with opportunities to learn, grow, and lead.
“I don’t think anyone’s doing it the way that we’re doing it,” Principal Beth Wing said. “In my mind, we’re trying to replicate the experience a student would have at Townview Magnet Center within a comprehensive high school. I knew we had kids that needed this program here, in our building.”
W.T White, which opened in 1964, serves more than 2,000 students across North Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch. The school already complements its traditional public high school curriculum with programs such as specialized academies of business and marketing, engineering, and theater arts.
The Scholar TAG Program builds on existing resources in the school’s AP Capstone curriculum, which develops students’ research, teamwork and communication skills.
It combines advanced academics with SAT preparation, service learning, and college credit opportunities — all while maintaining access to traditional high school sports and extracurricular activities.
The program officially launched in August, with participants selected based on PSAT and AP test scores and teacher recommendations. Adzel Rodriguez Velazquez, a junior this year, is one of W.T. White’s first Scholar TAG students.
“The other years (in high school), I feel like I kind of struggled,” she said. “Being around other kids who also want to strive and improve is helping me. … Being in a class where you’re taught to present, how to build debates, and how to take other people’s ideas into your own is really unique.”
Dane Francis, a sophomore, noted that his Scholar TAG classes were “a lot more challenging” than traditional courses, and that he was enjoying the opportunity to connect with other like-minded students.
“I know a lot of kids in my World History class,” said Francis, by way of an example. “They’re smart kids and I just have really good friendships with them. It helps me because I can talk with them and be like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’”
Francis also plays basketball, baseball, and chess, and is considering engineering as a future career. Velazquez plans to pursue her interests in the arts, science, and humanities when she heads to college in 2028. They’re just two of approximately 100 initial Scholar TAG Program participants across ninth, 10th, and 11th grades.
Principal Wing is hoping the program will grow. Her goal is to fill 50 Scholar TAG seats in each grade for W.T. White High School’s 2031-32 school year.
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