Community Campus Day 2022 Celebration
United to Learn hosted a morning dance party for Community Campus Day with student performances, spirit cheers, DJ Elusive, games, and community engagement in southern Dallas.
As a celebration of our largest CCD Day on April 9, volunteers joined forces to improve campus environments across nine schools, starting with a kick-off at John Neely Bryan Elementary School!
We were so pleased to partner with John Neely Bryan Elementary School to kick off our fifth annual Community Campus Day event on Saturday, April 9. This was the final celebration of Community Campus Days, that ranged from February 26 to April 2.
The rally at John Neely Bryan Elementary opened with a dance and talent show from John Neely Bryan students, live music from DJ Elusive, as well as donuts and coffee. The Dallas Arboretum had a booth with activities for kids and our wonderful sponsors provided free giveaways. Remarks were shared by United to Learn’s founder and CEO Abigail Williams, U2L President Carol Goglia, U2L Board Chair and Parish Episcopal Head of School David Monaco, EY Partner James Walton, and John Neely Bryan’s Principal Vicki Mitchell to kick off the day.
In addition to the rally, hundreds of volunteers spread out across Dallas ISD elementary schools on April 9 to renew and revamp campus environments. Through this annual event, U2L was able to provide volunteers, tools, and other resources to complete transformational projects that will assist Dallas ISD elementary schools in developing 21st-century learners.
The projects completed this weekend include creating a school garden for experiential, outdoor learning, renovating school hallways for inspirational messaging, painting lockers for refreshing environments, and revamping outdoor spaces with stencils for gross motor exercise and play-based learning. This was the fourth of five Community Campus Day events happening this spring. Over the course of the five Saturday events, hundreds of volunteers will complete projects at more than 47 elementary schools.
April 9 showcased a sampling of projects such as:
At John Neely Bryan Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from EY and volunteers from Parish Episcopal School, we painted student lockers and revamped the faculty/staff lounge to provide a relaxed environment for staff to relax and rejuvenate during the school day.
At Highland Meadows Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from Vistra Energy and PwC and volunteers from the community, we set up a physical school spirit store space on campus to incentivize students to engage in positive and appropriate classroom behaviors, and to improve school spirit and culture overall.
At David G. Burnet Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from CH Investments and volunteers from the community, we renovated a teacher wellness room, furnished a science lab, and created a campus garden space.
At K.B. Polk Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from Highland Park United Methodist Church and volunteers from the community, we painted and set up house flags to promote school pride and school spirit.
At Stephen C. Foster Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from Civitas and volunteers from the community, we created an outdoor garden area for students to engage in experiential learning opportunities, relax and reset during their academic day.
At Eddie Bernice Johnson Elementary, with volunteers from the community, we installed a fenced above-ground garden as part of Eddie Bernice Johnson’s transformation into a STEM Academy.
At Jill Stone Elementary at Vickery Meadow, with sponsored volunteers from Thrivent Financial and volunteers from Temple Emanuel, we removed stencils and repainted the walls.
At Everette Lee DeGolyer Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from Nicole and Justin Small and volunteers from Hockaday, we updated the outdoor play area with stencils to motivate students to engage in physical fitness, which will aid in staying focused in class and reduce the number of behavioral disruptions.
At George H.W. Bush Elementary, with sponsored volunteers from Hazel’s Expedited Freight and volunteers from the Greenhill School, we updated the STEAM Lab with a mural that will inspire students to be creative, and help develop their problem-solving skills and take risks in learning.
With Dallas facing an educational crisis, there is an urgent need to help students recover — academically and emotionally — from COVID-19 disruptions, and to accelerate the pace of learning. One way United to Learn helps close opportunity gaps is by improving learning environments through Community Campus Day. Research shows that joyful, enriched learning environments can increase productivity and engagement by 15% and more.
Learn more about all our CCD projects on social media at www.facebook.com/unitedtolearn/, www.instagram.com/unitedtolearn/, www.linkedin.com/company/unitedtolearn/, and https://twitter.com/unitedtolearn.